My goal was to hike to the Spouting Horn and get some good pics for my final Kauai journal of the year so I hitched a ride to the bottom of the hill and walked through the orchid garden to the sea.
It was hard to choose just one picture of these gorgeous orchids.
I got to the shore and took off at a smart pace, the ocean on my left.
The skies looked pretty clear but I could see some clouds building mauka (away from the ocean; inland). The Shinkai, the monster mega yacht that had caused a disturbance in the force for a few days was thankfully gone.
Here’s a link to a GoPro video my niece took which shows my nephew boogie boarding and the mega yacht, the 55 meter Shinkai: Boogie Boarding at Brenneke Beach. (The Shinkai carries a submarine, a helicopter, a 4x4 Land Rover, and all kinds of toys). Specifications of the Shinkai.
Just past Kōloa Landing it started to rain. And it looked nasty up in the hills (mauka). I thought about retracing my steps and ducking into HoloHolo for a beer, but it wasn’t quite 11 am yet and I had a long day ahead of me.
It rained harder.
I remembered a big banyan tree just ahead along the banks of the Waikomo Stream and found it. It seemed a perfect spot to wait out the storm.
Just as I was settling in to jot down a few notes I spied a lone duck working its way upstream. I tried to shoot some still photos but in the rain they didn’t come out very well. Fortunately I did get this video.
I remembered there was a native Hawaiian bird, somewhat rare, that looked like a gallinule, with the reddish orange beak extending to the forehead. I dug out my bird book from the backpack. Eureka! The ‘alae’ula, or Hawaiian moorhen or Hawaiian Gallinule!
Credit: Keri Rouse, Hawaii Division of Forestry and Wildlife.
It is listed as an endangered species.
The Hawaiian People believed that the ‘alae‘ula brought fire to them from Kū, the Fire God. You can see why. Even through the steady rain I could make out the bold orange-red bill and black body. Dramatic and unmistakeable. You cannot see that bird any other place in the world except on this island and O’ahu, although they were formerly found on Maui, Moloka’I and Hawai’i.
I was glad I had chosen the banyan over the brew!
Although the sun seemed to be trying to shine a bit in the west the rain was still a heavy drizzle. The banyan tree was starting to leak a bit. A steady plop plop plop on my hat began to feel like Chinese water torture. My writing pad was getting a bit soggy and the ink had started to run. But I was happy!
A fitting end to a wonderful 2 weeks on the Garden Island of Kaua’i.
Mahalo for reading! We are back in Michigan now and plotting our next adventure!
Credit and mahalo to Melanie Clark for the photo and video of the Shinkai!
Thank you for the trip to Hawaii. I feel that I've seen and experienced all those sights and weather.
You were well on the way to becoming a local boy David! What a great 2 wks you had. The photos were fabulous. Thanks!