W IS FOR ....

W is for....

WAILUA

Come with me as we take a short trip up the Wailua River to see the Fern Grotto, in Kauai.

First we board a large very stable looking boat on the river near the  Coconut Grove not far from Kapa'a.  There's my sister Kay, with the sunglasses, just above the B in the word BOAT.  Vicki's hat can be seen above Kay's head, Owen is behind Kay and Barry behind Owen.  (I'm taking the picture,)

The Wailua River is a calm and peaceful river so our motoring up to Fern Grotto (about half an hour) is very comfortable and we are given a description about what we are seeing.

Mostly it is jungle on both sides with high mountains in the background.  (Sorry the view of this didn't come out well enough to post).  On the way we pass paddle boarders and kayakers enjoying the peaceful river and lush scenery.

On the way, we pass a beautiful ancient settlement on the banks of the river.

After about half an hour we dock and disembark for a short trek through the jungle,        mostly bamboo in this stretch, with occasional clumps of the Ginger bloom among the rest of the greenery.

Eventually we reach a wooden deck with more ginger flowers surrounding and several awnings to keep off the showers or hot sun, whichever is the dominant weather at that moment.  Here we are told of the ancient associations at this grotto and then serenaded with Hawaian songs.  Unfortunately I couldn't easily get through the crowds to take a photo of the grotto itself and since I have seen it several times before didn't push my way through to the front to take photos.  Left that to my family and they haven't sent any copies yet.  Suffice it to say that the grotto is a shallow cave with many many ferns growing from the cliffs around it.  It is a favorite place for weddings Hawaian style.  Much of this area was devastated by Hurricane Iniki in the 90's and the ferns are just now beginning to grow back in good numbers.

We were once again serenaded with traditional Hawaian songs.  This talented trio then also entertained us all again as we returned  down the river from our adventurous trek to Fern Grotto on the WAILUA RIVER.

This is my entry for W for ABC Wednesday, that wonderfully successful project launched by Mrs. Nesbitt and capably continued by Roger Owen Green.  This is the eleventh round of the alphabet and we are expecting to begin the twelfth round in a couple of weeks, so why not join us in this educational and entertaining  weekly event . To see other intriguing entries  click HERE