OK, so the chances a giant lizard a) exists and b) got trapped in this hole are pretty remote, but it’s a nice story, so shush. If you want to see if for yourself, Spouting Horn can be found on the south coast of the Hawaiian island of Kauai (or you could just watch the video below). If you decide to go and see it in person, don’t forget your travel insurance (you don’t need any to watch the video).
Credit: Garden State Hiker
It gets its name from the fact that, each time a wave hits the rocks, a gush of water spouts upward from the hole (sometimes as high as 50 feet in the air!). As the water shoots through the hole, it creates a loud hissing noise. You might be fooled into thinking this is all down to simple science (the water rushes into the hole as the waves come in and is propelled out the other end into the air, making the noise) but you’re wrong – it’s actually a dead lizard.
Well, according to the local folklore, anyway. Apparently, the coast of Kauai was once guarded by a giant lizard (known as a moo) called Kaikapu. Everyone was pretty scared of the lizard (seems like a logical fear to me) because it would eat anyone who swam nearby. One day, a young man called Liko decided he was having none of that.
He challenged the lizard to a fight, and stuck a large stick in his mouth. This obviously angered the lizard (I’d be livid), who chased Liko as he swam under the lava shelf and up through the hole. Kaikapu was too big to fit through the other end and managed to get himself trapped. The legend says that the poor, evil, people-eating lizard is still there today and that the hissing is actually him roaring in pain. #FreeKaikapu