Editor's Corner

Good morning!

Today I’m not going to subject you to all of my blathering. Just a short definition of an English word, and maybe one or two photos.

I asked my friend Luna, whose wife is from Kauai, what we had to see on the trip I’ve been telling you about. She sent me a list of things to see, places to eat, and experiences to try. One of the “must see” items was “inner tubing down the flumes.” I had never heard the word “flume,” so I thought I better look it up before I made a reservation for trouble.

According to Wikipedia, a flume is a…

…human-made channel for water, in the form of an open declined gravity chute whose walls are raised above the surrounding terrain, in contrast to a trench or ditch. Flumes are not to be confused with aqueducts, which are built to transport water; flumes use flowing water to transport materials.

Okay, I’m in! I looked it up on the internet and asked my hubby if he was up for it, and he said yes.

The flumes in this area were designed for the sugar cane trade, to carry water and cane down the mountain. We got to the starting point for the adventure, and they fitted us with helmets, gloves, cave lights, and checked that we were wearing Crocs for the water. We had our swimsuits on, and the drive up the mountain began.

Once we got there, we got in the inner tubes, and let’s just say the mountain water was “refreshing.” There were five tunnels, and they looked something like this:

We went spinning and washing down through the tunnels, laughing and screaming; and in one tunnel, we sang happy birthday to my husband. The acoustics were great. There is no such thing as a great photo wearing a helmet, having your butt dunked in cold water, and looking into the sun without glasses, but here you go! Flumes are fun!

Kara Church | Technical Editor, Advisory | Technical Publications

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