Virtual Tour of Kauai #1

Yesterday my good friend Tashi and I took an entire day to "play tourist" and visit the South Shore of Kauai. We brought our cameras along to capture the beauty that Kauai is famous for. This is the first installment of my "Virtual Tours" of the Garden Isle.

We started off at the Moir Gardens which are located at the Kiahuna Plantation. This garden features quite a collection of orchids, water lillies, cacti, succulents, and other tropical trees and plants. It is a very colorful and relaxing garden to stroll. It's history dates back to the 1930s when Alexandra Moir first started to plant her fantastic cactus collection. She was the wife of the manager of Kauai's first sugar plantation.

After a relaxing lunch at Brennecke's Beach Broiler (Tashi had the prime rib sandwich and I had their fish tacos made with fresh Ahi. Yum!!!) we headed over to Shipwreck's Beach. The beach was so beautiful! Lots of golden sand, blue skies, and turquoise water! We wanted to dive right in, and many people do...right off of the cliff! For the rest of us, there is a nice trail that you can follow up to the cliff for breathtaking views of the ocean. Overhead there were some very graceful tropic birds playfully flying.

Well, after all of that hiking, we were a bit thirsty, so we headed off to the Grand Hyatt Kauai to get some more water. We saw a few tropical birds and a beautiful, white swan swimming in the koi pond! We took a few more photos of the garden flowers and then decided to call it a day. As we left the Hyatt, one of Tashi's friends who works there, gave us each an orchid lei! This is the magic of Hawaii!