This was the view I saw when I knew I wanted to live in Kapaa

I love living so close nearby. I did discover my Google maps think old cane haul roads and construction closures are fine through the homelands and a 6 mile stretch ended up looping me over 15 miles and 45 minutes! At least this was commute was stunning rather than LA traffic – and usually it was double that time. 

   
   
I absolutely wanted to get as close as I could to that waterfall. I had such a strong desire on my second morning in Kauai to get there. And I did! I discovered the closest way by car exploring through the back roads of Kapaa. It lead to me the water tanks on Kahuna roads.
   
 
I came here a few months ago with of my business partners who bottles his own spring water upstream. He carries 5 gallon jugs at least half a mile through the jungle with his freshly bottled mountain spring water. We explored part of the trail, however we didn’t feel comfortable going too far without someone who’d been before. 

 The hike to Makaleha Falls was amazing!! It was pretty flat, with many stream crossings and stunning vistas. The jungle is awesome and went through several bamboo forests. Definity a physically demanding hike with rock jumping, wading through the water and even a few times we had to climb through the giant Hou Bushes (mangrove type trees) that had fallen on the trail. Our Meetup organizer Manfred was a wonderful trail guide. This was my first event with the Kauai Adventure Club. I was grateful for him leading the way, he said the trail has changes with floods too. We followed the creek the entire way to the base of Makahela Falls and, of course, I jumped in!

 

   
I thought we were going to the base of the main waterfalls from the view. Manfred said they disapate into smaller ones as they come down. Instead we followed the stream to the right so I’d never seen the Makaleha Waterfall.  It narrows into a tight canyon with sheer walls of green towering above us. And the sun passed over while we were there for some brilliant photos. 

I am so grateful for all I am receiving. First you give and then you receive; givers gain. Non’s been listening to “You Were Born Rich” and a point that suddenly just clicked was how there’s a season to sow and a season to reap. Givers gain and I noticed all the abundance all around. Connecting in nature on this amazing hike grounds my balance for everything.