Get Sleepy: Sleep meditation and stories
Get Sleepy: Sleep meditation and stories

Hunting for Orchids (Encore)

September 11, 2026

AI Summary

5 min read

Hunting for Orchids (Encore)

On the Hawaiian island of Kauai, a botanist named Alia arrives in search of three native orchids that most visitors never see. The common orchids tourists associate with Hawaii—the pink, purple, and white flowers used in leis—are actually widely cultivated imports. The real prize lies deep in the rainforest: the Hawaiian jeweled orchid, the Hawaiian wide-lip orchid, and the rarest of them all, the Hawaiian bog orchid, which by last count had only a single surviving plant on the entire island of Kauai.

Alia is a botanist who has spent years traveling to find rare plants—jasmine in the Philippines, Caribbean pine in Aruba, heather in the Scottish highlands. Now she has come to Hawaii's "Garden Island" to track down its native orchids before they disappear. The episode follows her journey from arrival to discovery, but the real subject is the quiet patience required to find something precious in a world that does not advertise its treasures.

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What you'll learn

  • 1 Timestamped Outline: Hunting for Orchids (Encore)
  • 2 (03:17) **Episode Introduction** - Host Thomas welcomes listeners to this encore episode about searching for native Hawaiian orchids
  • 3 (04:14) **Guided Relaxation** - Listeners are led through a progressive relaxation exercise to prepare for sleep
  • 4 (05:38) **Setting the Scene in Kauai** - The story opens on a tropical spring day with Alia arriving in Hawaii during a rainstorm
  • 5 (07:30) **Introducing Alia, the Botanist** - The protagonist's background and passion for plants is established
  • 6 (08:45) **The Mission: Finding Hawaii's Native Orchids** - Alia's specific goal on this trip is explained
  • 7 (10:30) **Arriving at the Bungalow** - Alia travels to her lodging and settles in for the night

+ Full timestamped outline available in the app

Show Notes

Narrator: Thomas Jones 🇬🇧

Writer: Shady Grove Oliver ✍️ 

Sound effects: ocean waves, thunder & rain 🌊 ⛈️ 


Welcome back, sleepyheads. Tonight, we’ll be travelling deep into the heart of some of Hawaii's most remote rainforests in search of a beautiful flower. 😴


First released: May 18th, 2020


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