The north shore of Kaua`i is full of surprises, and the Limahuli Gardens surprised even me, a frequent visitor to the islands. First, don't expect a flower garden, this is the natural history of Kaua`i, including the canoe plants early Hawaiians used for their food and clothing.

The lower garden uses the Limahuli stream to irrigate terraces that are several hundred years old. Some of the visitors turned around and went back here, because the trail started up the hill (mountain) and they didn't realized three-fourths of the garden remained to view.

As the trail gently climbs, you come upon an archaeological site that are thought to be remnants of homes sites built by ancient Hawaiians. Eventually, you reach a viewing point of the Makana Moutains, which was one of the locations of the ancient fire throwing ceremony, `oahi.

As the trail reaches its highest point, it gently descends back to the front of the gardens. The garden continues for miles into the mountains, and is world known for preserving the Alula plant from extinction. Garden botanists have rappelled down cliffs for two decades to pollinate these plants. You can see several healthy plants at the Kilauea Lighthouse.

I have also visited the National Tropical Botanical Garden on Maui, and I am very pleased someone is preserving the natural history of our country.

Our hike through the Limahuli Gardens was one of the nicest parts of our trip. I really felt an ambiance of old Hawaii (and I'm not given to such things). You're given a booklet that explains various spots along the hike. The booklet is very well done. I read the whole thing as we strolled (and, again, I'm not given to such things). We were there in December - mosquitos were not a problem. The staff is friendly and they'll give you rain gear if it's raining. The garden is not populated with a lot of flashy flowers, so if that's what you're after, you may be disappointed (one of the staff members - the caretaker, Charles "Chipper" Wichman? - indicated that he encountered that reaction from some visitors), but the plants that are there are really quite interesting. A lot of the beauty of Kauai requires a hike (sometimes strenuous) to experience; Limahuli Gardens is an easy way to get a taste of a lot of the variety of natural beauty that Kauai has to offer. You won't go wrong spending a couple of hours here.