February 22 - Jungle Walk and Roly Poly Pigs

     We camped for two nights at the Ho'omaluhia Botanical Gardens just across the Ko'olau Mountains from Honolulu.  The way the mountain range was formed is rather impressive, and scary. Around 2.5 million years ago the volcano that formed half of Oahu began erupting from the ocean floor, eventually rising to an elevation of nearly 10,000 feet.  After half a million years, the shield volcano went silent and began to erode.  Oahu probably would have looked a lot like Kauai, except something bad happened.  At some point, the weight of the built-up lava made the whole volcano unstable, and half of the mountain just collapsed and slid into the ocean, creating a tsunami that scientists estimate was 1000 feet high.  It's believed that the current buildup of lava on the western slope of Mauna Loa by the Kilauae Volcano on the Big Island could result in the same thing some day, dumping most of the Puna district into the sea.  And they're worried about a little lava flow.
     Anyways, the Ko'olau Mountain range is the ragged remnants of what's left - the southwestern slope of the original volcano edged by a steep cliff facing northeast that runs nearly the length of Oahu.  We set out to explore it.

 Our hike began at Nu'uanu Pali Overlook above the tunnel that allows route 63 to burrow through the mountain.

 The first mile of the trail follows the old Pali road, abandoned over fifty years ago when the new road was finished, and slowly being reclaimed by nature.

Over 200 inches of rain a year keep the nearly vertical cliffs green.

We left the old Pali road where it heads down towards the coast and began walking along the Maunawili trail. 

 This ...

... opens into this.

 Tree fern frond just unfurling.

Another reaching well above our heads.

 After walking through jungle we came around a corner and saw the cliffs on the south side of Maunawili valley.

The eroded face of the slip zone where the original volcano collapsed.

Clouds come and go over the tops of the mountain.

      The trail winds for about ten miles along the base of the cliff.  We turned around after we were about three miles in.  The gates of the gardens close at 4 pm, then reopen from 5:30 pm to 6:30 pm., and we wanted to get back in time to take showers (cold water but who's complaining in such a warm climate ... well, I guess I am.  Actually, it felt pretty good) before going into town for dinner.

     We ate at a small Thai restaurant in Kanehoe-I had yellow chicken curry, Diana the green version, and both were delicious - then returned to the gardens just before the gates locked us out for the night.  We made a driving tour of the grounds as the sun set and the pigs came out.

The gardens are beautiful, a wonder place for local residents to hike, jog, and picnic.  Once the gates closed we had the place nearly to ourselves.  There are about 30 camp spots that can be reserved online, but on this Sunday night I doubt if many more than 5 were taken.

The last bit of sun on the mountains.

Clouds creep down the mountainside.  It sprinkled during the night, but our picnic table was dry when we had breakfast the next morning.

 Like deer at dusk, the piggies come out to play when the sun goes down.

The little ones ran at the sight, or more likely, the sound, of our car.

 The adults didn't care.

Either that or they thought that by hiding beneath the trees we couldn't see them.

By the way, I haven't told you about our car rental luck yet, have I.  We reserved a compact car for our two weeks of driving on Oahu.  (We'll turn it in and spend the last six days exploring Honolulu without wheels, using the bus system and saving ourselves the headache, and cost, of trying to find parking.) While I waited with our baggage after landing in Honolulu, Diana went to the rental desk to fetch our car.  When she returned she handed me the keys and said our car was in spot 101.  I looked, and there was this lovely Volvo S60 sitting there.  I thought, it had to be a mistake.  Looking at the key fob, I saw it was the right car.  "Did you pay extra for this?"  "No, why?"  "It's a Volvo!"  "Yeah, I'm glad they gave us a free upgrade to a bigger car." "Yes, it's a bigger car, but don't you see, it's a VOLVO!"  "Yeah, nice."  So Diana isn't as impressed with fancy European cars as I am.  But we both like the leather seats and moonroof, although some of the other luxury amenities are wasted on us.  However, I'm glad for the quick acceleration and lithe steering as I maneuver busy Honolulu streets and winding mountain roads.