Hawaii - Tuesday, December 23, 2008

We decided to explore the North Shore today. This area of the island is very rustic and at one with nature. It is quite relaxing and enjoyable I must say. We started our day with a guided tour at the Limahuli Garden in Ha'ena. The Limahuli Garden is one of five gardens in the National Tropical Botanical Gardens and served as a village farmland hundreds of years ago - probably one of the earliest Hawaiian settlements. This garden was quite spectacular, as was our guide, Nancy. She was a former employee of the garden and well versed in all it's history and meaning.
We learned the differences between natives, indigenous and endemic species, as well as the meaning of Polynesian Introductions and Modern Introductions. I would highly recommend a visit to this garden if you would like a quick tutorial about the history of this island and its settlers. I have included a few photos here. Including everything we saw would be too much, but these will capture some essence for you. (Did I mention this place is fantastic by the way?)

A guava tree, pre pluck.

A Hala tree, also known as the "tourists pineapple" due to its frequent misrepresentation. (Probably suffers from a bit of an identity crisis now.)
I like to call this one the measles fern, for obvious reasons. It is covered in dotty spores.

A great view from the top of the garden.

After we left the Garden, we ventured over to Ke'e Beach (thank you Jennifer Whitley for this recommendation) for some exploration. Ke'e Beach is one of the northern-most points on the island of Kauai and is part of the Na Pali Coast. We spent a fair amount of time here exploring the wet caves, beachfront and wildlife. A couple of pics are below.



After the beach, we headed over to the Hawaiian Farmers Market of Hanalei in Waipa. We picked up some fresh fruit and enjoyed some native treats - like chocolate covered bananas.

Finally we rounded out our sightseeing with a trip over to the Kilauea Lighthouse.

We wrapped up the day with a quick tour of Princeville hitting the Princeville Hotel (sadly closed for construction) and the Hanalei Bay Resort to consider for future dining or entertainment options. We opted for dinner at home and enjoyed some authentic Hawaiian ice cream - Roselani Tropics. Until tomorrow!