Fern Grotto

In February (this post is *possibly* a little delayed, but not as delayed as the post on our whale watching adventure way back in December...which is forth coming!), we went on a trip with the base Outdoor Adventure Center to the Fern Grotto.

The Fern Grotto is a lava rock grotto covered with tropical ferns. The ferns grow upside down from the roof of the grotto, which was formed millions of years ago and is now full of native Hawaiian plants and colorful exotic tropical plants that provide a rain-forest atmosphere.

We kayaked up the Wailua River to get to the Fern Grotto, which is only accessible by kayak or tour boat.  The Wailua River is known as “the only navigable river” in all Hawaii. The river’s fresh water pours down from Mt. Wai‘ale‘ale, one of the wettest spots on the planet...in case you were wondering :-)

Our view as we kayaked down the Wailua

I got to do some stand-up paddle boarding before we took off

Noah taking his turn paddling ;-)

Helping Daddy paddle (or trying to wrestle it from his hands...)

The pier for tour boats to get to the Grotto

The path to the Fern Grotto

The Fern Grotto

 

While we were eating lunch at the Fern Grotto, a boat full of Japanese tourists showed up, and Noah decided to join their group!

 Family photo at the Fern Grotto

Group Photo