A Journey to Maha'ulepu

Over the last retreat, Siddhanathaswami, Tillainathaswami, Yogi Dayanatha and Alexander traveled to the southern shores of our island for a beautiful hike along the Maha'ulepu cliffs. The cliffs are made of countless layers of compacted sand and lava rock. They are slowly being eroded by the powerful ocean waves, creating unique and stunning formations along the cliffside. This part of the coast is also incredibly windy, with constant gusts that make it hard to hear anything else apart from the clapping of the salty waves.

The hike began with a walk along the Makauwahi cave trail, which leads past this ancient cave and down to the Makauwahi tortoise reserve. After that our adventurers made their way along Maha'ulepu Beach and around the point to Kawailoa Bay Beach which marks the beginning of our cliffside walk leading to Kamala Point.

"From the top of the mountain looking down, you see the natural role of a raging ocean and the steep cliffs below--they are beautiful. From the bottom of the mountain, the ocean can appear ominous and the cliffs treacherous. The fact remains that deep inside you is perfection. So, you see, you have a choice. You can remain in the valley, live in fear of the stormy ocean of life and death, or you can scale the nearby mountain and see from the top how it is from that perspective. Either way, you and everyone in the world are all right in the now." - Gurudeva

A group photo at the cliffsides near Kamala Point

Our team started at the dot in the lower-left and made their way along the coast, and then looped back to the Makauwahi cave

The day begins with an early start

Even the parking lot has a nice view! That\

s the point we\'ll need to hike around to reach the cliffside hike.'

The rain had just passed and we find ourselves with a beautiful view of the mountains

After hiking down to the ocean level we reach the Makauwahi Land tortoise reserve, and said hello to some old friends

After a long beach hike, we reach the beginning of the Maka\

ulepu cliffside trail '

Onto the next part of our adventure

This cliffside is eroding fast

You have to be mindful where you step

Along the way there are spots where fissures have been created. Each wave causes a powerful spray to billow up from the hole in the ground

As you can see, the lower layers of the cliff are the ones that go first

Alexander summons a wave?

There are many little areas to explore

This one gives you a good idea of how these sand formations form

and erode

Don\

t fall in!'

On our return journey we stopped by the Makauwahi cave

It\

s an important site for studying the geological and biological history of Kauai'

Aum Namah Sivaya

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