The Island of Kauai is really one large 5 million year old eroded shield volcano.   It has a 15 – 20 km wide summit caldera which is also the wettest spot on Earth.    The caldera has an impenetrable jungle and swamp.   The only road goes up through Waimea Canyon into Kokee State Park and the end of road is on the rim of the caldera at a lookout over the Na Pali Coast.   From the end of the road, the Pihea Trail follows the rim to a rocky hilltop.   Ohia and koa trees grow on the rim, but at 4000+ feet, most are stunted.

The rim trail is at the edge of sheer cliffs (Na Pali) to the north side.    On the east side of the ridge, one or two trails drop into the caldera to wind through the jungle and swamps.    Uluhe (ferns) cover open hillsides.   It is sometimes called Old World Forked Fern.

The only way that a trail can descend into the swamps and jungle areas is by wire-covered steps and boardwalks.   Much of the route through the jungle follows a cleared path with a raised boardwalk.   Any effort to leave the “trail” is through wet ground, mud, or swamp.

Hapu’u ferns are abundant in the jungle.   Tree ferns grow tall in open spots.

In the jungle-swamp, plants compete for light and nutrients.   Mosses and vines cover shrubs and trees.

We saw vines winding up through shrubs and trees.   Next to the trail new shoots extended into the trail opening.

On this tropical tree, roots extended down from the tree toward the wet ground.  At lower elevations banyan trees and hala trees establish new trunks surrounding the main tree.

In winter there are few flowering plants at this elevation.    In spring a few flowers emerge under the forest canopy.

The jungle-swamp is sometimes called a cloud forest.     Mist and rain is an everyday weather pattern.   Mt. Wai’ale’ale is the wettest spot on Earth.

As the trail emerges back onto the rim of the caldera, the trail crosses a large open swamp area.    O’hia lehua was in flower on a variety of lower-growing shrubs.

It is being killed by a virus across the Hawai’an Islands so were pleased to see healthy plants in bloom.

Wide and open swamp is covered in pools of water with short grasses.  I looked for drosera anglica (a sundew) too, but didn’t spot any.   I would need tall waders to explore the bogland.

We hiked out to the Kiohana Lookout over the Na Pali Coast and then turned back, following the Alakai’i Swamp Trail back up to the rim of the caldera.

Back on the rim the views were starting to be clouded in.   Clouds cover the area every day by late morning.    The best time to hike and explore the jungles and swamps is early in the morning.

The Alakai’i Swamp is a somewhat unique ecosystem (the highest swamp on the planet).    Access requires a longer hike in wet conditions, but we return to explore Kokee State Park every time we visit Kauai.   On our next trip we hope to take more photos of the plants we observe along the trails we will hike.

A video of the hike on the this trail is also available on YouTube: