Allerton Garden, also knowns as Lawa'i-kai, is a gorgeous botanical garden located in Poipu, on the south shore of Kauai island. The Garden was created by Robert Allerton and his adopted son, John Gregg Allerton, and was transformed into an exotic, lavish paradise with the help of the Hawaiian Queen Emma in 1938.
Queen Emma was queen consort of Hawaiian King Kamehameha IV until his death in 1863. A year before the King's death, their son Albert also died, leaving Queen Emma mourning and lonely for the rest of her life. After the death of her family, Queen Emma shortly retreated to Allerton Garden, where she planted beautiful bougainvilleas that you can still see now!
The botanical garden is definitely worth visiting if you are on Kauai. Ben and I really enjoyed our 2.5-3 hour guided tour ($50 per person) and we were fascinated by the original garden rooms, exotic plants and fountains. Allerton Garden also has many hidden little treasures like old, intricate stone benches and dreamlike sculptures. It was so easy to imagine how lavish and exotic balls and receptions must have been on this transformed Hawaiian plantation.
The picturesque garden has been used in many films and TV shows, including South Pacific, Starsky and Hutch, Pirates of the Caribbean and Jurassic Park. I am sure you would immediately recognise the Moreton Bay fig trees/banyans that impressed Steven Spielberg back in the 1990s so much that he included them in Jurassic Park.