Zodiac Waterfall Tour of Wild North Kohala Coast of Hawaii

Exploring thousand foot cliffs, covered in tropical beauty and raging waterfalls, on the North Kohala coast of Hawaii.

After an afternoon cruise along this wild coastline yesterday, and a big storm still crashing into the island of Hawaii from the south today, there wasn't much we could do, except hide from the winds and waves on our expedition cruise ship, the Safari Explorer, until the storm lets up a bit tomorrow. But I really didn't want the guests to just sit on the ship all day. We had to do something. So why not do something we've never done before. That is the difference between cruising and expedition cruising. On expedition cruises, you have the flexibility to change your schedule and take advantage of opportunities as they come up. We can change based on weather, whales, or even the guests we have on that trip. And this morning was the perfect example of that expedition cruise mentality.

Even though we had some big north swell rolling in, we attempted to crane off our two small boats and lower down the swim platform. Luckily, the swell had come down a bit from yesterday, and now it looked doable and safe to transfer guests to the small boats for a zodiac cruise, up close and personal to all the waterfalls along the coast. I mapped out a course from Waipio Valley to these wild looking islands, near Pololu Valley, about 7 miles away. I convinced the captain to take the big ship up the coast after dropping us off, and meeting us up by the islands, making it a one-way trip.

We immediately had two whales surface after getting into the small boats. Then we made our way over to the cliffs, and our first waterfall. The island had gotten a ton of rain overnight, thanks to the big south storm. And the waterfalls had ballooned in size. They were raging! The waterfalls we had seen last night were ten times bigger, plus, there were other waterfalls cascading over the thousand foot cliffs that weren't even there last night. We did get rained on a bit, at the beginning of our tour, but then it cleared up and we were nice and dry by the end of it. But you can't have good waterfalls without a little rain, right?

The cliffs and scenery was so much more dramatic from this vantage point. We spent time at each waterfall, and checking out each valley. I noticed a lot of hala (pandanus) trees, kukui nut trees, mango trees, and a few coconut palms along the coastline here. I even saw a little hut on one of the small peninsulas with some banana trees around it. I don't know how anyone could get here, with these big waves crashing on the shores and a massive cliff behind, but someone was definitely cultivating that area. Talk about a little piece of paradise, away from it all!

The ride got nicer and nicer that farther we went. All the guests were eager to keep going. At one point I counted 16 waterfalls in one views. We made it to the little islands, which turned out to be a great place for birdwatching. We saw a lot of little black noddies, and a beautiful tropicbird, which delighted our bird enthusiasts on board. We even spotted the dorsal fin and tail of a very large tiger shark, right next to our boat, swimming in one of the outwash currents of a valley river. The water there was the color of chocolate milk, so I was definitely not going swimming after it.

We got everyone safely back onboard, then loaded up all the boats and kayaks on the back deck again. We knew it was going to be a bumpy ride as we needed to turn the corner and head south again for disembarkation the next morning. It was an expedition morning to remember, exploring the wild North Kohala Waterfall Coast of the Big Island of Hawaii. And our little skiff tour turned into a three hour, eleven mile extravaganza!

Black noddies, resting between flights on some offshore rocky islands.

There are both black, and brown noddies in Hawaii, and they look very similar. It is really hard to tell which is which unless they are side-by-side and you can compare their beaks.

There were a couple juicy looking waves along the coast, that I wish I had my surfboard for.

This is one of the islands that I really wanted to make it to on the skiff tour. The water was a bit turbulent and murky today to see if it would make a good snorkel, but it was awesome exploring it.

One of my favorite photos from the morning tour. The offshore breeze was blowing the crest off the waves, while the waterfalls flowed down the cliffs. This is a side of Hawaii that very few people ever see.

This was a little peninsula, totally isolated from the rest of the island by the thousand foot cliff behind it. Yet, I saw the roof of a little hut, and some signs of cultivation around. Someone's little slice of heaven.

More waves and waterfalls and tropical Hawaiian beauty.

The waterfalls were pumping so hard that many of them threw spray up into the air. This mist created a nice mystique to the photos.

Palm trees were not plentiful along the coast, but you could see where some had washed up and taken root. I caught these two perfectly as they passed in front of the waterfall in our view.

Our boatswain, Camille, pulling the driving duties this morning. She did a great job getting us close, while keeping an eye on the big swells that periodically came in.

I took this picture towards the very beginning of our zodiac tour. The other boat was loading up off the back. The misty and rainy cliffs are behind. Luckily the rains let up about halfway through our three hour tour.

A photo of our soggy crew near our first few waterfalls.

Starting to clear up a bit. Notice the cameras are coming out of the waterproof bags and jackets.

Five waterfalls in one photo.

Each waterfall would have been a wonderful sight on its own. The fact that we had dozens and dozens of waterfalls made the experience almost overwhelming.

Our last waterfall before turning back towards the boat... 11 miles later!

We passed seven valley, most larger than this one, all with their own waterfalls.

When I first saw this island from afar, I wasn't sure just how big that tunnel through the rock was. I imagined getting a kayak or even a zodiac through it. But from up close, I realized that the back entrance is about eight feet out of the water. The waves would come blasting through it, creating these waterfalls out of the back.

As always, keep traveling and keep posting!

• Dai Mar