# The swamp cloud forest of the Alaka'i Kauai, HW, use



## plantbrain (15 Jan 2010)

I figure after visiting this place, I'd share the greenery and tropics.
This is the wettest place on earth, roughly 451 inches per year average.
Or 1146 cm per year.

This is the hike to the swamp:













About 1400 meters looking down at the Na Pali coast.
Waimea canyon above.

Mosses and fern matrix are unreal here.





Regards, 
Tom Barr


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## plantbrain (15 Jan 2010)

Enjoy,

Regards, 
Tom barr


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## mr. luke (16 Jan 2010)

Wow   
Great photos, and that place looks like heaven in moss form.


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## plantbrain (27 Jan 2010)

Yes, not bad skeeters either.
The rain makes it hard for them to bite.
Rain also washes off repellent  

No snakes, or other vermin.

Other things can kill you, some fool fell off a 400ft cliff trying to get something he dropped the day after this hike. 
4 folks drown trying to swim in high surf(leading cause of tourist deaths in Hawaii).

The forest are very nice, but muddy and not what many mainlanders think of when going out for a hike, tropical hikes are very different from Alpine hikes. Skeeters are worse in the alpine regions typically. No tropical disease, but bears, wolves etc, same cliffs/drownings can occurs etc, death from cold etc.

Always amazed at how foolish many folks are when traveling. Hawaii reinforced that observation many times over.
Many people get island fever, and need to leave, they are small places and the same old thing over and over.
I really do not want to live there, but could I suppose. Same thing in the Florida keys, Virgin islands etc, American Samoa etc. 

I have a bad case of wander lust however.

Regards, 
Tom Barr


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## Steve Smith (27 Jan 2010)

Wow Tom, what an awesome place!  Lots of inspiration to be had


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## Garuf (27 Jan 2010)

I want to do a scape based on this view so badly!


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## zig (27 Jan 2010)

Hard to comprehend that amount of rain, average annual rainfall here generally averages 100cm to 125cm just add an extra 1000cm for the above swamp


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## LondonDragon (28 Jan 2010)

Great photos Tom, thanks for sharing, very lucky to visit such places


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## plantbrain (29 Jan 2010)

SteveUK said:
			
		

> Wow Tom, what an awesome place!  Lots of inspiration to be had



I've had the good fortune to travel to windly different places, but I'm amazed at plants and scape ideas at each location.
Say here:





Or here, below sea level in the hottest place on earth, or darn near close to it:




Or a swamp spring in Florida:




Hard to argue the beauty of each ecosystem.

You can also look at the smaller scales:





Garuf: the girlfriend made the same comment when she saw the upturned _ohia_ root pinwheel.
There where many like this all over the place.
Same for Florida for the swamp cedar in some of the plant fest locations I take folks.

I had to smack some folks for going too crazy and wild.
One tried to pick up a baby armadillo, they carry the Back Death.
Tried to run off with all this wood etc. A few small things is one thing, but not from these places nor from places that are inaccessible.

Needs to be careful and friendly to nature and no to mention, legal  

Yes, more rain than any of us can really imagine. The cloud forest in the tropics are amazing.

Regards, 
Tom Barr


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## Garuf (29 Jan 2010)

Tom, the plant fest, when is that? I'm planning on backpacking in the us this summer.


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## John Starkey (29 Jan 2010)

Some very good inspiraional shots there,the place looks well nice,
regards,
john.


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