Until 30 years ago the main crop and industry on the island was sugar cane but the distance from mainland America and problems with the rising cost of labour meant that sugar can cultivation was no longer viable. So much of the land is now given over to pasture although it has proved a challenge to maintain the grasses that cattle will eat. This island was severely damaged by a hurricane in 1982 and one of the outcomes of the storm is that a form of non-native rye grass was blown in form America. This quickly spread all over the island destroying the natural pasture. Today this alien grass that cattle will not eat is controlled with Roundup but in spite of this challenge the vast pastures give rise to swathes of rolling grassland that sparkled in the sunshine as the breeze gently rocked the grass stems.
Our primary destination was the Waimea Canyon that is 2,857 foot deep. The vantage point from which the photos were taken was at 3,400 feet and so offered a spectacular view into the depths of the canyon with the exposed reds and browns of the volcanic rock – it has a high concentration of iron – and beyond to the surrounding countryside. Known as the Grand Canyon of the Pacific its sides are covered in thriving, dense tropical vegetation courtesy of the huge amounts of annual rainfall. At 1,568 meters the highest mountain on the island (Sorry I can’t find the name) is said to have the highest rainfall in the world at over 40 feet a year!!!
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