Kokee: The Kukui Trail and the Awaawa Puhi Trail    


Native plant garden
In the morning we hiked some of the way down the Kukui Trail which starts at a native garden full of iliau plants which are the Kauaian version of the rare silver sword found only in Maui. It was a hot hike that led to the bottom of the valley where people could camp. We just went about halfway then headed back to the cabin for breakfast.


Canyon edge

Rowshan and Tamia taking a break

Kauai iliau plant

Wild goats
In the evening Jo was eager to finally get a hike in. She'd been so busy she hadn't been able to hike. Rowshan and I went with her to the Awaawa Puhi trail. This was a shaded path. Jo pointed out some native (and non-native plants). She picked mokihana (Melicope anisata) berries. The plant only grows in the forests of Kauai at high elevation. The leaves which smell like Anise but the berries are poisonous. They make leis out of them but, she warned, "Never wear them against your skin when you are going to sweat. Usually you wear them on top of other leis."


Tamia and Jo hiking (Awaawa Puhi Trail)
She told me about the trip to Thailand and Tamil Negar she went on with her hula group. I had asked where Wat Ban Non was (she had a t-sirt emblazoned with it). She explained one of the dancers in her group went every year to Thailand to work at an archaeological dig. The site is in the East of Thailand and the dig is being conducted by Charles Higham who was known for his work on Angkor. They were shown a sweries of graves where Bronze age bodies were being excavated. Bingim told them he believed they were the ancestors of Hawaiians due to the similarities in language and some other things. The dancers did ancient hulas addressing their ancestors.


Sunset

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