Makauwahi Cave Reserve and Gillin’s Beach, Kauai, Hawai’i, March 2022
Photos of a unique natural area of Kauai, the Makauwahi Cave Reserve, a privately owned park, and adjacent Gillin’s Beach, in the south part of the island, a few miles east of Po’ipu. Not an easy place to get to. A 4-wheel drive helps. This is an area of Pleistocene limestone, formed from carbonate dune sands, and karst (solutional) features. It is very unlike the rest of the island made up of basaltic lava flows from the old Kauai shield volcano. In one area of the park, indigenous Pleistocene-era plants (based on fossil plants preserved in the cave system) are being grown as part of a project to revegetate part of the island with native plants. In this part of the preserve, giant tortoises are used for weed control (sorry, didn’t get any photos of them). There are some nice trails here to survey the area. - Panorama, looking east, of the Reserve and Gillin's/Mahaulepu Beaches, from Punahoa Point..
Makauwahi Cave Reserve and Gillin’s Beach, Kauai, Hawai’i, March 2022
Photos of a unique natural area of Kauai, the Makauwahi Cave Reserve, a privately owned park, and adjacent Gillin’s Beach, in the south part of the island, a few miles east of Po’ipu. Not an easy place to get to. A 4-wheel drive helps. This is an area of Pleistocene limestone, formed from carbonate dune sands, and karst (solutional) features. It is very unlike the rest of the island made up of basaltic lava flows from the old Kauai shield volcano. In one area of the park, indigenous Pleistocene-era plants (based on fossil plants preserved in the cave system) are being grown as part of a project to revegetate part of the island with native plants. In this part of the preserve, giant tortoises are used for weed control (sorry, didn’t get any photos of them). There are some nice trails here to survey the area. - Panorama, looking east, of the Reserve and Gillin's/Mahaulepu Beaches, from Punahoa Point..