It’s a jungle out there
Posted on Mar 26th, 2009 by Allison (Photography, Travel)

OK, back to Kauai for a post or two.

There is a wide variety of landscape on Kauai – farmland, forest, beach, mountain, rocky cliffs, red dirt….

Jungle in KauaiAnd even though we know it’s the tropics, it is always quite surprising each time we come upon areas that are “jungle.”   

One of my favorite jungle spots is on the north side of the island, along the stretch of road just south (west?) of Kalihiwai bridge.   The picture to the left was taken right next to the road, on one of those famous “Kristin, stop here!” excursions… 

On this one, I believe she actually tried to (jokingly??) enlist the help of a local cop to get me to come back to the car…. didn’t work : )

Tree Tunnel near PoipuOh, there is a more famous stretch of road on the south side of the island (shown here on the right) – actually known as “Tree Tunnel.”  And it is rather impressive, especially since it has had a chance to fill back in a bit after Hurricane Iniki in 1992.   Man, that hurricane wreaked havoc on the island…  

CHICKENS!!!!   (inside joke)

But even though Tree Tunnel is more famous, it simply can’t compare to the tree canopy covering the highway on the north shore.  This stretch of road simply takes my breath away every time I see it.

There is even a beautiful waterfall right along side the road. Nowhere to park nearby, so we roll down the windows to see and hear it each time we pass. Next trip I think we should commit to park and make the trek down the road on foot to walk across the bridge and take pictures.

Canopy of trees on Kauai north shore

The day was rather overcast, and it is hard to see how dense and green the jungle is without some sunlight filtering through – but these giant vines growing up the grees are beautiful and impressive.  Thanks again, Kris, for humoring me and my camera…

Kauai Jungle

And this last picture is from the jungle area near Ke’e beach at the end of the road on the north shore.  When Ashley and I stepped into this forest, it was an incredibly surreal, unnatural looking green.  I’m not sure this picture can even capture how green it was – felt like we’d just stepped into the emerald city and even we were green.  

Green jungle at Ke’e

Of course Ashley tried swinging on a couple of those vines, but it didn’t work…

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Comments

Kristin on March 26th, 2009 at 4:54 pm

I love the bridge at Kalihiwai. Love it, love it, love it. That whole section from Kilauea to the bridge is just beautiful. I am very happy you got pictures, though I have to say that they just can’t really show the beauty of area. Too hard to capture in photos.

And yes, we DID try to enlist the help of the nice police officer…. As I recall, this was a “okay, anyone want to get a quick picture here?” stop, which ended up being drawn out into a “where did she go?” stop. I did eventually learn by the end of the trip to try to limit my “would you like to take pictures here” offers to places I could legally park…. :)

Nice police officer pulls up in his car next to us, wedged up against the hill trying unsuccessfully to stay off the jungle road: “Hello, are you ladies okay? Need any help?”

Me: “Hello. Yes, we’re okay. We’re just waiting for my sister, who has gone away and won’t come back.”

NPO: “Won’t come back?”

Me: “No. She wants to get pictures of the jungle and she wandered off with her camera and won’t come back!”

NPO (chuckling): “Well, it is lovely here. I think I see here down there. Oh, no, now she’s headed farther on down the road.”

Me: “Damn. Once we set her free, it is sometimes impossible to reel her back in. Well, maybe you can drive down there and tell her it’s not allowed!”

NPO: “What, taking pictures?”

Me: “Right. Tell her it is not allowed and that she must return immediately to her sister’s vehicle…”

NPO laughs out loud, bids us a lovely day, and drives around the corner. Apparently Allison ignored his instruction to return to her sister’s vehcile as he drove by. Or maybe he was still laughing and didn’t say anything…

She did get some lovely photos, though, didn’t she? :)


Ashley Rae on March 26th, 2009 at 5:04 pm

CHICKENS!! lol…

I’m so glad you took such wonderful pictures of the green jungle. It was magnificent. All of it.

And that cop definitely got a kick out of the whole situation! Haha! We were all laughing pretty hard… COP: “She won’t come back…?…” LOL


Jennifer Pearce on March 26th, 2009 at 5:18 pm

Yes, they are beautiful photos, but I’m sure it is even better to experience it first hand. It would be great if photos were a true reflection of reality. :)


Allison on March 26th, 2009 at 5:21 pm

Especially PHOTOSHOPPED photos! Man, if I could photoshop myself, and make that reality I’d have perfect skin and a perfect body……


Kathleen on March 26th, 2009 at 10:16 pm

I love the cop story. I marvel at the diverse beauty in this world. Thanks again for allowing us to share with you in some small measure some of this beauty that you witnessed first hand.


irene on March 28th, 2009 at 2:56 pm

lol and a hehe. I’m sure the NPO went a way smiling the rest of the day. The pictures are beautiful.


Michelle on March 29th, 2009 at 7:52 am

lol to the NPO story. Beautiful pictures, you guys obviously had a wonderful trip.


Kaylyn on March 30th, 2009 at 7:35 pm

The pictures are absolutely breathtaking Allison! You really are amazing with a camera.

It looks like your trip was a ton of fun!


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