Mingling Among the Statues at Na Aina Kai Gardens

On the north shore of the island of Kauai, there exists an amazing botanical garden named Na ‘Aina Kai Botanical Gardens, encompassing almost 250 acres of arbors nestled beside waterfalls and where meadows meet the coastline.

A Japanese tea house sits on the grounds along with dozens of topiary, footbridges and even a Poinciana hedge maze. One of the highlights of the gardens is the remarkable collection of over 90 bronze sculptures.

The grounds, originally owned and eventually donated, by Ed and Joyce Doty are open for guided tours ranging from one to five hours. Our guide was a botanist/horticulturist with an encyclopedic knowledge of everything surrounding us.

The choices of the sculptures that reside on the grounds were according to the personal preferences and sentimentality of Joyce Doty. She, additionally, appointed the location of each of the selected bronze sculptures.

The sculptures in this collection focus on 5 themes: Family, Children, Multicultural, Wildlife and Fantasy. I’ve only highlighted a few of my shots here from some of these themes.

The Na ‘Aina Kai gardens, in addition to the sculpture garden, include botanical gardens, a wildlife habitat, a tree house and a children’s garden. If you are fortunate enough to visit Kauai, make sure to book a tour in advance. Reservations are necessary to tour these grounds and you won’t want to miss an inch of it.

(On my last visit, I took over 2500 photos and felt I didn’t return with enough.)