Lanai, Hawaii - 20Nov2007
8am – Day 2 in Maui, we’re going to take a ferry across to the small island of Lanai. Waiting on the pier for our bus I took a couple images of the ship against the dark Maui skies. The ferry ride itself was uneventful, so we snoozed for the 45-minute trip.
Upon arriving at the dock on Lanai we were greeted by tour guide Garrett, a native Hawaiian, and his 4X4 SUV. He drove us through town, and showed us the local sites, including the Lanai Hotel, Dole Park, (2) the $400,000+ homesites, the library, and church. We got to use the rest rooms at the Four Seasons Resort, the same resort where Bill Gates got married (woo-hoo!).
Our 4X4 Trekker tour was an inland tour of the island, which at one time was the largest Pineapple producer in the world. Now, labor prices have forced the Pineapple growers to move to countries where it is cheaper to hand-harvest the fruit.
We made one stop at the Keahi Kawelo, also called the Garden of the Gods. It is an expanse of dark red clay fields with large volcanic rock formations that look to be monuments to the island gods. From the overlook one could see abandoned shipwrecks. But winds on this side of the island are strong enough to prevent anything but simple lichens and mosses from growing up here.
A drive through Kanapu’u Preserve, dedicated to preserving native dryland habitat, brought us past a Monkey-paw Tree, native to China, and only recently identified. A trip down to the coast brought us through mesquite, and in contact with several Green Sea Turtles, including one tired fellow sleeping on shore (2), (3). Crabs could be seen in the nooks and crannies of the exposed reefs and lava rocks pounded by surf.
Curiously enough, gamebirds are apparently everywhere on this island. Francolins, Chukars, Wild Turkey, and Ring-necked Pheasant are seen daily, except today. Our tour guide Garrett failed to find a single Francolin or Chukar during the whole day – his first time ever not seeing at least one bird. We did see pleny of Turkey and Ring-necks, however.
Returning to Maui I managed a distant photo of a Brown Booby on the buoy next to the shoreline.
Curiously enough, gamebirds are apparently everywhere on this island. Francolins, Chukars, Wild Turkey, and Ring-necked Pheasant are seen daily, except today. Our tour guide Garrett failed to find a single Francolin or Chukar during the whole day – his first time ever not seeing at least one bird. We did see pleny of Turkey and Ring-necks, however.
Returning to Maui I managed a distant photo of a Brown Booby on the buoy next to the shoreline.
