Kauai ~ The Garden Isle

 Hawaii is paradise born of fire~ Rand McNally

Among the islands in the Hawaiian chain who have managed to poke their heads above the waves, Kauai is the oldest. Kauai is situated at the northwest end of this string of green jewels. The hotspot that formed it is still in the same place but the techtonic plate all the islands have sprung from continues to move westward.

Being the firstborn comes with some perks. Kauai has had time to develop more topsoil than the other islands, making it uniquely fertile and agrarian.   

Our excursion took us to Kilohana Plantation, a 23,000 acre farmstead owned by Gaylord Wilcox, whose original crop was sugar cane. Now it's a mishmash of tropical fruits and traditional farm animals, along with a hulu show, an artisan center in the tudor-style manor house, and a narrow gauge train that allowed us to ride around the orchards and fields. 

Chickens were one of the subsistence animals brought to the islands by the ancient Hawaiians in their big double hull canoes. A major hurricane in 1992 upset chicken coops over the entire chain, and the birds literally "flew the coop!" Now they wander at will as free range birds. If you can catch one, you can eat it if you want. However, the natives say the best way to cook them is to boil them in a pot with a lava rock. As soon as the rock is soft, the bird is done! 

The Ancient mariners, probably from the Marchesa's, Samoa or Tahiti, also brought pigs and, I'm sorry to say, dogs, to fill their pots with meat. There were no other land animals on the islands to greet them, so no predators. Not even a snake to raid birds' nests. The Hawaiian's herds and flocks thrived.  

The original "poy dog" breed has faded into extinction.    

On an uninhabited island, if you don't bring it with you, it's likely not there. So the original migrants brought taro (for making poi), bananas, coconuts, and breadfruit as their "canoe plants." To add flavor, they also included sugar cane, kukui nuts and salt to their early manifests. 

Kauai has rich soil and plenty of rain. Things grow well here. Our guide was unhappy that so many new plants have been introduced to the island, things like pinapples, sweet potatoes,  coffee, mangoes, and papayas. But didn't the ancient Hawaiians do just that when they brought their dietary staples? Personally, I think the original "canoe plants" might keep body and soul together, but they sound pretty boring with repetition. 

And as much as our guide maligned the coming of industrial farming in the form of this huge plantation, she had to admit the family that owns it all now allows her to conduct native-style farming on a plot of land on the property without charging either rent or water fees. 

The train stopped long enough for us to feed some of the animals on the plantation. There were a couple of horses sharing the pasture with a large herd of pigs and the ubiquitous chickens. We used to have horses when we lived in Wyoming and my heart leans toward these lovely, sometimes fearful, often silly creatures. I so enjoyed having a moment with this gentle gelding. To be fair, he was mostly interested in the "horse cakes" I fed him, but he also seemed to enjoy being spoken to softly and having his cheek stroked. He liked to hear that he was a "good horse."

Hawiian hogs are very different in appearance from our midwestern pigs. The snouts are longer, and they are covered with thicker hair. The big boars were terrible bullies and if a piece of tortilla was tossed between the alpha and a small pig, the big guy squealed like a tasmanian devil and acted as if he'd be happy to make his rival the second course at his banquet. The smaller hogs defered to the big ones. But the newborn piglets were proof positive that baby "anythings" are too cute!

This young man called us to the hula show with a conch shell. He displayed amazing breath control. Sort of reminded me of the time the DH sang Mozart's Tuba Mirum without breaking a single phrase to grab a breath. Honestly, I could swear the man had a hollow leg filled with air! 

The Wilcox family built this elegant 16,000 square foot manor house in the 1930's. We were allowed to wander through the rooms and marvel at the way the outside was invited in through several lanai's. It hasn't been a single family home for many decades. Now it serves as a venue for events and each little nook and chamber is a gift shop or gallery for local artisans. 

But there are a few items of furniture that tease a glimpse into the house's elegant past. This wardrobe is inlaid with mother-of-pearl. Soon it was time to head back to the bus and our waiting ship. 

We had a short ecumenical church service before it was time for supper. There are at least two retired ministers on board, so they seem to be sharing the responsibility of organizing our little floating church. 

I never say goodbye to Hawaii. It's because I always hope to see it one more time before I'm done. So I'll just say, "Mahalo nui loa" as we sail away.