‘We love these gardens; it’s how we connect with nature’: Hawaiʻi hikes

HONOLULU (KHON2) — Welcome to another installment of the Unfit Adventurer. We've done 16 hikes thus far spanning from pretty easy (Judd Trail) to diabolically difficult (Kuliʻouʻou Ridge Trail).

We've even gone survivalist excursions with Naked and Afraid star, Dan Link, and the grooviest ethnobotanist, Dr. Nat Bletter.

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So, we thought we'd shake things up a bit with the concept of a hike and explored a Honolulu Parks and Recreation botanical garden.

Foster Botanical Garden is a special tropical garden in the middle of downtown Honolulu. It has a unique collection of tropical trees from around the world, thanks to its two founders: Dr. Wilhelm Hillebrand and Mikahala Elizabeth Robinson Foster.

A long time ago, before these gardens were created, a naturalist named David Douglas visited Hawaii, then called the Sandwich Islands. This was about 100 years before Hillebrand and Foster were born.

Douglas found Hawaii to be a magical place, where birds were so friendly that he could pick them up from branches. He explored the volcanoes Mauna Kea, Mauna Loa and Kilauea, and also spent time on O'ahu.

Foster Botanical Garden is one of several botanical gardens in Honolulu, including Lili'uokalani Garden, Ho'omaluhia Garden, Wahiawa Garden and Koko Crater Garden.

Inside the garden, there are around 20 trees labeled as 'Exceptional Trees'. These trees are protected by city rules. What does this mean?

In 1975, the Hawai'i State Legislature noticed that rapid development was destroying many special trees in the state. In order to protect these trees, they passed a law called the Exceptional Tree Act.

This law recognizes that trees are important for their beauty and the essential roles they play in the environment. It requires each county to create a County Arborist Advisory Committee to help protect these exceptional trees.

Some of these trees at Foster include the Baobab, which is from Africa and was probably planted around 1940, and the kapok tree, which is very large in the garden but can grow even bigger in its home in the Amazon rainforest, which makes the perfect safe spot for monkeys in the rainforest to sleep at night.

On the Upper Terrace of Foster is where we met Lina who was visiting the garden with her two under three children.

"We had to get out of the house. I needed to get away the television, and she needed to run around and play," she said as her daughter took off to run. "It's just peaceful here, and it's convenient."

Foster's gorgeous lawns and terraces make it a wonderful place for kids to run and be free without the fear of traffic or strangers, Lina pointed out.

We met Ronnie and Sierra and their son Luke in the Middle Terrace area. The live in Mililani and frequent Honolulu's botanical gardens.

"We love these gardens; it's how we connect with nature," explained Ronnie.

Yeah, he works a lot; so, going to these gardens are a way for us to reconnect," added Sierra.

Luke, of course, was enjoying the trees and grass and ran along with his parents with an understandable glee.

"This is our first time to visit Foster," said Ronnie. "We'd gone to another one that we usually visit, but it was closed. So, we came over here. We are loving the trees. Luke gets to run around. There are butterflies and birds. It's just a fun time."

We cannot tell you how amazing this garden is. The trees and plants are mind blowing. In particular, the cannonball tree looks like it's from a fantasy world drawing.

In the Palm Garden is where we met Charles and Sylvia who are visiting from California.

"We love botanical gardens; so, we found this one as soon as we arrived here," explained Charles. "It's a bit noisy from the traffic, but it's a gorgeous garden."

"We love the plants, and it has been very interesting to see all these plants from across the Pacific," added Sylvia.

Unfortunately, we didn't make it all the way through the garden. There are so many plaques to read and so much to enjoy that you'll want to come back more than once to soak in all the amazingness.

The Unfit Adventurer Rating for this hiking trail is: (ratings are out of a possible five hiking boots.)

Ease of hike for unfit folks

Views offered

Friendliness of fellow hikers

Worth the struggle

Feeling of accomplishment

You can click for a detailed map that will help you maximize your visit to this amazing garden. You can click to learn more about the garden before your visit.

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So, if you decide to hike Foster Botanical Gardens, then be aware that the experience for everyone who does it is different. You'll need to rely on your own physical skills to determine whether this is the right hike for you.