Ahonui Botanical Gardens
- Hours:
Tue, Sat 10 am - 1 pm
Thu 1:30 pm - 3:30 pm
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
4 reviews for Ahonui Botanical Gardens
4 reviews in English
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Review from Celeste T.
Seattle, WA
2/25/2012
We had a great time at Ahonui. Our tour only cost $30 a person, as compared to the $40 I read in a previous review. We happened to be looking for the National Tropical Botanical Garden nearby, but as I couldn't remember its name, I did a quick Google search and Ahonui came up instead. We actually just wandered in (noting the "by appointment only" on the sign by the driveway with dismay) but apparently we had the best of luck...a family of 3 had cancelled and we were there about 15 minutes before the tour was due to start. So, a most fortuitous beginning. Jason was quite helpful from the start, and welcomed us graciously. He chatted up our seven year old daughter, to make sure she was comfortable in the group of about 15 older adults. Luckily, we have a precocious kid who loves to garden, and she was very excited by the whole idea of a garden walk and then chocolate.
We were in an interesting group of people from Canada and the northwest only, so we all had a common interest in tropical plants. The beautifully terraced garden has a great selection of ferns, palms, and flowering plants, including some gorgeous orchid varieties carefully tied to the various trees - even a vanilla orchid. You walk down and down a valley, until at the bottom, you come across a few vigorous cacao plants. I'd use the bug spray that Jason hands out at this point - there were a few mosquitoes in the valley, looking for blood.
Along the way, we had gotten a chance to taste or play with various fruit products. We ate a tart yellow guava, and opened a pod that gave the vegetable dye, annato (my daughter loved this, and painted her hands and legs orange with the stuff.) We tasted the cacao pulp from a pod, and ate miracle flowers and leaves (like the Miracle Fruit...but in a different season. Quite interestingly spicy!) we even had a chance to eat some noni, but no one was brave enough for that one!
The paths are a bit muddy and slippery at times. Jason warns you of that ahead of time, and they do have walking sticks available.
Bill and Lucy came by about 20 minutes into the tour and offered additional comments about the history of the garden. Lucy really perked up during the chocolate tasting, and gave some insight both into the general process and quirks of the particular batch we were trying. Jason offered personality and humor throughout, but also admitted to being a book nerd. Even though he admits to not being a "professional", he knows quite a bit about the garden plants and their history and use, as well as chocolate making and tasting. I had a great deal of fun; our seven-year-old daughter especially loved the dog but said that the whole tour was great. -
Review from andi h.
San Francisco, CA
8/25/2011
A wonderful garden on the North shore that offers educational yet relaxing tours for all ages.
Why do this tour?
First of all, the garden is beautiful. I've been to the San Francisco botanical garden, the Washington DC botanical garden, the famous Dutch tulip fields of Keukenhof and numerous others in Asia and this might just be my favorite. Let's face it, it's hard to beat walking through a beautiful garden built on one of the most beautiful islands on earth.
Secondly, Jason (the guide) is awesome. He's very knowledgeable and articulate. His non-botany background probably also helps him from avoiding being the professorial type who can drag on and on using more than four Latin words in a sentence (my personal threshold).
He also stops and listens to every question and has no problem saying 'I do not know' or 'my personal guess would be ...'
You will learn about how the noni fruit smells like rotten cheese ('nose-on', obviously!) and what's the difference between 'indigenous' and 'endemic' .. but I promise you won't feel lectured.
Finally, they're smart about adding samplers of tropical fruits and chocolate. This creates small breaks throughout the walks and helps you to sustain the pace throughout the 3-hr walk
There are some steep steps that you need to climb at one point of the walk but nothing too bad. We had people of all ages on our tour and everyone managed.
So, why not give them all 5 stars? Well at $40 per adult this isn't a necessarily cheap activity to take the whole family to. Don't get me wrong, it's still worth the money but to get 5 you need to offer great value for money.
Overall, a great place ... you should go when you're on the North shore! -
Review from John N.
Carlsbad, CA
Great tour, over 400 different plant available to see, smell and taste. Jason Robertson is very knowledgeable. The chocolate tasting at the end of the tour is awesome!
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Review from Amy H.
Pinetop, AZ
12/27/2011
What a great tour! Jason led a large group in a leisurely and informative tour. We loved the gardens and enjoyed sampling oranges, rambutan and other various fruits grown at Ahonui. The chocolate tasting was fun and eye-opening as well. Who knew processing chocolate involved so many steps? Other reviewers claiming this tour is not worth the time must be grumpy or something. This tour was a highlight of our two weeks on the island! Thanks to Ahonui and to Jason. What a memory and what a treat!
Specialties
Ahonui Botanical Gardens is the first botanical garden to open in the Princeville area of the North Shore of Kauai. Come discover this family-run garden sanctuary hidden in the jungle valleys behind Princeville. Available to view by guided tour only, 3 days a week, Ahonui Botanical Gardens has a diverse collection unlike any other on The Garden Island. In our Sacred Valley, we grow organic cacao (chocolate) trees, and during the tour you'll sample raw and gourmet chocolates. You'll also taste seasonal fruits from our gardens and local farm. Besides the wonderful native species you can find at gardens all over the island, Ahonui Botanical Gardens has a host of unusual specimens from around the world, including unusual medicinals used in Chinese and Ayurvedic medicine, as well many sacred plants revered by various cultures. In our stunning, naturally landscaped jungle valleys, you'll see a side of the The Garden Island known only to locals!
History
Established in 2001
The Robertson family purchased the 8 acre lot in 2001 and immediately began clearing the invasive jungle that had overgrown the majority of the land. In 2004 they began building their home and moved permanently to the island. What started as a small, family gardening project, quickly evolved into a horticulturalist's dream, as they continued to landscape more and more of the land and plant more and more unusual specimens. With the help of their dedicated gardener, Michael, who has a special, intuitive understanding of the land, their garden grew in scope and now holds some of the healthiest botanical specimens on Kauai.
Meet the Manager: Jason R.
I'm the only son of Bill Robertson, and have moved to Kauai to start the business of our garden tours. Currently, I personally guide each 3 hour tour of our garden and have studied extensively in my spare time to be an informative and entertaining host. While my college degrees are in English and Theater (not botany or agriculture), I have good experience talking with strangers and enjoy sharing our little garden paradise. Over the years I've helped plant and clear portions of our land and now it is exciting to watch others enjoy our gardens. I'm on the right side of the Bio Photo. On the left is our main gardener and inspiration, Michael. Lucy and Bill, my folks, are next to him. Left of me, the scruffy faced gentleman, is my cousin, who lives on the land as well and helps maintain the gardens.
