Lanai
- "The Private Isle"
The island of Lanai was formed from a single volcano that last erupted
about 1.3 million years ago. Small Lanai has an annual
rainfall of 30 to 40 inches a year. Most of the island has a desert
appearance due to excessive agricultural use earlier in the
century. Now, there is little tourism, more agriculture and more populated
by native Hawaiians.
Lanai Points
of Interest
MANELE BAY SMALL
BOAT HARBOR - a port for yachts, fishing boats, the ferry to Maui, and
departure for whale-watching, snorkel sailing, scuba diving, and ocean
rafting along Lana'i's southern shore.
HULOPO'E BAY - boasts a jewel of a white-sand beach, picnic and camping
facilities, shady palms, brilliantly-hued fish, and gentle waves for
swimming. Beach park facilities include picnic tables and barbecue grills,
showers and rest rooms.
PU'UPEHE - amid Manele and Hulopo'e Bays, is the setting of a sad Hawaiian
legend of a maiden so beautiful that her husband kept her in a sea cave
lest others steal her away. They lived happily together, until one day
while he was in the mountains fetching water, a storm surf surged into
the cave and drowned the maiden. He buried her atop the virtually inaccessible
rock island offshore, and then jumped to his own death. The island is
called Pu'upehe after the beautiful maiden.
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KAUMALAPAU HARBOR
- a working port where pineapples were once loaded onto ships bound
for Honolulu and the Dole Cannery. Today, almost all the island's supplies
arrive on barges from Honolulu once a week on Thursday. The area has
a scenic overlook and a reputation for good shore fishing.
LANA'I CITY - the 1920's era plantation village all island residents
call home. Cool and quiet at 1,600 foot elevation the Cook pine trees
tower over narrow streets lined with tin-roof cottages. Old style stores,
two local style restaurants, banks, art gallery, a police station with
a wooden jail in the yard look much like they did decades ago. Hotel
Lana'i, built in the 1920's is still open with 11 quaint and comfortable
guest room. A new restaurant, Henry Clay's Rotisserie, has been added.
THE CAVINDISH GOLF COURSE - a public nine-hole, par 36 course in the
pines on the edge of town is free to residents; visitors are asked to
leave a free will donation to help with upkeep.
THE EXPERIENCE AT KOELE - is a spectacular 18-hole championship course
designed by Greg Norman and Ted Robinson, spreads over a high plateau
and the rolling hills below, with a 200-foot drop in between.
THE CHALLENGE AT MANELE - designed by legendary golf professional Jack
Nicklaus, is a target style championship course with breath-taking vistas
perched on cliffs at the water's edge designed around protected and
preserved archaeological sites.
THE MUNRO TRAIL - winds up from Koele through mountain grasslands, where
rain forests of ohia lehua, pine, ironwood and eucalyptus line the mountain's
backbone ridge to the summit of Lana'ihale. Accessible on foot, mountain
bike, or four-wheel-drive, this scenic seven-mile long road follows
the tip of the mountain, affording breathtaking views of plunging canyons
and on a clear day, six islands--Lana'i, Maui, Molokai, Kahoolawe, the
Big Island and Oahu. George Munro, ranch manager at the turn of the
century with great foresight, planted the ridge and the highlands with
Cook Island pine trees to draw moisture from the passing clouds and
provide an adequate watershed for the island.
KANEPU'U - where the Garden of the Gods is located, is an eerily beautiful
windswept landscape sculpted by the raging forces of nature. Here, rocks
scorched by ancient eruptions have been bared and carved by erosion
into irregular pinnacles and buttes. At sunset, the brick-red earth
is washed with a spectrum of desert colors. A reverential visitor during
the 1930s was inspired to give the area its English name because he
thought the giant stones evoked "god-like" images. The Native
Hawaiian Dry land Forest at Kanepu'u is an area of rare plant life now
under the stewardship of the Nature Conservancy. Some 48 native species
can be found here, including the endangered Lana'i sandalwood, rare
Hawaiian gardenia, and local relatives of the olive and persimmon.
KAUNOLU - is at one end of an ahupua'a (traditional land unit) located
on the southwest shore of Lana'i. This particular area is the location
of a deserted pre-contact Hawaiian villages, which was once a vigorous
fishing community. Kaunolu is also the site of a Heiau (place of worship)
and a place of refuge called Halulu which was still in use between 1778
and 1810.
LUAHIWA - is located at the other end of the ahupua'a of Kealiakapu
which also borders the pre-contact village site and modern interpretive
park of Kaunolu. Here in a cluster of large stones is located the Luahiwa
rain heiau. Many boulders are adorned with petroglyphs and others were
believed to possess the mana (spiritual power) of the rain gods Ku and
Hina.
KEOMOKU VILLAGE, once a thriving sugar settlement, has been a ghost
town since the turn of the century. The area, southeast of Shipwreck
Beach, includes Kahe'a heiau. Local lore blames Keomoku's demise on
the disruption of the heiau stones by railroad builders. The old town
site has a picturesque weathered wooden church. Several islanders have
volunteered to shore up the little church for preservation purposes.
LOPA BEACH is a remote beach beyond Keomoku toward the end of the trail.
Some residents fish at Lopa with throw net and spear, as their ancestors
did.
LANAIHALE - from this 3,370-foot vantage point, all of Hawaii's islands
except Kauai and Niihau can be seen on a clear day.
LUAHIWA PETROGLYPHS - en route to Palawai Basin, site of an old Mormon
Colony, these petroglyphs are among the best preserved in Hawaii.
KAIOLOHIA - also known as Shipwreck Beach, is at the road's northern
end, about eight miles beyond Koele. The beach lines the shore for miles,
a wild and windswept strand, and a wrecked cargo ship rests on a reef
in the channel between Lana'i and Maui. Some inland rocks bear petroglyphs.
Beachcombers might find glass
fishing floats or driftwood, and hardy hikers can continue eight miles
north to Polihua Beach. Adventures off the beaten (or paved) path.
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