Help needed for planning my upcoming visit

Due to the fact I know very little about Kauai, I am in need of information in the following areas, as a group of friends %26amp; relatives are all going to attend a wedding.

My main concern is that I bring the right photo gear, is there any need for a long zoom or will I be alright with up to about 500mm lens coverage. I expect to shoot over 1000 photos in the 2 week period, from the ground %26amp; the air, and maybe even while diving (rental camera for that).

Several of us are trying to find info re zip lines, are there any web addresses available about the specific locations that have them?

I personally will be looking for a convenient dive operator that will get me to the better sites to see marine life. I am certified with about 150 dives, including many deep dives.

My wife is looking for any info on organized tours that go by bus and have a guide to explain all the sites.

We will be staying in Lihue and using it as a base of operations, but the group will split up and do whatever they are interested in rather than as a group activity.

Prime activities planned are snorkeling, surfing lessons, maybe tubing, and maybe some hiking, but by people who don%26#39;t go hiking on a regular basis so will tire quickly, plus we won%26#39;t have correct shoes or boots.

We are all planing on either biplane or helicopter tours, but that will be planned out according to weather conditions while we are there, which will be mid Oct.

Any help is appreciated, Thanks.

Help needed for planning my upcoming visit

Cicopo~~we used www. Kauaibackcountry.com ~~very friendly staff. We used them for both ziplining and tubing. There is also Kipu falls safari @ www.outfitterskauai.com Or Princeville Ranch Adventures www.adventureskauai.com

As for pictures, Kauai is beautiful and you will take tons of pictures.

enjoy :)

Debbie

Help needed for planning my upcoming visit

You%26#39;ll be there during whale season. Your 500MM lens should provide you some memorable shots. Bring your ND%26#39;s and polarizers. And protect your stuff from the sand....I learned a costly lesson on my last trip. Do you shoot digital or film? If digital, there are a couple of places that can transfer your images to CD/DVD. Good Luck, Harry

I will be shooting digital, with pro gear. I will have a laptop with CD burning software %26amp; hardware to transfer images to daily. . I DID NOT KNOW IT MAY BE WHALE SEASON. I may bring even more lens if that is the case. I will have so much dive gear, as well as photo gear that I must decide in advance just what to pack. For some reason my wife expects me to pack more than 2 days worth of cloths. I really hate leaving photo gear home, but there are limits to what I can carry, or that the airline will take without extra cost.

You have the same delima I do when travelling---what and how much photo gear to take. I do think your 500mm lens coverage. My 300 zoom gives me good range on my digital camera. Many of the whales will be quite close, especially if you go on a catamaran trip. I believe Oct. is near the beginning of whale season. What you will probably be finding you use most will be a good wide angle lens for the fantastic scenery. Make sure you go to Saltpond for at least 1 sunset. Polihale is a great sunset spot, too, but coming back on dirt roads for over 5 miles can be bad enough in daylight, let alone total darkness. Do take care to keep the salt spray and sand away from those digital slrs, they really don%26#39;t like that! DO find tunnels for picture taking!!! It%26#39;s also great for snorkeling if it%26#39;s not rough at that time of the year. It%26#39;s tricky to find, but well worth the view! You%26#39;ll probably take more than 1000 pictures while you%26#39;re there. I hope you post them when you get back.

I noticed this year that zip lines were advertised all over the place there. I don%26#39;t remember seeing that in the past.

There are lots of tours offered. I always thought one of the movie tours would be neat, but can%26#39;t seem to drag myself away from the beach. There are also some really nice gardens there---great photo op for flowers and fauna.

We did the helicopter tour the first year and loved it. Another must for a photographer!

You have the same delima I do when travelling---what and how much photo gear to take. I do think your 500mm lens coverage will be sufficient. My 300 zoom gives me good range on my digital camera. Many of the whales will be quite close, especially if you go on a catamaran trip. I believe Oct. is near the beginning of whale season. What you will probably be finding you use most will be a good wide angle lens for the fantastic scenery. Make sure you go to Saltpond for at least 1 sunset. Polihale is a great sunset spot, too, but coming back on dirt roads for over 5 miles can be bad enough in daylight, let alone total darkness. Do take care to keep the salt spray and sand away from those digital slrs, they really don%26#39;t like that! DO find tunnels for picture taking!!! It%26#39;s also great for snorkeling if it%26#39;s not rough at that time of the year. It%26#39;s tricky to find, but well worth the view! You%26#39;ll probably take more than 1000 pictures while you%26#39;re there. I hope you post them when you get back.

I noticed this year that zip lines were advertised all over the place there. I don%26#39;t remember seeing that in the past.

There are lots of tours offered. I always thought one of the movie tours would be neat, but can%26#39;t seem to drag myself away from the beach. There are also some really nice gardens there---great photo op for flowers and fauna.

