Powered Hang Gliding in Kauai

This is my first in a series of posts about our recent trip to Kaua'i Hawaii! Brent spent all of January, and the first week of February producing a new record for the South Africa-based band, Dear Reader. The album turned out phenomenal, and we felt like we deserved a kick ass vacation! We embarked on a series of unforgettable adventures on the Garden Island, including a Powered Hang Gliding flight with Kauai Aerosports.



The owner and pilot, Steve, introduced us to the incredible, bird-like feeling of soaring through the clouds on an ultralight trike (that's the lingo for a powered hang glider). Even though you take off and land on a runway, the flying sensation feels entirely different than riding in a commercial airplane. Instead of an upward thrust motion, you feel almost like you are on a Disney ride, where the trike is being held by a robotic arm from above, and smoothly floating you from one amazing scene to the next.




The first spot we visited after take off was Jurassic Park Falls. This is the same waterfall that was filmed for the arrival scene in original Jurassic Park movie. The falls are on private property, and can only be seen from a helicopter or trike. As we soared down near the falls, Steve played the Jurassic Park theme song through my headphones. I actually got a tear in my eye.

Then we headed to the crater inside Mt Wai Ale Ale. This is the spot from which the island of Kauai was born. It is also the wettest spot on Earth, receiving over 400 inches of rain per year. Beat that, Portland! Thanks to all the rain, there are myriad waterfalls spilling over the peak of the mountain, down into the lush green crater. It was a beautiful, breath-taking scene. As we flew close to the crater walls, we did what Steve called a "Pterodactyl turn" (a swooping u-turn that made me feel like I was riding on the back of a pterosaur). It was so fun!


Next we headed over Hanalei Bay, to the rugged spires of the Na Pali coast. The other-worldly environment made my chest tighten a bit, with the memory of hiking through the impossible landscape along the death-defying Kalalau Trail (look for a more in-depth post on this soon).


We glided over the Waimea Canyon (considered the Grand Canyon of the Pacific) on the way back to the Port Allen airport, but first Steve took us out over the ocean to learn how to fly the trike! There is a big silver bar, just like on a hang glider. If you slide it to the left, you go right. If you push the bar forward you go up a little and slow down. If you pull the bar back you go down at first and then level off and go faster . The trike tends to find a "sweet spot" in the sky, and basically flies itself along the ridge of air. It was a really cool experience to feel how the trike navigates.


After a safe landing, we relaxed with some juice and went off to the beach to enjoy a delicious lunch of Ahi Poke and seaweed salad. What an adventure! Thanks to Steve and Anna for being such excellent hosts in the Kauai sky!