Hawaii Day 5: Waimea Falls and Other North Shore Stops

We spent the afternoon of day 5 in Waimea Valley. Our destination was Waimea Falls, but we got to hike up to the falls through the botanical gardens. It was beautiful and green with unique plants and huts and features.  

The waterfall was really pretty and they actually let you go into the pool at the bottom of the falls. They had lifejackets there for anyone to use and lifeguards on duty that had some restrictions (like stay away from the left side of the pool and don't go under the waterfall. The second one was given to us after I had gotten out of the pool so we had done our thing just in time).

Some of us did go under the water for a bit. It was hard to stay there because the water pushed us away. the water in the pool was super cold but didn't bother us much once we got used to it.

After exploring Waimea valley, we headed to turtle bay. I was under the impression from my research that there are sea turtles at turtle bay. We hoped to see one but were disappointed to find a normal beach. There was a jetty to walk out on, It had a lot of crabs on it too, so that was fun.

We hung out on the beach until sunset, enjoying some of the snacks that we brought along with us.

The palm tree looked cool against the darkening sky as we were leaving the beach,

Once it was dark, everything closed down, so we headed back to our rental. We wanted to take the kids back to the PCC to try some of the activities in the different islands, but we didn't make it there until 6 and everything was closed by then for the luau. We still had a fun day full of a lot of new experiences.