A stroll through the highlands

Today is a land excursion to the highlands.  Our guide is Patti Stuki who has been a guide here for 24 years.  She is a wealth of knowledge about the birds, plants and animals.  The first stop is a series of collapsed lava tubes.  I am only estimating the size but they are 100 feet deep and 200 feet by 300 feet wide.   We walked around the edges of the two large holes.  We saw other folks along the way as the trail got more and more overgrown.  We kept seeing birds and bees and Parti knew each song and each animal.  Eventually the trail was so overgrown that he decided to call it a day at this site.

looking out over the collapsed lava tube

Tall long and wide!

Ground Finches

The wet season has only reached half of this hill

100 foot drop into the hole

A beautiful wooden sign illustrating the holes

The wet season has arrived here

It looks looks karst geography from limestone instead of the lava that it actually is

Another fine sign

A native orchid, not in bloom.

This finch had a bug

Yummy, full belly

The second hole

Giant tree fern

Old mans beard hanging off of this tree

Patti following the "trail"

a wide range of vegitation

Tree fern central

Finch or mocking bird

Can you find Patti?  

Taller trees

Another finch another meal

  So long to this trail!