HAWAII - Flora and Fauna

This is the second-largest banyan tree in the world .. it was so wide, the outer branches were propped up by posts. In the little park under the tree, there was a craft market every day ... which made for comfortable browsing.






These are Chinese Ferns and we saw a lot of them on our drives around the islands. They looked like huge blankets of green covering the land ... spectacular sights.





We haven't seen Rainbow Eucalyptus trees anywhere else and they are fascinating. It's quite apparent why they are named this ... aren't they beautiful?








Being islands, there are nothing but cliffs and canyons to see as you drive around.







What's Hawaii without the adorable Bird of Paradise? We found this one on top of one of those massive cliffs (above) ...






This was in the parking lot by an outdoor market .. I'm not sure if it's a tree, shrub, succulent or some kind of dracaena .. but it had a beautiful shape and it was huge .. you can see a lady sitting under it for size comparison.





We saw trees with these orange flowers all over the islands. I have no idea what they are but they really stand out.








This is one of the 'Jurassic Park' areas we walked through .. houseplants with 3' leaves and 15' height, ferns with 10' fronds, vines 30' tall.







One of the local sea turtles basking in the warm water. They are protected because they breed and nest here ... not what you'd call very 'active' animals.






Hardly 'native' to the Islands, these Wapiti were in a field with a young buffalo ... I can only think they were cross-breeding them with the local stock to improve them.