1,000 Places to See in the U.S.A. & Canada Before You Die (112 page)

A Diver’s Garden in the Sea

Maui, Hawaii

Midway between Maui’s south shore and the uninhabited island of Kaho’olawe is the tiny islet of Molokini. Viewed from Maui, the islet looks like the partial wall of a collapsed volcanic crater. Up close
, you discover that below the 150-foot wall, in a semicircular crater, there exists an underwater park teeming with coral life and reef fish. You can glimpse enormous, graceful manta rays here, as well as colorful schools of butterfly fish, spotted puffer fish, and moray eels hiding in the crannies of the rubble. Big cauliflower corals cling tenaciously to the wall of the crater, which is dotted with crevices that provide homes for lobsters, crabs, octopuses, and several species of the fascinating, sometimes psychedelically colored nudibranchs, or sea slugs. Scuba divers
love the deep side of the islet, where they can descend as far as 350 feet and see pelagic fish (big tuna, mahimahi, jack trevally, and wahoo) cruise by, as well as schools of dolphins and an occasional shark. At greater depths, divers can spot rare black-coral trees.

In the morning hours, when Maui’s 10,000-foot Haleakala Volcano acts as a wind block, Molokini is a hive of sail and powerboats carrying snorkelers and divers. Marine park status makes it illegal to take anything, fish or coral, from the waters. Above the surface, Molokini is a bird sanctuary, so stepping ashore is forbidden—not that that would be easy since the rock wall falls directly into the shallow inlet cove. There are neither beaches nor much of anything else save the only man-made structure on the island, a navigational aid known as the Molokini Light.

The partially exposed volcanic crater wall of Molokini is shaped like a crescent moon.

W
HERE
: 5 miles off Maui’s southwest coast.
H
OW
: Trilogy Charters (tel 888-MAUI-800 or 808-TRILOGY;
www.sailtrilogy.com
) sails catamarans out of Ma’alaea Harbor and a marine naturalist leads guests on a snorkel tour.
Cost:
$110 for half-day, includes equipment.
B
EST TIME
: morning, before the trade winds pick up around noon.

Timeless Hawaii

Hawaii

Blessed with lush vegetation and carved by eons of pounding waves and driving rain that produced the world’s tallest sea cliffs and some of Hawaii’s longest waterfalls, Molokai is Mother Nature’s wild and uninhibited work of
art and one of Hawaii’s least developed places. Fewer than 7,500 people live on the 10-by-38-mile island, a great many of them native Hawaiians who maintain a traditional lifestyle—fishing, hunting, and otherwise living from the land. You won’t find traffic lights or fast-food restaurants here, so come to relax and recharge by spending your days hiking, kayaking, fishing, snorkeling, walking on stretches of pristine white sand beaches, or just chilling out in a hammock.

The sleepy main town of Kaunakakai lies in the center of the island’s south side; to the east, mostly lush tropical forest and a coast lined with sandy coves betray few or no signs of tourism. The dry west end is home to the 65,000-acre Molokai Ranch, which made a switch from cattle ranching to ecotourism and now offers accommodations in a luxurious 22-room grand lodge and an upscale camping site. Guests at the ranch’s Beach Village stay in “tentalows,” safari-type canvas tents mounted on wooden platforms, with queen or twin beds, ceiling fans, solar-powered lights, private bathrooms with composting toilets, and solar hot-water showers. Kind of like
camping, only super-luxurious, with a private beach and daily maid service.

Isolated on the north side of the island is the Kalaupapa Peninsula, a small tongue of land surrounded on three sides by the ocean and on the fourth by forbidding cliffs, where Father Damien, a young Belgian priest, arrived in 1873 to minister to natives stricken with Hansen’s disease (leprosy), until his death from the disease 16 years later. Today the peninsula is a National Historic Park, where a few lepers still reside voluntarily (it ceased being a leper colony in 1969). You can’t explore on your own, but a guided tour stops at Father Damien’s St. Philomena Church, a museum/crafts shop in the village, and Judd Park on the Kalawao side, overlooking sea cliffs and waterfalls, dramatic ocean rock formations, and crashing surf. Visitors get here on foot (a strenuous hike, especially on the return), by small plane, or by mule. The Molokai Mule Ride begins at the top of 1,600-foot sea cliffs, which the sure-footed mules traverse slowly through 26 switchbacks.

The fifth largest Hawaiian island, Molokai was created from two volcanoes.

