ABOUT OUTFITTERS KAUAI

The Havilands at Kalalau

Rick grew up in Wisconsin in an old farmhouse at the end of a long gravel road, on a big lake across from a corn field.  As a boy he loved to play on the water in the summers sailing and canoeing, and enjoyed winter sports like skiing, skating, and iceboating. He became a lineman as a young man and was able to fulfill his boyhood dream of being an every-day skier in the Rocky Mountains by working on the road during summers climbing poles, and skiing everyday all winter. When he was offered a line job on Kauai in 1982 he jumped at the chance to live near the ocean and learn about Hawaii watersports.

Julie is a Northern California girl who grew up waterskiing, riding motorcycles, and snowmobiling. She graduated from Chico State University with a degree in Recreational Therapy, and moved to Kauai, also in ’82, to be with friends and windsurf. She worked as a social worker and became the Director of the Kauai Shelter for Family Violence Victims. She and Rick were fixed up by a mutual friend on a blind date and soon were having fabulous times together in the early days of windsurfing, kayaking, and mountain biking on Kauai. As they discovered new places to go and new things to do, they started to dream about sharing their wonderful experiences with island visitors, and decided to see if they could make a go of it.

They wanted to do it right, and began to pursue acquiring governmental permits to operate guided tours on Kauai, and in 1988, received the first permit in the State of Hawaii to run guided sea kayak tours from State facilities. They opened Outfitters Kauai, in Poipu, in the fall of that year, and in the ensuing years have had a great time developing fun new things to do and making people’s vacation dreams come true. Outfitters Kauai was also an initial permitted operator of guided kayak tours of Wailua River State Park and Na Pali Coast, which is a 15-mile wilderness coastline on Kauai’s North Shore. Waimea Canyon Bicycle Downhill tours were started up in ’94. In 1999 Outfitters negotiated land and water use agreements to enable an innovative guided kayaking tour on Hule’ia River that allows participants to paddle downwind through a National Wildlife Refuge location that was a backdrop to the film Raiders of the Lost Ark. The tour group hikes to waterfalls located at the famous Kipu Ranch, and returns to their private dock by an exotic doubled- hulled motorized Hawaiian canoe.

Rick’s past work as a pole climbing lineman and his cable handling skills came in handy when, in 2001, he was inspired by a National Geographic article about canopy tours in Costa Rica, and began to pursue and construct Kauai’s first zipline alongside a Kipu Ranch site used in the filming of the movie Jurassic Park. It was opened for business in 2003. Since then, Outfitters has continued to innovate, bringing together more ziplines, waterfalls, canopy walkways, treehouses, rappelling, suspension bridges, and even waterzips for the enjoyment of their guests. After over 25 years, Outfitters Kauai is still doing new things all the time, and still making people’s vacation dreams come true.

The Havilands reside at a garden home in Oma’o, just outside the Poipu resort area, with their two dogs and cat. Their daughter Nalani, who came along in 1990, is a Kauai High and Chapman University graduate where she played 4 years of volleyball. She has worked as an EMT in Southern California, and recently completed her graduate studies at Barry University in the USVI, and is presently practicing as a Physician Assistant specializing in Diabetes Care in the San Diego area. And the Havilands still go kayaking together every chance they get.

Peg grew up on a small farm in the Bay Area east of San Francisco. She moved to Kauai in 1988. Her love for the outdoors and the ocean led her to a career in scuba diving and water sports. She became a sales rep for one of the leading scuba manufacturers and traveled all the Hawaiian Islands. Although she spent time on all the islands, her home has been on Kauai.

As Sales manager for the company, it is her job to make promises everyone else has to keep. The staff and guides at Outfitters Kauai never let her down. She enjoys helping people on vacation find fun and adventure. Outfitters Kauai is the perfect company for finding both.

Muppy has lived on Kaua’i since 2009. She grew up in Northern Utah, in a small town at the base of the Wasatch Mountains. As a child and young adult she participated in many outdoor activities and loved camping, river rafting, and hiking throughout all of her home state and surrounding areas. As an adult, she began rock-climbing in the canyons surrounding her hometown and discovered her passion for adventure and adrenaline. Later on she began a career in assisting adults with disabilities, and worked in a group home for many years. After visiting the islands and coming on tour with Outfitters Kauai, she decided she wanted to move and apply to work for this amazing company and to be one of the guides showing people the beauty of the island.

After arriving on island and getting settled, she applied for her dream job: being a tour guide with Outfitters Kauai. When offered the position she was excited to join such an incredible group of coworkers, and was beyond happy. Six years later, she is still as happy as the day she was hired. Muppy gets to show people the beauty of her home, and experience their happiness first hand. She loves working with people and being outdoors, so there couldn’t be a better career option for her. The joy she sees in people on our adventures here at Outfitters Kauai is the same joy she experiences by being a part of our team.

Dominick grew up on Kauai and is an avid, true waterman. His passion is surfing but he enjoys all water sports. As a child he went through Hurricane Iwa in 1982. If that wasn’t enough, as a young adult he endured the ordeal of Hurricane Iniki in 1992. After helping his family and friends fix up their homes, he developed a skill for building. He is an experienced carpenter and has been involved in all phases of construction for over 20 years.

As the Maintenance Supervisor for Outfitters Kauai, Dominick is responsible for preventative maintenance of all equipment. His main objective is keeping our customers safe. He spends the majority of his workday ensuring that equipment is running properly so tours can run smoothly. Some of his responsibilities are maintaining our tractors and boats. When ziplines are built Dominick teams up with owner Rick Haviland, Cesare Lucente, and a few hard working Outfitter’s employees. Together they have built ziplines on Kipu Ranch, making our customer’s vacation dreams come true.

Raised on the South shore of Kauai in Kōloa Town, Adam was one of the last generations to live the sugar plantation way of life. Educated by the kupuna he learned a deep and abiding respect for the land, sea, and culture. A fisherman, free diver, surfer, and kayaker, Adam is a true waterman. Over the last two decades He has been able to turn his passion for Kauai and the ocean into a viable career offering our guests the ultimate Kauai ocean experience.  Adam is a USCG Licensed Captain and when he’s not on a sea kayak tour he drives our 20 passenger motorized canoes on Hule’ia River and leads river kayking tours.  Holding an AA degree in Hawaiian Studies, Adam is well-qualified to share the culture, natural history and folklore of Kauai with his guests.  Adam resides in a garden home in the foothills of Kauai’s Eastside with his wife and daughter.