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Attraction >Garden/Nature Spot
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Description and Basic Information ::
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Those who neither get busted at the infamous Po'ipu Road speed traps nor washed off the Spouting Horn ledge -- it's sort of a saltwater Old Faithful -- because they peeked in to its hole from the ocean side, can enjoy the tropical wonders of the Allerton Estate.
It's 100 acres of the National Tropical Botanical Gardens (NTBG) that also includes the 186-acre Lawaii Gardens where part of Jurassic Park was filmed. Many experts consider the complex of the Allerton Estate and the adjacent Lawaii Gardens to be the finest tropical gardens in the Western Hemisphere.
Lawai-kai, as it is known in Hawaiian, was originally envisioned by Hawaii's Queen Emma in the late 19th century and then by Alexander McBryde at the turn of the 20th century.
The Allerton's, for whom the estate is named, added their collection of statues, topiary, and well-considered floral additions to Queen Emma's purple bougainvillea and the native plants that include many now rare species. The NTBG runs everything here for the Allerton Trust, and the NTBG greenhouses hold a number of interesting, and often endangered, species.
Visitors can enjoy both gardens and wonderful views of the bay below the estate where it's not impossible to see whales or a diver's boat. Fortunately, the weather is a lot drier here with about 36 inches a year, rather than the record 440 inches a year up on Mount Wai'ale'ale. Despite this fact, there are plenty of ponds, waterfalls, fountains, pools and other water features.
Simply put, gardeners and birders must allow more time than the usual 2 ½ hour tour. Binoculars help on arboreal blooms and the unique birds -- birder's can add five to 10 birds to most life lists. There's some walking and some riding in open-top sampans
Guided tours cost $30 each and leave from the Visitor Center across the road from the Spouting Horn. |
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:: Hawaii >Kauai :: |
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