W
HERE
: 9 miles northwest of Maui.
M
OLOKAI
R
ANCH
: Maunaloa. Tel 888-627-8082 or 808-660-2824;
www.molokairanch.com
.
Cost:
lodge from $418; tentalows from $288.
K
ALAUPAPA
N
ATIONAL
H
ISTORIC
P
ARK
: Tel 808-567-6802;
www.nps.gov/kala
.
M
OLOKAI
M
ULE
R
IDE
: Kualapu’u. Tel 800-567-7550 or 808-567-6088;
www.muleride.com
.
Cost:
$165, includes guided tour and lunch.
B
EST TIME
: 3rd Sat in May for the Molokai Ka Hula Piko (
www.molokaihawaii.com
), a day-long celebration of the hula, at Papohaku Beach Park on the west end.

A Legendary Repository of Polynesiana

Honolulu, O’ahu, Hawaii

O’ahu (“the gathering place”) has been a magnet for tourists at least since the days of Hawaii’s last kings, and it’s easy to see why when you consider the daily rainbows that arch over its 140 beaches, the thundering waterfalls
that cascade into crystal blue lagoons, and the perfect waves that roll steadily to shore. Today the 600-square-mile island is Hawaii’s urban center, state capital, nightlife and shopping mecca, commercial and culinary hub, and cultural hot spot. For the greatest repository of Hawaiian history and lore, spend a few hours at Honolulu’s Bishop Museum, founded in 1889 by Charles Reed Bishop in honor of his late wife, Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop (last descendant of the royal Kamehameha lineage). The multibuilding museum contains the world’s greatest collection of natural and cultural artifacts from Hawaii and the Pacific, as well as a high-tech 16,500-square-foot Science Adventure Center specializing in oceanography, biodiversity, and volcanology. It even has its own man-made volcano.

The core of the museum’s collection is Princess Pauahi’s own collection of artifacts and
royal family heirlooms, which she asked be displayed in a museum “to enrich and delight” the people of Hawaii. With a host of items added since its opening, the museum is jam-packed with acquisitions—from insect specimens and ceremonial spears to calabashes and old photos of topless hula dancers, plus the last grass shack in Hawaii, pre-industrial Polynesian art, and even the 50-foot skeleton of a sperm whale. Museum programs include hula performances and workshops in Hawaiian crafts such as lei making, feather working, and quilting. For a look at spectacular holdings such as the ancient feather cloak of King Kamehameha and other items not shown to the general public, take the “Behind the Scenes Tour” offered weekdays. In summer, the Bishop offers the Moonlight Mele (song), a series of three monthly concerts featuring some of Hawaii’s top musicians performing on the museum’s expansive lawn.

The Bishop Museum is the largest museum in Hawaii.

W
HERE
: 5 miles from Waikiki; 1525 Bernice St. Tel 808-847-3511;
www.bishopmuseum.org
.
B
EST TIMES
: June–Aug for the Moonlight Mele concert series.

Ascending an Island

Honolulu, O’ahu, Hawaii

Of all the state’s volcanoes, the one that symbolizes Hawaii most famously is Diamond Head, an ancient volcanic cone rising at the end of Waikiki Beach to create a timeless image, especially under a night sky full of
stars and a glowing full moon. In olden days, when it was known as Le’ahi (the shape of the crater rim resembles the brow of an ahi, or tuna), Diamond Head was considered a sacred spot: Hi’iaka, sister of the fire goddess Pele, was said to have named it, and King Kamehameha offered human sacrifices at a temple on the crater’s western slope. Early Hawaiians built fires on the top as a navigational aid for canoes traveling along O’ahu’s south shore, a function now provided by the Diamond Head Light, built in 1917. The name “Diamond Head” dates to the 1800s, when British sailors digging around in the crater found what they thought were diamonds. They rushed into Honolulu with their newfound treasure, only to discover that the “diamonds” were really worthless calcite crystals—but the name stuck.

Diamond Head crater offers an unparalleled 360-degree view of O’ahu and other surrounding areas.

Visitors can reach the 760-foot summit of Honolulu’s number one landmark on foot, via a relatively short (1.5-mile) but steep walking
path. The round-trip takes about an hour and a half, and the stunning 360-degree views of O’ahu—and on a clear day, Molokai and Maui—are well worth it. With keen eyes (or binoculars), you might even spot the occasional whale. The trail begins at the Diamond Head Crater parking lot and proceeds uphill along a paved walkway with handrails. You’ll pass old gun emplacements and tunnels, a legacy of Diamond Head’s use as part of the military’s Pacific defense network. Several steps take you up to the top observation post on Point Le’ahi. About half the path is paved or made into stairs, but even though it’s not wilderness, visitors should be prepared with good walking shoes and plenty of water. And expect to see legions of other hikers—this is one of the most popular walks in all Hawaii. You’ll understand why when you get to the top.