The National Tropical Botanical Garden is located on the Hawaiian island of Kauai.

Actually, National Tropical Botanical Garden is comprised of two different gardens on Kauai’s South Shore – Allerton Gardens and Lawa’i.

During the mid-1800s, the garden grounds were once housed the summer cottage of Queen Emma, who was wife of King Kamehameha IV. It was also the former home of John and Robert Allerton.

In 1937 the Allerton’s bought the property. Their efforts continued to transform the garden paradise into a beautiful masterpiece of landscape design.

in 1964, Lawa’i the 186-acre preserve, was chartered by the U.S. Congress.

The National Tropical Botanical Garden is a private, nonprofit organization. They operate three different botanical gardens on Kauai – two on the South Shore and on eon the North Shore.

All three gardens are dedicated to the conservation of tropical plant diversity, especially the rare and endangered species.

The gardens, two on the South Shore and one on the North Shore, are open for public tours.

You can tour Allerton Gardens, which depart from the NTBG Visitors Center on Lawai Beach Road – across from Spouting Horn. Visitors can view the once-private estate in the beautiful valley by the ocean.

Take the time to see the vibrant plant life and many native species that have sadly, ceased to exist in the wild.

Guided tours are available Monday-Saturday. There is an admission fee.

For more information. please visit: NTBG

Any visitor to Maui must visit the incredible Maui Ocean Center, the largest tropical reef aquarium in the Western Hemisphere. This world-class facility covers three-acres in Ma’alaea, Maui and has a variety of fascinating displays including: a walk-through tunnel, an interactive Whale Discovery Center, Turtle Lagoon and living reef exhibits.

The Maui Ocean Center is a world-class aquarium and attracts over 400,000 visitors a year. It’s definitely one of Maui’s top attractions. The ultimate aquarium experience resides at Ma’alaea Harbor, overlooking the calving and breeding grounds of wintering and majestic humpback whales.

The Maui Ocean Center offers over 60 exhibits and hands-on activities. Through indoor and outdoor exhibits, plus around 40 marine tanks, take a journey from the water’s surface to the ocean depths below. You will view the best and most unique collection of marine life from all around the beautiful Hawaiian Islands.

The ultimate display is titled, Open Ocean. Visitors get “face-to-fin” with sharks (tiger, hammerhead …) and nearly 2,000 deep ocean fish like the Mahi Mahi and spotted eagle rays. You’ll be in awe over the massive 750,000 gallon saltwater aquarium.

For an extraordinary experience, walk through a 54 foot long acrylic tunnel, which is Hawaii’s largest. The tunnel offers awesome 240 degree views that you will never forget.

From the surface, exhibits include the surging wave tidal pool – Turtle Lagoon, where amphibians sun and swim in their own habitat. The Tide Pool harbors a variety of thriving sea stars, sponges, anemones and mollusks. With supervision from knowledgeable personnel, you can even pet and hold various sea creatures.

The Whale Discovery Center in the Marine Mammal Discovery Center showcases a life-size model of a humpback whale calf, including several interactive displays. Also learn about dolphins and monk seals.

Each section of the Maui Ocean Center reveals a fascinating story about Hawaii’s exceptional sea creatures, including their strange defense mechanisms, unusual mating habitats and integrated ties to Hawaiian mythology.

If you are an avid and experienced lover of the ocean, the Maui Ocean Center is for you. SCUBA divers can book a reservation to experience a rare opportunity to directly interact with reef sharks, stingrays and hundreds of other tropical marine life in the 750,000 gallon – Open Ocean exhibit. This activity is only available for certified divers. Contact the COS directly for program details.

Due to the international flavor of visitors to Hawaii, the Maui Ocean Center offers hand-held, digital audio guides which

You can enjoy eating at one of the Maui Ocean Center’s two restaurants including: Seascape Ma’alaea Restaurant, Reef Cafe and Coffee Cart, and

Before you leave, be sure to stop at the Maui Ocean Center Store and browse around 6,000 square feet of unique souvenirs, instructional products, art, jewelery, music, toys and clothing.

The Maui Ocean Center has won numerous awards for its top notch facility, including being named the top attraction in Hawaii by the Zagat Survey U.S. Family Travel Guide. Other awards include the “Leader in Responsible Tourism” on the “Top 100 Blue List by Islands Magazine” and “Best Land Activity” in The Best of Maui by the readers of The Maui News.

Maui Ocean Center
192 Ma’alaea Road
Ma’alaea, Maui HI 96763
808-270-7000

The Nene or Hawaiian Goose, is a medium sized goose. The Nene has a black face and crown with cream-colored cheeks.

The neck is buff colored with black streaks and a dark, narrow ring at the base. The upper portion of the bird’s body is a gray-brown along with lighter coloring on the edges of the feathers. The Nene’s bill, legs, and feet are black and the eyes are dark brown.

The Nene became Hawaii’s state bird in 1957. By that time, the Nene were already bred in captivity as conservationists fought to keep the bird from going into extinction. Their goal was to one day, free the Nene back into the wild, and save the bird species.

