Sunday morning the hotel presented an even larger selection at the buffet, adding crepes and waffles. We made sure to sample everything, just to make sure. Our waitress mentioned an arboretum in the hills above Kapa`a, which was near where we planned to go snorkeling. JP decided to stay at the hotel so Randy, Rick and Matthew headed counter-clockwise around the island. We drove up into the hills, along a road that turned to a dirt trail following some powerlines.
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With the sure footed Explorer in 4WD mode we had no trouble passing streams, mud fields, giant potholes and ruts in the road. At the end of about 3 miles we came to the Wailua River where we stopped to look around. It was really beautiful with the tall mountains surrounded in mist towering above us.
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Once we drove back to the main road we had a look at our original pick for snorkeling, but the surf looked a bit too rough. We decided to have lunch in Wailua, then we drove up to the North coast of the island to Tunnels beach. The water was protected by a reef and we found lots of fish to look at.
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For dinner JP had made us reservations at the Tide Pools restaurant in the hotel. After switching from an excessively lit table to a much nicer one outdoors right by the water, we had a great meal as we watched the torch light reflecting off the small lagoon that surrounds the tables.