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making a trip to Kauai in mid Sept. and wanted to know if there is anyone on the island that would like to show me a nice tree to climb!
Ryan Lee
C.T.S.P.
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Ryan:
I worked in Kauai a few times at what was once a botanical garden near Poipu. You may have luck if you make pals with the guys at the Nat'l Gardens as someone else suggested. This is on the very south side of the island, just west of Poipu. Another good bet might be a very rarely visited arboretum that exists in the center of the island. You'll find it on maps. Also, a great place to visit is a botanical garden on the north shore that I think is called Limahuli. Don't know that they'd allow a climb there, but is totally worth a trip.
The most massive trees on the island height-wise are a type of albizias - related to monkey pods, but taller and with thinner limbs. Smooth, smooth bark, not much branching and a vase-like growth habit make them quite a challenge to climb, but they grow over 100 feet. There's a valley of them east of Princeville (north side). Cook pines are taller, but not really enjoyable to climb (think giant christmas tree. Many species there are very thin barked, so go SRT or use a friction saver.
For just plain fun, you gotta do the Na Pali ridge trail starting from Ke'e Beach at the northwest end of the island. And dinner and drinks at the Hyatt in Poipu is probably the best resort experience on the island. Aloha!