The Nene is the sixth most endangered waterfowl species worldwide. The Nene used to live across all of the main Hawaiian islands and their population was estimated as big 25,000 birds.

Sadly by 1952, their numbers diminished to only 30 birds due to hunting and the introduction of predators such as mongooses, pigs, and cats.  The Nenet was listed as an endangered species in 1967.

Due to new laws and a massive Island effort, this special bird now flourishes. They roam freely around the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park on the Big Island of Hawaii where laws still protect them.

The resemblance of the Nene to the Canadian Goose is uncanny. But there is a valid reason for this. Surprisingly, the Nene actually is the Canada goose!

The Nene were not brought to Hawaii, but somehow they managed to make their way all the way to Hawaii. Over several centuries, the Nene have learned to adapt to the much warmer climate.

One of the most amazing and beautiful creatures in the Hawaii Islands is the Green Sea Turtle, or honu. These graceful animals inhabit the warm waters of Hawaii, as well as many other places around the world.

The honu have long been featured in Hawaiian mythology, petroglyphs and as aumakua (personal family gods). Early Hawaiians used the green sea turtles as a source of food, tools and even ornamentation.

But more importantly, native Hawaiians made sure they kept their use of the green sea turtle in balance with nature.

Green sea turtles, Chelonia mydas, actually got their name from the color of their body fat. It’s green from the algae or limu they eat.

The exact life span of sea turtles is not clearly understood. Hawaiian green sea turtles appear to grow quite slowly in the wild. The turtles typically take between 10 and 50 years to reach sexual maturity, about 25 years on the average.

Even though the green sea turtles live the majority of their lives in the ocean, the adult females must return to land to lay their eggs. Biologists believe that nesting female turtles return to the exact same beach as where they were born. This beach is referred to as a natal beach.

The sea turtles often travel very long distances, going from their feeding grounds to their unique natal beach. Hawaii’s green sea turtles can migrate as much as 800 miles from their feeding areas along the coasts of the main Hawaiian islands to the nesting beaches in the Northwestern Hawaiian islands.

An interesting fact is that the green sea turtles nest only at night. The female turtle labors by pulling herself out of the ocean water and crawl to the dry sand of the upper beach using only her front flippers.

Sadly, many of the turtle’s newborns do not reach the ocean. Some are grabbed by hungry crabs and other predators along the way. Some become lost and eventually die. Even the ones who make it safely to the sea are not safe. They can be eaten by sharks and other carnivorous fishes. Only a few baby turtles from each nest will survive all the way to adulthood.

The Kanaha Pond State Wildlife Sanctuary on Maui, was once a royal fish pond. Known in Hawaiian history as the twin ponds of Kapuoho in honor of King Kapiiohookalani.

King Kapiiohookalani started building these ponds over 200 years ago for storing and fattening fish.  The twin ponds were named after his children, Kanaha and Mauoni.

The Kanaha Pond is also an important breeding location for three endangered Hawaiian birds: the Hawaiian duck, the stilt, and the coot, as well as the endangered sphinx moth.

Located on 143-acres, this preserve is a stopping point for Canadian geese as they migrate south for the winter. About 200 stilts make the two-foot-deep pond their permanent residence.

In 1951 the Hawaiian government formally designated the pond as a bird refuge. This pond was designated a registered natural landmark in late 1971.

The Kalaupapa National Park resides on the northern shoreline of Molokai and is known for its exceptional scenery and natural attractions.

However, during the winter months, from usually November to April, tourists from around the world will flock to Molokai to try to catch a glimpse of the migrating whales.

Large numbers of North Pacific humpback or kohola whales are often clearly visible from the elevated areas of Kalaupapa National Park. Humpback whales will migrate in the channel between Molokai, Maui, and Lanai. Whale watchers can also spot dolphins, which swim around the island throughout the year.

The gentle giants of the Pacific Ocean come to the warm Hawaiian waters every year to breed and give birth to new whale calfs. It’s best to schedule a tour or charter a boat to spot these magnificent creatures up close.

There are several, seasonal whale watching tours that regularly depart from Kaunakakai Harbor. Those excursions provided by the Molokai Princess are particularly notable because they allow passengers to get much closer to this gentle giants.

Bringing your camera is an absolute must to catch unbelievable images of nature.

It’s unbelievable, after centuries of research and millions known species of animals and plants, biologists are still discovering new amazing species living on Earth.

Recently, scientists from Hawaii Undersea Research Laboratory (HURL) informed the public about new undersea coral and sponge they discovered in Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument.

Newly discovered yellow bamboo coral and the giant sponge are living in depths of between 3,000 to 6,000 feet under sea surface. The researchers returned back from their expedition on November 19.

The monument is about 100 times larger than Yosemite National Park and was created by president George Bush only a year ago. Situated in the Northwestern part of Hawaiian Islands and includes about 1,000 miles of the main Islands.

