The gift of a tropical garden to the world has resulted in an oasis known by some as the Garden of Eden.
Patterned orchids, tropical fruits, exotic ginger and brilliantly coloured plants fill the Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden on the Big Island, Hawaii, the giant flowers and shades of green creating a haven of peace and colour.
Visitors wax lyrical and botanical as they heap praise on what they describe as paradise.
"This is what the Garden of Eden must have looked like," says a comment on a board at the garden’s entrance.
"The garden sits beside a restless sea. It provides peace for the creatures and plants of the world," says another.
The initial 6.8ha property was discovered by Dan Lutkenhouse in 1977 while he was on holiday with his wife Pauline. Mr Lutkenhouse purchased the land for its seclusion and beauty, not knowing what to do with it and quickly abandoning ideas for a commercial venture which would destroy the natural environment.
Instead he decided to establish a botanical garden to preserve the valley forever, selling his 40-year-old trucking business in San Francisco and moving to the Big Island to devote himself to developing the garden.
Every day for eight years, Mr Lutkenhouse — with no formal botanical training — went into the jungle garden, working with his assistant Terry Takiue and two helpers by hand with cane knives, sickles, picks, shovels and a chainsaw to clear paths. The work continued seven days a week until the garden opened to the public in 1984.
To protect the garden site, the Lutkenhouses established a non-profit corporation and took legal steps to ensure the land would never be sold or commercially developed; they later bought another 8ha of land. In 1995, they donated the 14.8ha of land to the Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden.
Now visitors can walk well-kept paths to see more than 2000 species, representing more than 125 families and 750 genera.
An entrance boardwalk passes alongside triffid-like 'Glowing Orb' Zingiber spectabile, and basket ferns, flame-red anthurium and hanging lobster claw all glisten with tropical rain.
The different trails in the garden take you to places such as the palm jungle trail, Onomea waterfalls, a lily lake, Founders Birdhouse and a guava tree vista.
Jackfruit, mangoes, cashew, sugar apple and breadfruit all thrive in the garden’s volcanic soil and there are dozens of varieties of ginger: peacock ginger, chocolate ball ginger, Thai galangal all remind of the exotic nature of the garden. Some trails take you to overlook Onomea Bay, another passes a giant monkeypod tree.
The garden’s formal mission is to serve as a nature preserve and sanctuary, a living seed bank and a study centre for trees and plants of the tropical world. The garden is dedicated to educating people about the plight of the world’s rainforests, and working to preserve as many species as possible for the benefit of future generations.
As you leave (or enter), the garden’s shop sells seeds and/or cuttings of orchids, plumeria, ginger, birds of paradise, macadamia and fruit such as passionfruit and guava.
Frustratingly, they of course cannot be brought back to New Zealand. But all the more reason to head to the tropics to see the plants in their natural habitat.
- Pam Jones travelled with the assistance of Hawaiian Airlines, the Island of Hawaii Visitors Bureau and Hertz Rental Cars.
If you go
• The Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden is located about 11km north of Hilo on the Big Island of Hawaii. If you are visiting Hawaii on a cruise ship, garden staff can pick you up at the pier!
• Hawaii Airlines flies three times a week from Auckland to Honolulu, and has more than 170 daily flights from Honolulu to neighbouring islands. The airline, which allows two 32kg bags, also flies from Honolulu direct to 11 cities on the United States mainland.
• The Big Island, officially known as Hawaii Island, is the largest in the Hawaiian archipelago. It is easy and safe to drive around. Hertz Rental Cars has a depot at the Big Island airport.
• For more information, go to:
- www.gohawaii.com/nz/big-island
- www.hertz.com/p/car-rental/united-states/hawaii
- htbg.com
