Koko Head Botanical Gardens

6:38:00 PM

Kids climbing one of the largest Plumeria trees I've ever seen

One of the things I love about hiking is seeing the beauty and splendor of God’s creation. Today we visited Koko head Crater Botanical Gardens and every plant was a marvel to behold. The different shapes, colors, sizes, and designs always amaze me. What is cool about this garden is it is all dry desert plants. We live on a tropical island but we can still see and appreciate cacti and strange looking plant life from Madagascar. It’s so interesting to so see these strange almost alien looking plants. I can see where Dr. Seuss got his inspiration from.
Dr. Suess looking tree

It looks like there's a door in the tree


The Gang posing in front of these cool cacti


Trees from Madagascar
Some of the trees have some serious thorns all over their trunks and branches. The thorns are similar to cacti thorns but way more dangerous. If you tried to hug one of these trees you would get seriously hurt. I guess in a desert this is a way for the trees to survive and keep animals from eating them.

This looks like a normal tree but it's trunk and branches are covered in sharp thorns
Close up of the thorns on the trunk of the tree
My son enthralled by the thorny branches
When people tell me that there is no God and that the world and life was created by accident I can only shake my head. Look around at the amazing plant and animal life. Every one of these plants and animals is wonderful and deeply complex. Plants, animals, humans, and our eco system are all interconnected. If you get rid of one, it wreaks havoc with the design and things do not run smoothly. 

If for some reason a native plant or animal becomes extinct from the area, there is a chain reaction that involves all the other animals and plants in the area.  I saw this cool documentary about wolves and how they used to live in Yellowstone National park and when they were hunted to almost extinction there was a huge effect on the land and animals in the area. When the wolves were re-introduced to the area the water and trees all started coming back. This is a great example of how complex and wonderful this world is and how much thought went into its design. Here is the video in case you want to watch it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ysa5OBhXz-Q

Cool looking cacti
Another example is our bodies. The human body was designed to be the perfect machine. We breath in air or oxygen (that comes from trees) that goes into our lungs and somehow we subtract that oxygen from the air for our body to use. Our heart then pumps blood that flows through veins in the body delivering oxygen and other nutrients to different parts of our body. Then we exhale carbon dioxide which trees use to live. Humans and trees are basically coexisting, supporting one another. It is an amazing design and not something that evolved by accident. There are too many intricacies for any of this to be an accident and with all great designs there must be a designer. Anyway, just some food for thought. With that I will leave you with some of the pictures from our hike. Enjoy! 
My husband and I
Kids playing with the cactus

Nike Commercial?
One of the largest cactus I've ever seen
Kids swinging from the tree
Look at that view!
The bark on this tree was similar to a guava or eucalyptus tree it was multi colored.
Aloe Vera Flowers?
Gnarly roots and branches
On the trail
To bad I couldn't capture the whole tree in all it's glory
Family Photo
Just around the bend on the way home

That is some serious rock

Checking out the surf




Kaniakapupu Ruins and nearby waterfalls

8:11:00 PM

First glimpse of the Kaniakapupu Ruins


What is left of King Kamehameha III's Summer Palace

This was a place of relaxation

Peaceful place surrounded by waterfalls

Yoga at Lulumahu falls

Relaxing in the crystal clear water

Beautiful bamboo forests
Perfect spot for meditation

Adventurers


Ok, so I have been absent for awhile. Life happened and I have no excuses but I'm back. I won't even try to catch up on all the things I didn't blog about as it's just to much. So this morning I went on an incredible hike to the Kaniakapupu ruins. We also stumbled upon 3 different waterfalls. Lulumahu Falls, Jackass Ginger Falls and Luakaha Falls. Luakahu was by far the most impressive but I did not get any pictures as it is on private property and I only saw if from above looking down. This was a fairly easy but muddy hike. I would love to come again.

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