Paddling up Kahana Estuary

Constantly driving over the estuary for several hikes in Kahana valley and numerous ridgelines surrounding it, I felt it was time to do a little exploration upriver. Joined by several friends, we paddled upriver via stand-up paddle boards and kayaks to have some fun in the sun.

After loading up our kayaks and backpacks (for the paddle boarders) with food and drinks, we started to head down the shoreline towards the mouth of the estuary (an estuary is the area of a river where fresh and salt water mix).

Paddling up the estuary was relatively easy, as there little noticeable discharge at the time, likely because the channel was so wide / deep. However, I’m sure we could have timed it even better with the rising and falling tides.

Several trees, like this false kamani tree overhang from the banks, creating several areas shady areas on the water.

Further up, Hau trees had grown across the entire width of the river, and slowed our progress.

But when paddling progress was slow, drinking was much more productive. Really a fantastic place to have a cold one. hehe.

About 30-40 minutes in, we encountered a cleareing on the river bank with a rope swing.

The flat area looked like a good place to dock and take a break… But swarms of mosquitoes eventually muscled us back into the water.

Minutes later the tangles of Hau became thick, and virtually impassable. Anticipating this may happen from friends who had explored upriver before, I had some clearing tools with me to try and reopen some of the blockages.

Since I could see that some of trunks and branches were cut up ahead of us, I assumed that this section was once open before. I trimmed some of the blockages away so that we could paddle further.

Unfortunately, not much was ahead, as within minutes we were blocked in either direction of a river fork. Going right lead to a stagnant area and dead end, whereas the river became shallow and actually looked like there were stream riffles underneath the Hau tangles when going left. I was hoping we would end up closer to Al’s Mouth, or the swim / jump spot near the dam along the Nakoa Trail. I’m not sure if this was even possible historically, but I was just thinking that it would be cool if people could paddle there! haha, oh well.

We leisurely paddled back to the river mouth and relaxed on the beach for the rest of the afternoon. Great day with awesome people! More questions about our paddling adventure in Kahana?? Just ask!!!

Aloha and mahalo nui for visiting… Come back again soon!