Non-native plants and other creatures

Tuesday morning was our kayak trip up the Wailua River. The trip included a hike to Uluwehi Falls (ironically aka "Secret Falls" but the crowds tell you otherwise.) Having had our introductory kayaking lesson a week ago with our friends in Newport Harbor (Thanks Deidre & Tim!), Luby and I were old hands.
As the only navigable river in Polynesia, the Wailua is broad and slow moving. It was easy to imagine the rivers in "Love in the Time of Cholera" looking like this when GGM's book was based 100+ years ago (Mental note: When I produce the remake of the movie, since the first version was so universally panned, use this as a shoot location.) Paddling upstream was actually much easier than facing the headwinds on the downstream paddle.
In a few miles, the river narrows so that the jungle canopy meets overhead and the kayak "steerer" (me) had to try (unsuccessfully) to keep the "stoker" (Luby) from running right into hanging vines. You can imagine how that conversation played out.
The jungle hike up to waterfalls was slippery and full of lots of flora and fauna descriptions and stories  from our river guide Renee. She is with Kayak Wailua (Thanks Nora for the recommendation.)
Everyone at Kayak Wailua was fun and friendly. We really liked our guide, Renee. Like most guides, she was full of facts, trivia, answers, explanations, and opinions. We'd read in our guide book that a lot of what local guides tell you is either incorrectly passed down or just plain made up on the spot. We learned a lot from Renee, but I couldn't help wondering if she was just making stuff up. I know I would, if I were a river guide.

Renee clearly loves Kauia and is really protective of the island. She particularly disdains non-native, invasive plants and animals. Of course, she's okay with non-native tour guides (as she is from Indiana by way of Brooklyn). Oh well, we all have our inconsistent beliefs.

The waterfall was spectacular. The water was brisk but not freezing cold. Standing under the falls (hoping not to be hit by a falling rock) was a rush.
The entire trip was 5 hours and a great value for the price. We wrapped up the day with snorkeling at Poipu. Great fun.