Over the past few weeks I was very fortunate to enjoy a blissful vacation in Hawaii. I fell in love with surfing, the unbelievably fresh local food and the incredible landscape.

The combination of the crystal aquamarine ocean and the huge, expansive mountains was in a word, gorgeous. We visited Maui, Kauai, and Waikiki – and enjoyed a bit of a different experience on each island.

I was so excited to take advantage of the terrain in our first stop, Maui, I immediately booked a hike through the rain forest.  Equipped with backpacks filled with water, lunch and bug spray our friendly tour guide led us to wilderness.

I anticipated it would be interesting but I had no idea that we’d learn so much. Here’s some of the learning and findings from our Hawaiian rain forest experience…

I ate my body weight in pineapple during our stay, and appreciated every bite after learning that it takes TWO years to grow a single pineapple. We came across baby pineapples roughly the size of small apples and learned they won’t be fully grown until the end of next summer.

Of course, there were plants galore in the rain forest. Our guide made frequent stops to let us know what we were seeing. We came upon the native red ginger plant known for it’s anti inflammatory properties. The ginger is used for everything from tea to treat arthritis.

Another cool sighting was the kava plant. Kava is known for promoting relaxation and stress relief. Ancient Hawaiians used it to produce a drink with sedative properties. Presently, it’s commonly used in tea. When I came home and opened my cupboard I realized I had an old box of Yogi Kava tea –  I’ll be sure to have some next time I need some stress relief!

My favorite part of the hike were the waterfalls. We had the opportunity to check out four waterfalls, and jump off two. Even though they were just 25 feet high the feeling was pretty exhilarating!

One of our last stops was a fresh water spring that locals use to bottle their water. We helped ourselves to a few sips.

Our hike was booked through Hike Maui and I definitely recommend them. Next up, adventures in my favorite Hawaiian island – Kauai!

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Beth is a Health and Wellness expert who believes sustainability goes hand-in-hand with self care. She’s the girl whipping up kombucha cocktails at parties, and extolling the benefits of canning vegetables to anyone who will listen. View all posts by Beth Funari