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Kauai - The Garden IslandKauai, which is known as the "Garden Island," is the destination for those interested in nature's Hawaii, rather than the Don Ho/hula girl/high-rise resort Hawaii. It truly is a paradise, with sunshine gold beaches, the spectacularly secluded Na Pali Coast and mist-enshrouded mountain peaks. This 552-square-foot island so epitomizes paradise that it's been chosen as the filming location for numerous movies -- from South Pacific and Blue Hawaii to King Kong and Jurassic Park. Kauai is also known as the "wettest place on earth" because of Mount Waialeale's remarkable average yearly rainfall of more than 480 inches. About 350 days of the year a crown of clouds sits atop its 5,148-foot peak, and the rains nourish the lush greenery that covers every inch of it. At the base of the mountain is a 30-square-mile swamp containing plants and birds found nowhere else. Among the swamp's indigenous -- and almost extinct -- birds are the o'u, Hawaiian creeper, puaiohi and the o'o'a'a'. Thankfully, the title refers only to a tiny area and the rains don't extend past the mountain. An area located just 20 miles away receives a yearly average of 20 inches. The southern and eastern coastlines offer the most comfortable weather, with much less rainfall (save for the occasional cloudburst) and temperatures averaging 80 in spring and summer and 75 the rest of the year. Today, Kauai, with about a million visitors a year, is one of the most visited Hawaiian islands, but the natives weren't always so welcoming to guests. Before Hurricanes Iwa and Iniki devastated the island in 1982 and ’92, respectively, islanders made a good living from agriculture (sugar and coffee) and the military. It was difficult to build resorts on Kauai soil due to its inhabitants' strong antidevelopment sentiment. Recession set in after the hurricanes, however, and opinions about tourism changed. Still, you can be sure the island's beauty will remain intact for many years; the building code still prohibits the construction of buildings that aren't much taller than your average coconut tree.
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