Kauai: Hawaiian at Heart

LIHUE, KAUAI -- Kauai, oldest of the eight major islands of the Hawaiian chain, radiates strength and length of days. Its mountains rise in fluted green ramparts while rivers run to the sea bearing life to the land. Nature has had more than five million years to perfect this isle and make of it a Garden of Paradise.

The island may well be the first to be inhabited, perhaps around A.D. 500, and according to some estimates, centuries earlier. The adventurers were Polynesians from the Marquesas Islands, and later, Tahiti. The very first settlers however, are said to have been Menehune, the legendary elfin people of the Pacific, who arrived on a three-tiered cloud. Their prodigious feats of construction can still be seen at the Alekoko Fishpond (also known as Menehune Fishpond) in Nawiliwili. This amazing aquaculture facility has walls five feet above water and as much as 30 feet below. Beside the road near Waimea, are vestiges of Kiki a Ola, popularly called the Menehune Ditch, a finely engineered ancient irrigation system with remarkable stonework that once ran for 25 miles.

An old rock altar atop Waialeale attests to the deep spirituality of the first Hawaiians. Their temples once lined the broad Wailua River, considered to be one of the most sacred areas in all the Islands. Today, kayakers paddle in the shadow of these temples, deep into the green heart of Kauai where it is so quiet, the prayers of the past can almost be heard whispering in the breezes.

At Haena, just off the famous Kalalau Trail along the Napali Coast, is an ancient hula temple, Ka Ulu a Paoa, where one of the greatest love stories in Hawaiian literature unfolded. The fire goddess Pele, drawn by the sound of the hula drums, came to this place above the roaring surf and met Lohiau, a handsome chief of Kauai. Ka Ulu a Paoa remains a place of pilgrimage for hula dancers from all the islands.

The strong hula traditions begun on Kauai are carried on in the many regularly scheduled free hula performances where dancers share their songs and stories with visitors. The hula is always the heartbeat of a lu'au, and Kauai stages the traditional Hawaiian feast updated with contemporary additions to the buffet. Some hotels offer free hula classes.

The traditional life of the Hawaiians was dramatically impacted the morning of January 20, 1778 when the two ships of Captain James Cook, the Resolution and Discovery, sailed into Waimea Bay and discovered Hawaii for the Western world. A statue of the British explorer dominates the center of Waimea town.

Outside the town, near the bank of the Waimea River remains Fort Elizabeth, a remembrance of the days when the Russians busily established forts on Kauai and O'ahu. This, the most prominent, was built in 1816.

Kauai is the only island never to be conquered by Kamehameha the Great. When Kauai joined the kingdom, last among the isles, it did so willingly, in its own best interest. The people of Kauai still march to a different drummer, decreeing that no building may be taller than a coconut tree, and they stoutly hold onto the old one-lane bridges of Hanalei, slowing everyone down a bit, so they notice the beauty around them.

When the first Christian missionaries arrived on Kauai, they established a church in Hanalei, called Waioli Huiia. The little green church still rings with Hawaiian hymns on Sunday mornings. Behind it, in the Waioli Mission House, those stalwart Yankees, Abner and Lucy Wilcox raised eight sons. An eight-dollar clock installed in 1866, still keeps perfect time.

The first of the big sugar plantations was established on Kauai at Koloa in 1835. The historic buildings of the old town that sits at the gateway to the Poipu resort area, have been restored and now house restaurants and shops. The Koloa Heritage Trail map guides visitors around town and past the remains of the old sugar mill; a handsome Buddhist complex; the island's first Catholic church, Saint Raphael; and a sculpture memorial to the thousands of sugar workers who came from all over the world to work in the fields of Kauai.

By appointment, Grove Farm Homestead Museum guides visitors through the simple homes of workers and the gracious manager's house, and walks them through a typical plantation day. In the mansion of sugar baron Gaylord Wilcox at Kilohana Plantation, shops and a fine dining restaurant, Gaylord's, are tucked into the big old rooms. For a fee, a Clydesdale horse takes people around the plantation in a century-old carriage.

Koloa was also the third largest whaling port in the Hawaiian Islands. Ironically, the waters along this coast are now commonly called "Whale Alley," because of the numbers of humpback whales who winter here.

A good place to begin to understand Kauai's yesterdays is to make a stop at the Kauai Museum in Lihue. The birth of the island is chronicled in dramatic volcano exhibits. A video unfolds a helicopter-view of the island's stunning beauty. There are collections of seashells, notable Hawaiian quilts, ancient artifacts and royal treasures once belonging to chiefs, kings and queens. The exhibit of old photos of Kauai are fun to examine.

All over Kauai, the strength of the past asserts itself in the lava walls of old temples and in the fierce pride islanders have in their history and culture.

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CONTACT:
Emele Freiberg, Senior Account Executive
Yvette Mackler, Account Executive
McNeil Wilson Communications, Inc.
1001 Bishop Street, Pauahi Tower, Suite 950
Honolulu, HI 96813
808-539-3440 phone
808-521-7163 fax
emele@mcneilwilson.com or ymackler@mcneilwilson.com 3/06