Harvey Scholar Travels - Rachel in Hawaii

This spring break, I used my enrichment grant to go on a Mines Outdoor Rec Center (ORC) trip to Kauai. The trip mainly focused on recreational activities like hiking, kayaking and snorkeling around the island, although we got lots of time to relax too! My group also did a day of service on the island, helping to weed out non-native blackberry plants from a national park and paying it forward to allow others to enjoy.

I couldn’t believe how absolutely beautiful the island was, and it was a great change of pace from being at Mines. I think this trip did a great job of giving me a break academically while still allowing to push myself physically and mentally. We even got to see tons of wildlife – like the Hawaiian monk seal that came to sunbathe on the beach where we were snorkeling, or a whale and her calf hanging out in the ocean. I really appreciated how everyone respected the wildlife on the island, whether that meant giving animals a wide berth or not going off the hiking trails.

My absolute favorite part of the trip was taking a raft ride on the ocean up the western coast of the island. The boat was a lot smaller than any of us were expecting, but it made for a super exciting ride! Our guide told us tons about the history of Kauai in between navigating the wakes of the ocean, and she was able to sail us into a few sea caves hollowed out by the surf. She even spotted a pod of spinner dolphins at one point, and took us over to check them out. She explained that nobody has been able to keep spinner dolphins in captivity since they become self-destructive when captured, and so I thought it was amazing to see an animal in the wild that I may never get to see again.

Overall, this was an absolutely amazing trip that wouldn’t have been possible without the generosity of the Harvey family.  I was able to experience so much on this trip, and am so grateful to have this opportunity!