Today we visited the Spouting Horn and the Allerton Botanical Garden here on the Kauai south coast very near to our accommodations. We learned the three most popular tourist attractions on this island are 1) Waimea Canyon (visited yesterday), 2) Spouting Horn (today), 3) the Kilauea Lighthouse on the north shore (perhaps tomorrow).
The spouting horn is a collapsed lava tube along the shoreline that turns into a blow hole as the waves enter and the get directed upwards. We saw a few notable spurts, but not the record high 100 foot geysers that can occur under extreme conditions. For me, the deep organ-pipe sounds were impressive, like a creature murmuring in the deep. Sally took a short video which I'll send along later.
Volcanic coastline near Spouting Horn.
Ever present wild chickens were abundant at Spouting Horn.
The highlight of the day was the Allerton Garden. This garden is part of the National Tropical Botanical Gardens, five tropical botanical gardens, four on the Hawaiian islands and one near Miami, Florida. We did a 2-hr guided tour. A bus took us to the main garden along a coastline road, with views of some gorgeous secluded beaches.
The Allerton Garden was a property owned by Robert Allerton (1873-1964) from Chicago IL. He was heir to family wealth from a Chicago bank. Robert was interested in the arts, and created a collection in Piatt County Illinois called "The Farms", now part of the University of Illinois. He often wintered in Hawaii, taking temporary accommodations. During the Second World War, a winter stay became permanent due to travel restrictions after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. He purchased the site of the gardens, formerly belonging to Hawaiian royalty. He and his partner collected plants, trees, statues and created outdoor rooms and fabulous fountains on the estate over a period of many years. I found it notable that they created and collected based on the joy of creating and living, rather than on the market worth or prestige of collectable artworks. This joy still resonates today as visitors walk through the gardens. I found the fountains particularly fun. The guide mentioned that Robert especially enjoyed the sounds of the fountains - this is something that I can relate to, and connected it to the nearby sounds we had just heard at Spouting Horn. Robert Allerton was also instrumental in founding the collection of National Tropical Botanical Gardens.
On yesterday's ride to Waimea Canyon, I was surprised that everywhere did not look like this, near entrance to gardens. Much of the terrain we drove through yesterday was substantially more barren, with only grasses and reeds and occasional trees.
Angel Trumpet trees were a favorite site when we lived in Santa Barbara, CA. They are abundant in the Allerton garden.
This three-pool fountain was extraordinary in ways that revealed themselves as you approached and walked around it. From the far end, each pool had varying degrees of ripple in the water, by design. The reflections show three interpretations of the same subject, just as in art there are schools of realistic, impressionistic, and abstract. Once you see this, it is extremely convincing.
Viewed from the far end, the image of the tree is artistically rendered three different ways in the reflections. Wow.
This runnel style fountain has undulations in the trough that create a pulsing flow at the collection pool in front of the statue.
Closeup of collection pool and pattern in trough.
These magnificent trees with buttressed roots were a highlight of the garden. Planted only 75 years ago by Allerton from saplings purchased in coffee cans at a nursery in Lihue. The garden has the original receipts in their archive.
