Alarm was set for 6:00, but I was up around 5:30 to see the first hint of sunrise to the East. Breakfast arrived at 7:35 and by 8:00 the ship was docked. We had an excursion scheduled, so we were off to meet our group at 8:15. By 9:00 we had made it off the ship and onto what appeared to be a brand new bus. Tony would be our guide today and like most he was a talker.
Our first stop was the Kilohana Plantation. Once over 16,000 acres of sugar cane it is now 25,000 acres of organic farm land. On old narrow gauge railroad that runs through the property that once hauled sugar off to be refined now carries visitors through the farms. We saw bananas, pineapple, plums, several kinds of oranges, star fruit, coconut, lychee nut, papaya, mango and more I can't remember. There also were pigs, horses, cows, goats and hundreds of chickens.
Speaking of chickens, I don't think I mentioned the thousands that roam free on the islands. Everything is expensive here because just about everything is shipped or flown in. And that includes eggs, which car run as much as $8 a dozen. So people began raising their own chickens for the eggs. Well, finally a hurricane came along that was strong enough to blow down the chicken coops and set the chickens free. The chickens quickly imitated rabbits and multiplied like crazy. They are even down at the beaches.
Some guy named Gaylord owned the plantation and way back when built a three bedroom 16,000 square foot mansion. Now it's a restaurant, gift shop and purveyor of specialty rum. Unfortunately, you can only take wine onto the ship.
Our other stop was Opaekaa Falls State Park. A short walk with no steps took us to the viewing area. No steps. I liked this stop a lot.
So, what did we learn today. At an elevation of 5,148 feet, Mount Waialeale is one of the most rainiest spots on earth. Averaging 452 inches per year since 1912, it's personal best of 683 inches was recorded in 1982. The world has a total of 13 climate zones. Tucked away in its 562 square miles the island of Kauai has 11 of those zones. At the port of Nawiliwili one can catch a free shuttle to Walmart as well as Macy's.
We are now done with the Hawaiian Islands. I was here last 53 years ago in 1962 aboard another cruise ship the USS Ranger CVA-61. I like my accommodations a little better this time. Tomorrow we are off to Western Samoa.
Aboard the Crown Princess
021° 57' North
159° 21' West
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1 comment:
Nice pictures - glad to see you figured out how to do that. Maybe you can show me some time.
We've eaten at the Bubba Gump's in Lahaina and spent some time under the banyan tree eating a shave ice. Nice place.
PS: Posted a comment a few days ago that didn't seem to appear. We agree that breakfast in the dining room can be hit or miss. We usually ate at the buffet - more choices and faster.
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