LAWA‘I — Many local residents may not realize this, but Kaua‘i is the headquarters of the only congressionally chartered botanical gardens in the nation. And as a priceless bonus, the National Tropical Botanical Gardens offers free tours to island residents
LAWA‘I — Many local residents may not realize this, but Kaua‘i is the headquarters of the only congressionally chartered botanical gardens in the nation.
And as a priceless bonus, the National Tropical Botanical Gardens offers free tours to island residents on its two Lawa‘i gardens every Sunday, which they call ‘Ohana Day.
The 80-acre Allerton Garden, at the bottom of Lawa‘i Valley, starts taking visitors at 9 p.m. The McBryde Garden, on a roughly 200-acre property north of Allerton, starts taking visitors a little later, at 9:30 a.m.
The entrance to both gardens is at the NTBG visitor center across Spouting Horn in Po‘ipu. It is there that a tram takes up garden visitors.
“Allerton is a former private estate, with statuary, fountains, water fixtures mixed with tropical plants,” said Janet Leopold, director of communications at NTBG. “McBryde is our main conservation garden. It’s got a lot of endangered plants, some of them are extinct in the wild.”
The tour at Allerton is guided and is done while riding a tram, and last about two-and-a-half hours, according to Leopold. Sunday’s tours begin at 9 a.m., 10 a.m., 1 p.m. and 2 p.m. This tour can accommodate 20 to 24 people at a time.
McBryde tours are self-guided and done by walking the gardens. But to get to the gardens, visitors must ride a tram, which also accommodates 20 to 24 people at a time.
The first tram leaves at 9:30 a.m., and then again on every hour after that until 2:30 p.m.
The walking tours cover about 25 acres in the garden, and must be completed by 4 p.m.
“It’s an amazing view,” said Leopold, adding that visitors to both gardens are a mix of residents and tourists.
“Residents are becoming more and more aware of it.”
NTBG recently secured a set of permits at the Kaua‘i Planning Commission to proceed with a variety of projects, including adding food services, improving bridges and gardens, and paving roads and paths to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Leopold said to bring a driver’s license for proof of residency.
Reservations for Allerton are required and for McBryde it’s optional. Reservations for both gardens can be made by calling 742-2623.
