Molokai Part 3

Highway 450, as it curls along the southern shore, has many vistas beside the view of the ocean. There are scenic volcanic mountains and deep valleys that change colour depending on the light, the shadows and the time of day. Sometimes they are purple and green and blue, other times pink, yellow and brown.. This mountain range starts its ascent a few miles from the flat coastal area. Some peaks reaching up to 5,000 feet. These mountains divide the northern and southern parts of the island. The peaks give an unparalleled view for the odd hiker or hunter that dares to enter. Deep valleys divide the mountains, cut by the abundant rainfall over thousands of years. The colours are glorious and remind one of the "the painted hills" for they indeed look like a spectacular painting.

Sometimes the hills are hidden in a white haze of mist, with rainbows interspersed. This definitely is an island of vivid rainbows. One day we passed through six of them on one our trips to town. Uninhabited by man, these mountains are home to Axis deer, wild boar, wild goats and game birds.

There are the obvious differences in the flora as we travel the island from east to west, from wet to dry. Although sparsely populated, there are lush green areas, the yards surrounded by huge, brightly coloured hedges of yellow, pink, purple and red striped leaves, a plant whose name escapes me, even though I have a small one in a pot, at home.

There are hedges of Bougainvillea, Hibiscus and in one yard we see a huge red Poinsettia bush, glowing like a bright red light. Palm trees, and exotic bushes abound. Plumeria, White Ginger, etc. There are commercial groves of these particular trees, the flowers being used to make perfume. There are also areas of scrub forest, thorny pockets of kiawe trees, areas of thick tropical jungle and in the middle and around mile marker 16-17 is an area we have dubbed "Vineland." Here the forests, the bushes, some huge trees and yards are completely covered with green vines, making the forest paths under these green veils as dark as night. They are both beautiful and eeirie.

This area is obviously a place of heavy rainfall. One day when driving by here, the sky was blue and sunny when all of a sudden we were pelted with heavy rain that lasted about half a minute. Then it stopped. It was the shortest rainfall I have experienced. We didn't even see the cloud that dropped its precipitation on us. It is like that in Molokai. Short cloudbursts with sunshine to follow.

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