Kauai: Pacific Heights

Images of Magnum PI, men in canoes and the waterfall featured in Jurassic Park were all I knew about Hawaii. Oh, and skinny women in grass skirts, accompanied by rotund men sporting shirts that require everyone within a ten metre radius to wear sunglasses. Do Americans in Hawaii really have overgrown moustaches? Would I see any hula that didn't involve a hoop? And do people actually wear a lei, a flower garland, around their necks?

My last question was answered when I touched down at Honolulu and the driver of the airport shuttle bus gave us a beautiful lei of fresh flowers. It had been a long flight. Due to its distance from the UK, flights to the group of islands we call Hawaii involve changing planes, usually in the US or Canada. I've got mobility restrictions and found the assistance I'd booked with the airlines to be fantastic (state your needs when you book your flights - airlines need prior notification). Indeed, flying alone to practically the other side of the world was much easier than trying to catch the number 42 bus into the centre of town here. Airport employees whisked me onto the planes at the front of the queue, carried my bags, rushed me through customs and even fed and watered me whilst I was waiting for my connecting flight. VIP attention - I could get used to this ...

At the airport my friend Rich was waiting for me, and we headed off to our hotel in Waikiki. There are five main islands that make up the US state of Hawaii. Being American, the islands are covered by the Americans With Disabilities Act and facilities tend to be excellent, particularly in newly-built resorts. Oahu is the most popular island with tourists, with Waikiki being the resort of choice. Indeed, holidaymakers could happily spend their full fortnight basking on its beaches, browsing round the shopping malls and visiting local attractions such as the zoo and Pearl Harbor memorial. With a bellyful of delicious local fresh fish and vegetables, a cocktail in my hand and the gentle, soothing, splash of the sea in the background, it was certainly tempting to relax and take life as slowly as the locals do. The thing was, however, I wasn't quite sure who was local and who was a tourist or nearby hotel employee dressed up in the ubiquitous blue shirt emblazoned with fluorescent green palm trees. Quit the shirts, guys - the real palm trees lining the beach edges are much more impressive.

Waikiki is a tourist resort, a lively yet laid back haven of almost year-round sunshine, and after sampling its delights for a few days we decided to head for a less crowded island. Kauai (pronounced "Cow,why,ee", not "Cow,ee" as we kept saying to bemused airport employees) is known in marketing speak as the Garden Isle, famed for breathtaking scenery. For once, the marketing men aren't far wrong.

Captain Cook spotted the island on January 18, 1778, and was taken aback by its beauty. Much of the scenery he saw remains the same today - lush coves, waterfalls, a canyon and rugged coasts. Fast food joints have managed to worm their way in, but much of the development is confined to the one highway and small towns. You get the feeling that Kauai residents know what a gem they've got, and are making sure they keep it that way.

To explore the island we hired a car at the airport, and in the absence of any vehicles with adaptions suitable for me (the majority of American hire cars are automatic - ring ahead to see if they have any vehicles with hand controls), Rich got behind the wheel. Two days' hire was enough for us to see all the sights, while still allowing time for picnic breaks and just taking it all in. Eastwards we visited Wailua Falls, a powerful waterfall with spray rising up and twinkling in the sunlight. Its natural backdrop of red rock framed it perfectly - no souvenir shops or concrete buildings to be found here.

Also astounding was Waimea Canyon, a sight to rival America's Grand Canyon. Stretching along the inland landscape it cut through the earth with glorious ease. Kauai is a hotch-potch of climates, which produces its dramatic scenery; dry canyon and sub-tropical vegetation being a relatively small distance apart. Secluded beaches are edged with green, the canyon is hot, yet Mount Wai'alae is one of the wettest places on earth, drenched in around 500 inches of rain per year.

We wanted to see the rugged Na Pali coast in the east. Guidebooks say that it is fearsome. Rough seas around the high cliffs mean that boats will only sail there in good conditions and, during our out of season stay, there weren't any. Alternatively there's a hikers' trail. But since my boots aren't made for walking, we took the third option - a helicopter.

We splashed out on a thrilling one hour flight around the island, which really brought home its beauty. Despite blowing the budget at a cost of over a hundred dollars each, it was definitely worth it. In the front seat of the chopper we flew through the air, swooped into the crater of an extinct volcano, hovered by the waterfall shown in the movie Jurassic Park, flew over the holiday homes of the rich and famous and the beach where South Pacific was filmed, then sailed over the heads of the hikers to the Na Pali coast. With cliffs as high as 4,000 feet, the view was incredible as we edged over the top to the ocean. Historians think that this was one of the first areas of the island to be settled by ancient Hawaiians. Our guide told us that even at the beginning of the 20th century, pockets of tribes were discovered here who had been sheltered from colonisation by mainland inaccessibility to the coast. Nature at its finest.

To save money after our luxurious hotel in Waikiki, our home in Kauai was a 1970s motel complete with flowery carpet and bedspreads. Our neighbours were retired Americans who'd deserted the mother country for some winter sun, much as British pensioners can be spotted rushing off to the Costa del Sol as soon as the leaves start to fall off the trees. Around the communal pool they all whiled the days away socialising and bagging the sun-loungers - but they were a very friendly bunch.

Kauai isn't a place that offers much in the way of evening entertainment, unless you make it yourself. Eating and socialising is centred around the hotels. One night Rich and I decided to eat in the motel's restaurant, tempted by the fact that it was Thanksgiving and a traditional American feast was on offer. We chatted merrily as we consumed our turkey, mash and cranberry - has the Delia Smith effect crossed the Atlantic? - until feedback noise from the karaoke machine interrupted us. It was time for the Americans to celebrate their holiday by singing some Elvis and Country and Western. Sing they did, with great gusto, taking it in turns to entertain fellow diners with a tune. Being British and sober, Rich and I glanced at each other warily, then at the karaoke compere who we feared had noticed the fact that we'd yet to join in with the proceedings. Gulping down our food, we sneaked out of the side door before anyone could cajole us into an out of tune rendition of Elvis's Hound Dog.

Away from the bustle of the restaurant, its lights fading in the distance, the beach was empty and the stars shone through the unpolluted night sky. I wheeled onto the beach. We shared a bottle of wine on the sand, looking out at the ocean, talking about the sights we'd seen and how it felt to be on the Garden Isle, thousands of miles away from the urbanity of home. Perfect moments ... broken only when I realised that Friends was on cable TV in our room in ten minutes, and it was an episode that wouldn't be shown in the UK for six months. As I said, in Kauai you make your own entertainment in the evening.