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  3. TRAVEL: 2007 through 2011
  4. Hawaii, February and March, 2009

Kauai #5

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So, from human introduction, critters wandered off and naturalized into the environment.
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So, from human introduction, critters wandered off and naturalized into the environment.

billygoat

  • It was quite a surprise to me, because I have seen Kona Coffee for sale everyplace from Japan to Saipan to Guam to mainland U.S.A., and don't recall ever seeing Kauai Coffee in any of those places. But this one estate on Kauai, with 3,100 acres, claims to produce 60% of all coffee produced in Hawaii. The other surprise to me was that from the Kauai Coffee I tasted, compared with the Kona Coffee we drank on Big Island, I strongly preferred the Kauai Coffee. For any of you back "home" who received Kauai Coffee, of course this is where it came from: Where it was grown, where it was harvested, and where it was roasted, processed, and packaged. These are truly "estate" coffees.
  • What better way to start an afternoon than to have a nice cup-o-Joe (actually several small cups, since they allow you to taste about 20 different varieties or so at Kauai Coffee Company) and then head on up to Waimea Canyon. You may remember seeing this in the first album, as (in the first album) we got here at about sunset (and the clouds were low, blocking a lot of the view). We HAD to return on a day when we could spend a few hours.
  • Do you see the goats? There are two in the photo. Real goats, too: Not just rocks that look like goats, like the face in the previous album.
  • Here you can likely see them a bit better. Take a while to look at how steep this cliff is. Pretty doggone sure-footed rascals.
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  • Waipoo Falls from Pu'u Ka Pele Lookout. Unfortunately, this old goat ain't quite as sure-footed as the last ones you saw.
  • The white dot above the waterfall is a helicopter. Notice the rainbow above and to your right from the falls. Waimea Canyon is supposedly the largest canyon on any Pacific island, and is called The Grand Canyon of the Pacific. It is more than a mile wide and 3,000 feet deep, although I did not pace it off to check for sure.
  • Of course, there were no large land mammals on the Hawaiian Islands before man came. The Polynesians brought many of them in their boats for food. Can you imagine sharing several weeks at sea in a small outrigger canoe-type of craft with your goat and pig (and probably several other people, each with their own goat and pig)? Goodness, I complain when I don't have enough leg room as I fly across the Pacific in a 747!
  • So, from human introduction, critters wandered off and naturalized into the environment.
  • From what I saw, it looked like the feral goats were a pretty happy and successful group. We also saw some feral pigs, but they did not stick around to allow photos.
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  • Chickens were EVERYWHERE on Kauai. It's my understanding (which may or may not be correct), that they are a more recent introduction than are the goats and pigs, but are also feral nonetheless.
  • Photographic PROOF that, when given a choice, two out of three hens will face Bev.
  • Although I think this one may be having second thoughts.....
  • Pretty much all the way up the road, from sea level to an elevation of over 4,000 feet, all views are to the east, into the canyon (the road is along the western rim of the canyon). Then, very near the end of the road is this nice overlook, from which one can see the Na Pali Cliffs and Coastline. Of course, it doesn't take much fog to require that one has a good imagination. As you can see, when we got there, we were in a pretty significant fog. I said that it would lift however, with great expectation.
  • While waiting for it to lift, I turned my attention to other details. Then, after lingering for a little while, we headed on up to the VERY end of the road, where there is another west-facing lookout.
  • Sure enough, almost as if by magic, the fog started lifting, giving us a view pleasantly shrouded in mystery.
  • Further lifting of the fog and the enchantment continued with the revealing of an ocean cruiser. Someone with binoculars said that they could see the insignia for Cunard Cruise Lines.
  • I think in the first album I mentioned (probably more than once) how I love canyons at sunset. Watching the shadows as they sort of kaleidoscopically ooze along the micro-valleys is truly mesmerizing. You can see that there is still a little fog, also.
  • Look at that slope in front of Bev. This was an almost dizzyingly steep cliff to be at the top of. That's probably the reason she is standing back a couple of feet or so from the edge. Straight down on this side for nearly 4,000 feet! I think one could roll right down to the ocean.
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