On Walkabout At: Kauai’s Spouting Horn

An easy morning trip from Poipu Beach is to either walk or drive over to the Spouting Horn:

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The Spouting Horn is accessed by following the road along the coast from Poipu.  It is well marked and easy to find.    Along the way to the Spouting Horn the road has a number of nice homes and condos  spaced out along a lava rock coast line:

Along the way the city of Koloa has constructed a marker that points out where a popular Hawaiian prince Kuhio was born:

Like the marker says Prince Kuhio was born in a grass hut at this location.  He would later become Hawaii’s first Congressman after Hawaii became a US territory.

He did much to protect the rights of Hawaiian people in the US Congress and is widely remembered and respected by Hawaiians.  Here is a picture of the park that was constructed where the Prince was born:

After arriving at the Spouting Horn and parking my family and I followed the path through some vendors selling various tourist items to the Spouting Horn.  The coast line here is composed of extremely rugged volcanic rock:

The Spouting Horn was called puhi which meant blowhole by the early Hawaiians.  The blow hole was formed by waves eroding softer underlying rock and then eventually the harder top rock.  Water rushing into the opening in the rock in shot up into the air through the hole.  The water has been seen to shoot 50 feet into the air.

The early Hawaiians believed that a giant lizard called a Mo’o ate people who tried to fish here.  Then one day a man named Liko was fishing here and swam underneath the rock to escape the lizard.  He emerged out the blowhole but the lizard got caught in the blowhole.  The groaning noise of air being pushed in and out of the blowhole is believed to be the sounds of the hunger and pain of the trapped lizard.

Besides the Spouting Horn there is another hole in the rock here that makes an extremely loud noise due to the air getting pushed in and out of it:

It also sometimes erupts with water but not very high:

Incredibly despite all the fences and warning signs the Spouting Horn is considered one of the most dangerous spots in Hawaii due to the amount of people who have been killed here climbing out on the rocks trying to get pictures of themselves close to the blowhole and then getting swept away by a wave.  So for anyone visiting this part of the island make sure to stay behind the fence and enjoy the horn from there.  There really is no need to go and be a fool and climb out on to the rocks.