Hawaii Diary: Tubing the Ditch

Photo: Hawai`i Magazine

I neglected to mention that on Monday, we sat through the morning group "orientation" at the condo complex, the purpose of which was to have the Activities SaleswomanDirector set us up on one or more island activities or tours. They did have a wide range of stuff available to meet all ages and tastes, from the "Kauai Movie Set Locations Tour" to the Lihue Community Theater's (or similar) presentation of South Pacific to Luaus to scuba lessons and boat tours. Everything also seemed more expensive than it should have been, except for the helicopter tour they were flogging which was ridiculously overpriced. ($250 a person? Really? Yeah it leaves from nearby Princeville instead of Lihue, almost an hour away, but still. We later saw someone in a shopping center kiosk offering one from Lihue for $109.)

We knew we were planning to hike on the Na Pali coast later in the week, but everyone said to take a boat or helicopter ride as well, so we tried to get onto a boat tour. Unfortunately, none of the boat operators had any interest in taking a pregnant woman, so we decided to try something else that sounded unique and wasn't too expensive: Tubing the Ditch.

For most of the 20th century, Kaua`i's biggest industry was sugar farming, with plantations covering vast swaths of the lowlands on the island. Many plantations dug irrigation ditches to route water coming off Mount Wai`ale`ale (the wettest spot on earth) to their farmlands. The last sugar plantation closed down in the early 2000s, but many of the ditches remained. One company, Kauai Backcountry Adventures, provides a tubing adventure down one stretch of the canal on Lihue Plantation.

Our adventure was booked for Thursday afternoon, so after snorkeling at `Anini Beach in the morning, we drove down to Hanama`ulu (near the Lihue airport), to the KBA headquarters. After signing some waivers and picking up some gloves and helmet/headlamps, we climbed into some WWII-era all-terrain Pinzgauer personnel carriers for the trek to the canal. Along the way, the friendly tour guides explained the history of the local plantations and how this plantation was now owned by Steve Case of AOL fame, a Hawaii native and the island's largest landowner. We also stopped at a photo op overlooking Wai`ale`ale Crater, but I didn't bring my camera since I didn't know whether or how I would store it while tubing.

After the 15 or 20 minute drive, we finally got to the tube launch. The canal water was chilly ("refreshing") but we got used to it in a few minutes. The water meanders slowly for several miles, through the hand-dug ditch surrounded by beautiful forests. Along the way, the canal passes through five tunnels (also dug by hand), thus the need for helmets and lights. We actually spent more time in the tunnels than outside! In the last tunnel, the guides asked people to turn off all their lights so that they can tell some ghost stories. After the tubing trip was (too quickly) over, we were brought to a swimming hole for a picnic lunch. A few people went swimming (on our day the swimming hole water was unusually clean, based on what I've read in other Internet reviews), but most people just ate and chatted with the other tubers. Finally we piled back in the Pinzgauers for the trip back to HQ.

This was a really fun experience, the only problem (if it really is one) was that the actual tubing is only about an hour long, and passes too quickly. A guide said they were working on trying to find a way to extend it, but further tunnels were too small and it would take a while. Regardless, we recommend the trip for anyone who wants to do something relaxing and different on one afternoon.