A quick 96 mile overnight sail took us from Oahu to Kauai and Nawiliwili Harbor. It was interesting to see the ship get into the harbor (and, later out) using the thrusters. The harbor entrance has a ninety-degree turn after entry and then another ninety-degree turn past the second breakwater. There was a tug standing by to help if needed but it only had to watch.
I had visited Kauai many years ago and seen the major tourist points and felt that the Waimea Canyon, for example, had not significantly changed so I wanted to see something new. That turned out to be an excursion to the congressionally chartered botanical research organization: Allerton & McBryde Gardens. It turned out to be a good decision. We started the day with a stop at the “famous” Spouting Horn blowhole and then proceeded into the private area beyond which belongs to the gardens.
I can’t repeat everything we saw and may not be able to reconstruct the entirety of the trip as we covered either by bus or on foot many of the 250 acres on conservation research land which contains over 6,000 rare and endangered species of plants collected from throughout the Pacific Basin and the world. What I will do here is show a few photos describing what (little) I know or can remember about them. I have an audio recording of the day which will allow me to reconstruct some of the day but when you are on a walking tour and wander away from the crowd for photos like I do I just have the photo.
This is a “typical” view of what most think of when Hawaii comes up. I picked this photo because most everything in it is not native to the islands!
Here is a black-crowned night heron we ran into standing on a rock in one of the streams running through the property.
One of the many flowers growing in the garden. I’m sorry but I don’t recall the name; its colors were quite striking.
On the bus tour I got lucky. The driver noted this Alae Ula or Common Moorhen which he said was getting quite rare. It was just below my window when the bus stopped and I got several shots of it eating.
Portions of the original Jurassic Park were filmed in the garden. One of the scenes from the movie was a nest of dinosaur eggs nestled in the large roots of a tree. This is the location with a prop surrounded by feral chickens which rule the island.
We had lunch at an arbor in the garden and after, those who could walked a quarter mile trail that took us to a waterfall that the public generally never sees. It’s not large but beautiful and full as Kauai has had quite a bit of rain this year; even in the dry area on the south coast where the garden is located.
After a great day we returned to the ship and sailed away from Kauai. Just before the sun set I got this shot of the ship’s wake sailing away from the island; the last view of land we’ll have until Sunday when we dock in San Pedro.
