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Kokee
Oh ho ho! Man it's cold!
Hi! We're at Kokee State Park. Its a beautiful place and a lot of
tourist come here to visit. The elevation in Kokee is about 3,000 feet
above sea level which is a drastic change from our school environment
which is practically at the shoreline. Kokee is a long 2-hours and
15-minutes bus ride from our school. We passed through 10 towns to get
here and traveled over a distance of about 47 miles.
Kokee, a beautiful place, I see leaves rustling gently in the tall
Lehua and Koa trees, clouds flying through the clear sky and flowers
radiantly blooming on branches of the Hakili Ginger, Wolfbane and even the
pesky Banana Polka. The air is crisp and the area has so many
outrageously beautiful fragrances smushed together to make one really
pleasant smell. I tell you, it smells really awesome here!
A Nene goose is waddling all around. It's dark feathers are a blend
of black and white. Be careful what your movement is before they chase
you. We learned that the Nene will not harm you unless you harm them.
The Nene will make a squak! squak! noise, this splendid creature is our
state bird.
Other native birds like the colorful I'iwi and chirping Elepai'o also
greet us from the sky as they flutter from tree to tree. As we trudge
through the various trails in Kokee, we venture into a variety of Forest
ecosystems such as the Dryland Iliau Forest, the native and Tazmanian Koa
Forests, the Ohia Lehua Forest, as well as the Forests created by giant
Sugi Pine trees, alien plants like the Thimbleberry and Kahili Ginger and
the beautiful Eucalyptus and towering Redwood trees. The Elepai'o and
I'iwi are our guides as they accompany us through the Forest.
Sign are plenty that other animal life exist in Kokee like deer,
goats, and mountain pigs. Wild chickens run freely around and everything
seems to just fit together.
Kokee is so luscious and beautiful that I think I'm dreaming but
we're really here. I hope you can visit Kokee one day, but make sure you
bring a jacket!
Aloha from Hawaii
King Kaumuali'i Elementary
5th grade G203
Kai Wedemeyer, Kristopher Cortez and Kelly Ching
Teacher, Leah Aiwohi
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