rainForest

MAUI's Rain Forest

Only 500 acres left. Years ago a Maui chief sold the rest to the English
The Sandal wood trees are very hard and special so the're in high demand.
Now it's privately owned. They are trying to expand it.
These trees take 100's of years to grow

Gettin there was half the fun

Contaminating the Forest

Click on picture to enlarge

The surrounding area is almost a desert. Humid air drifts down from Haleakala. This humidity condenses on the trees and slowly drips down to the ferns and other under growth. This under growth traps the moisture that provides the nourishment for the rain forest to exist. The trees produce seeds that land on the ferns where they sprout and begin to grow. As these seedlings grow their roots reach out to the soil below. This produces trees that look like their growing on stilts or perhaps frozen in time while they were tiptoeing to their favorite location. A balance that once disrupted is hard to rejuvenate and may never return.

The pictures are from an ATV tour we enjoyed
to access their site