Drove to the end of the road today. Literally. On the North Shore of Kauai, the road ends…Kauai is the only Hawaiian island that you cannot circumnavigate in a car. The road is a big horseshoe. So I went to the end of the (north) road at Ha’ena State Park. You drive until the Pacific tells you to stop. It was lovely to see the huge waves crashing into the shoreline on Kee Beach.

From there I went back a few hundred yards to Limahuli Garden, which is one of the three tropical gardens on the island. Less of a flowering garden and more of a preserve, it is quiet (except for the crashing waves and ever-present roosters) and lush. The goal of this garden is to preserve the native plants of Hawaii and point out the more than 10,000 “invasives” that have been brought over to Hawaii since Captain Cook arrived in 1778. Add to that the clearing for cattle grazing and crop irrigation and many native Hawaiian native plants were lost.

The garden is set in a steep valley at Makana mountain (the mountain used in the movie South Pacific and called Bali Hai). From this high point (1590 ft), ancient fire-throwing ceremonies were performed. Updrafts from the trade winds would carry the lighted logs, which had been thrown from Makana, and carry them high up in the sky out to sea.

There were also remnants of ancient Hawaiian homesites up in the forest part of the gardens and an example of the Ahupua’a irrigation system used to capture water flowing down from the mountaintops for use in native communities.

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Staying in Kapa’a is really perfect for me. It’s right in the middle of the closed part of the horseshoe road on Kauai and makes everything so easy to get to.

After turning around from Limahuli and heading back home, I wandered around Hanalei (also on the North Shore) and passed through Princeville, which is where the rich and famous have places….Pierce Brosnan, Bette Midler. Anyway, I passed a huge white limo on the way.

Another beautiful day!