Hole in One! I can’t believe it. My friend is wearing her three-year-old, napping daughter in a backpack and she hits a hole in one across the bridge and right into the hole. Okay, so it’s mini golf, but we are having a blast with our three kids on this beautiful winter day. The sun is shining and we are enjoying our day off at Kauai Mini Golf in Kilauea.
The course is set in a picturesque part of the island, just mauka of the highway in Kilauea. Kauai Mini Golf is not just an 18 hole golf course, but also a botanical garden. The garden evolves as you move from hole to hole starting with native plants, moving onto Polynesian introductions, Ali’i plants, plantation introductions, Chinese and Japanese gardens and then how you see Hawaii today with numerous exotics. The garden also boasts several water features that flow throughout the course.
Of course it’s hard to focus on the garden when you have kids and you are having so much fun, but it sure compliments the experience. Half way through the course we were feeling kind of hot, so we took a break and made our way back to the snack bar for a homemade Papalani Gelato, also available in dairy free sorbetto! After cooling down, it was back to the course to finish the last nine holes.
The kids were hitting some good shots, but in all honesty, I think their favorite activity was fishing out the floating balls when they got hit into the water features. Nets are provided for this activity, as it seems to be a common predicament. Oh by the way, did I mention that kids 4 and under are free! This makes a fun and affordable family activity.
Kauai Mini Golf also offers Kamai’ana discounts and for the month of January, Kama’aina play free on Sundays from 4pm-8pm. What are you waiting for? Get out there and try it! 5-2723 Kuhio Highway, Kilauea 96754 (808) 828-2118