Christopher Kelly, who is the principal investigator of this project, said the monument is a potential place of many future discoveries. “In Hawaiian traditions Northwestern Hawaiian islands are considered a sacred place a region of primordial darkness from which life springs and spirits return after death.” 

Most of new species are detected at places which resist human activity, as many protected areas are. Life under sea level is still so surprising, especially for scientists.

“Most of the monuments are under scuba diving depths,”said Randy Kosaki. He is the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration research coordinator for the monument. “It’s important to find ways to explore these deep water ecosystems where the inhabitants are virtually unknown.”

The monk seal is an extremely endangered species. The Hawaiian Monk Seals Hawaiian name is Ilio holo kai. It means the dog who runs the sea. The monk seal is a land and water mammal. This precious animal is not only endangered it is also a native animal.

The Hawaiian Monk Seal is as precious as the whole world. The Hawaiian Monk Seal has a round head, slivery fur, black buttonhook eyes, a snout in which nostrils open up like quotation marks, a spray of cats whiskers and holes which are its ears.

The Hawaiian Monk Seal is pure black at birth and then turns gray. Later it becomes tan and brown and then to green and red. It turns green because of the algae from being in the water for such a long period of time. The different colors that the monk seal turns depends on how long it stays in the sun and in the water. It’s normal color is a tan color. Adults are dark gray to brown and light gray to yellow underneath on his belly.

When the pups are born they weigh about 35 pounds and at the end of their nursing period they weigh about 150 pounds. Female Monk Seals are usually bigger than the males.

Click here to see a video of a Hawaiian Monk Seal

The Hawaiian Monk Seal has many types of food for its diet. Some of them are different types of fish, lobsters, octopus, reef fish, eels, and other marine animals.

The Hawaiian Monk Seal lives on tiny islands and atolls northwest of Kauai. Some of the tiny islands and atolls are Nihoa island, Necker island, Pearl Reefs, Hermes Reef, Kure atoll, French Frigate Shoals, Laysan atoll, Lisianski island, Midway island, National Marine Fisheries Department and the most wonderful place in O’ahu Sea Life Park Hawaii.

Hawaii is an excellent vacation destination for anyone who likes nature – whether that means hiking or surfing over it, or spending time quietly bird-watching. One especially great spot for nature-lovers is in Kauai, at the Kilauea Point National Wildlife Refuge.

Set up in 1985, the Kilauea National Wildlife Refuge is part of the U.S. Government’s Fish & Wildlife Services department and is home to several species of birds.

The point itself is a narrow lava rock formation which juts out into the ocean, and it happens to be not only the northernmost point on Kauai but also the northernmost point of the main Hawaiian islands as well. Most wildlife refuges in Hawaii aren’t open to public visitors, but this one is – and it gets more than 300,000 visitors coming through each year.

Some of the birds you may see on a visit to the Kilauea Point National Wildlife Refuge are the Pacific golden plover and the Laysan albatross, as well as the state bird of Hawaii, the nene Hawaiian goose – which is endangered and rare (so if you see one, you’re very lucky!). Many of the birds you’ll see use the wildlife refuge as their nesting grounds, so depending on when you visit you may see babies as well.

From the excellent vantage point of the refuge you can also occasionally catch sight of Hawaiian monk seals, spinner dolphins and even migratory Humpback whales.

Located on the point itself, on the grounds of the wildlife refuge, is the Kilauea Point Lighthouse, which is no longer functioning as a lighthouse but is open for visitors.

Location: State Hwy 56 and Lighthouse Rd., Kilauea, Kauai, HI 96754
To get there – Turn off the Kuhio Highway at the entrance to the town of Kilauea and follow the signs to Kilauea Lighthouse. The refuge is at the end of Lighthouse Road.

Hours: The refuge is open daily from 10:00-16:00, closed on Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years Day. The days before Christmas and Thanksgiving it is only open from 10:00-12:00.

Admission: $3 per person for everyone over the age of 16

More Information: The Kilauea Point National Wildlife Refuge’s official website is here.

“It was absolutely gorgeous out there today,” said Dr. Quincy Gibson, Research Director at Pacific Whale Foundation and the coordinator of The Great Whale Count. “The weather was sunny with no clouds, with just a light breeze, little glare and very flat, calm seas — just ideal for watching whales.”

It’s also important to note that researchers believe that the North Pacific humpback whale population has been increasing steadily over the years, at a rate of about 7% per year,” says Gibson. “We could certainly see the results of that population growth today.”
The Great Whale Countis an annual event organized by the Pacific Whale Foundation. It brings together Maui visitors, residents and Pacific Whale Foundation’s researchers, educators and other staff, to count the number of whale sightings and record whale surface behaviors. These viewings are made from twelve shoreline observation stations. The counting locations are located  along Maui’s south and western shores, from the Ritz Carlton in Kapalua to Pu’u Olai in Makena. Also included is a site at Ho’okipa Beach on Maui’s north shore.

The 2/23/08 count of 1,726 whale sightings, broke the previous all-time record in 2006, when 1,265 humpback whales were counted.