We did the helicopter tour the first year and loved it. Another must for a photographer!

Cameraman, beware of salt water in the most innocent of circumstances. Lost all electronics permanently on a cruise when drops fell from my wet hair and seeped into wiring. As a previous post suggests, beware of sand as well. If it exists, sometimes it is so sticky you cannot blast it out. The greater danger is using lens paper...makes lens look as tho someone ice skated over it. Live and learn.

Brooks Institute of Photography @ 1-800-826-1868 might be helpful to consult in sorting out your equipment choices.

Recommend Inter-Island Helicopter for unobstructed, no door flights (good seat belts!). I had marvelous luck sitting at the ';door';. Wish I had taken the early a.m. flight, however.

Roberts Hawaii Tours @ 1-800-831-5541 or, www.robertshawaii.com. Have never done this myself, but see buses going to and fro on the island.

Princeville Ranch Hike and Kayak @ 1-808-826-7669, or

www.kauai-hiking. Your hikers.

National Tropical Botanical Garden Tours info.

1-800-742-2623. Your wife.

Kauai Snorkel Tours at Poipu @1-808-742-7576 or,

www.kauaisnorkeltours.com.

Gay and Robinson Tours @ 1-808-335-2824. Cane sugar processing mill...only one left on Kauai. In the same region is the Kauai Coffee Co., an easy walking tour, 1-800-335-0813.

Both close to Port Allen where Inter-Island Helicopter resides, call 1-800-656-5009 or, www.interislandhelicopters.com.

I think other posts above have covered zip line activities.

Hikers who tire easily might enjoy an ATV adventure. There are a couple. One is www.kauaibackcountry.com and the other is www.kauaiatv.com.

There is also a tour of locations where well-known movies were shot @ 1-808-822-1192. Your wife.

Finally, there are lots of walking trails that are pretty flat. There is a marvelous groomed path along the beach beginning at the Waliua River, Lydgate Park side to the Kamalani Playground and then continuing as a sandy beach walk all the way to the Radisson.

Wishing you lots of Aloha.

P.S. Photo-op.

Next time I visit Kauai and I am going to find ';Glass Beach'; near Port Allen. It is a many-year%26#39;s-old site where island scrap glass was dumped at ocean side. I have seen wonderful photos of the now smoothed, pebble-appearing, multi-colored glass shards and fragments, both in photo books and in Tripadvisor members%26#39; online albums. My thoughts do not come all at once.

Hi Cicopo,

I don%26#39;t think you%26#39;ll have too much need for a super telephoto lens on Kauai. You may not see very many whales as it will still be pretty early in the season. I think even up to around 300mm should be OK unless you want to get goats climbing the mountains. A nice wide-angle zoom or prime is much more of a requirement to get some of the magnificent panoramic shots. I usually shoot 16-200mm. If you have any underwater gear, I%26#39;d worry more about bringing that along. You might get something less than desirable as a rental. I know it%26#39;s bulky though....

Bubbles Below is a good dive outfit. You can contact them at (808) 332-7333. Also, be prepared to spend a LOT more for diving than in Cozumel!!

My thanks for all this great advice. I have one of the new Sigma 18-200 zooms which sounds like the right choice as my carry at all times lens, and a couple of other lengths which are not bad to drag everywhere too. I really don%26#39;t want to bring a 4 pound 1 foot long lens plus the tripod unless it would see lots of use. As for salt %26amp; sand damage I am very aware of the potential, I restore old cars so I get to fix what it does to metal daily(they salt the roads here in winter). From the look of it my wife will have lots to do while I go diving or snorkeling. With all the concern for camera protection maybe I will buy an additional digital camera and underwater housing for use in the areas where salt spray may be a risk. I have been considering this, and doing a lot of research as to what might satisfy me, and maybe I had best move that ';to do'; higher up the list. I know how scenic Hawaii is from movies or travel shows and I want to bring home as much as I can. I%26#39;ll keep watching the messages %26amp; forward them to the others. Again thanks.

The additional camera for the beach is a good idea. I often use one of my less expensive cameras then. In fact my Kodak DC5000 is advertised as water resistant. It%26#39;s well sealed. I recently bought a housing from my Canon A40 and am looking forward to using it underwater. I%26#39;ve been using a Sea %26amp; Sea MX5 for my underwater pictures the last few years.

I neglected to mention on the Napali cruise that I only took my 10D out when we weren%26#39;t moving and I was usually under cover of the cabin to keep it from getting salt water on it.

Someone also mentioned glass beach. I have pictures of that in my recent album. We didn%26#39;t get there until our 4 trip. It%26#39;s a really fascinating beach. NOt many visitors seem to know about it or go visit it.