cblaisd

I am sometimes asked "Where do folks who live in Hawai`i go on vacation?" Well, lots of them go to Las Vegas, of course (HA has a 2:45am LAS-HNL flight that they market to those who want to either visit family, vacation, or stay late at the tables and still get home in time to go to work on Monday ). But inter-island vacations are popular too, especially when accomodations can be had cheaply (as for us). Mrs. cblaisd and I had wanted to visit Moloka`i and when a friend offered the old family home (the family has 150 year roots on the island), we jumped at the chance.

Moloka`i is served by IslandAir (WP), Pacific Wings Express (aka Mokulele Air) and George's Aviation. One can redeem 5K UA miles for a round-trip interisland flight on either WP or AQ. (Still the best bargain in awards out there. It's less of a bargain, of course, with the inter-island fare wars of the last year, but MKK is not usually one of the ones that is cheap. Moreover, AQ's and WP's mileage tracking is so kapakahi that you can often put in your UA MP# into the PNR and end up getting 1K miles for the round trip, making the net cost 4K). (And, if on WP, you can put in your HA FF # and get HA miles even on an award ticket). I had been looking to do the round-trip on WP, therefore. Outbound, the routing is either ITO-KOA-OGG-HNL-MKK (a lot of flying for a destination 150 or so straight line miles away) or ITO-OGG-HNL-MKK. Unfortunately, while the HNL-MKK leg had award seats, the ex-ITO legs did not. So I went ahead and booked an open jaw award reservation on WP HNL-MKK and then MKK-ITO (makes a stop at OGG but same plane onwards to ITO). I then watched HA for its sales (there were several one-day $29 and even $19 sales ITO-HNL on all the carriers), but the flight I needed ITO-HNL never had seats at those prices. So, I would put the ITO-HNL HA itin on hold, check the following night, and if the flight's cost was unchanged, I'd cancel the reservation and put a new one on hold.

Finally, though, my flight jumped from $39 to $59 so I booked the $39 one I had on hold.

DAY 1

The outbound ITO-MKK connection isn't very efficent (even if flown on all WP). So Mrs. cblaisd and I got to ITO
for our 9:00 am HNL flight. As a treat, I had upgraded us to F. Typical wonderful HA service. Enjoyed using my
handheld GPS. Mrs. cblaisd offered a couple of roll-eyes moments when I would point at the GPS and say things
like "That's Maui over there" and she would say "Yes, I can see it." Flight arrived early in HNL. We had 2.5 hours to kill in HNL before our MKK flight, and then walked over to the commuter terminal. The HNL-MKK flight was wonderful with a slightly different flight path leaving HNL than usual and, of course, a lower altitude. Had a very nice view of The Punchbowl, downtown, and Haunama Bay. Approach into Moloka`i was bumpy. Mrs. cblaisd waited for the luggage (and later told me tales of the HUGE sizes of various things that were brought off as baggage -- detergent, toilet paper, etc., etc. Given the shopping options on Moloka`i, I'm guessing that there are lots of folks who do an occasional trip to Honolulu for a Costco or Sam's Club run). I went and found the car (which came with the offer of the home ) and we were off.

The home we were staying in was up the highway towards the Kalaupapa lookout and Kalae, a couple of miles mauka of Kualapu`u so we stopped first in Kualapu`u for some provisions at the market there and for lunch at the Kualapu'u Cookhouse. Very good and inexpensive plate lunch style place. (But in the evening it transforms; see later). Settled in and enjoyed the breathtaking views of the ocean and Lana`i across the channel.

Dinnertime found us in Kaunakakai (Moloka`i's main town -- about 3000 people -- and we went to the Moloka`i Pizza Cafe. (Had the Entertainment Book coupon that slippahs had sent us. Mahalo!) Very good pizza. (While the restaurant's forte is pizza, it also does a couple of chicken/fish/ribs dinner specials each night. And Wednesday night is Mexican night

A word about Moloka`i restaurants. With the exception of the far west end resort, there are no "fancy" restaurants on Moloka`i. This was fine by me. I think there are maybe a dozen restaurants on the island. The ones we tried were good to very good. Most also took much advantage of local caught fish and each evening had some sort of special.

After a visit to the local grocery for more provisions, we headed back. Other than a few markets around the island, there are two main groceries in town, neither one of them a chain. In fact, there are no chain stores of any kind on Moloka`i. No traffic lights either.

DAY 2

First, we drove the couple of miles to the Kalaupapa overlook. What a stunning view and vista 2000 feet below. But what a sad and poignant spot. (I highly recommend John Tayman's recent book, The Colony, although it is eerie to see one's surname as one of those forcibly exiled a few decades ago). The only way onto the peninsula is either by mule or foot down the trail or via Pacific Wings Express' 7 minute MKK-LUP flight. In order to visit Kalaupapa,
though, you must either be on an official tour or be an invited guest of one of the residents. It happened to be one
of the semi-annual "barge days" for Kalaupapa and we could see the barge making its way towards the shore.

Then we drove to town, did a little shopping. Bought some of the cookies from Kanemitsu's Bakery. Having heard so much about them, I have to say they were very disappointing and over-priced. We then decided to drive on to the east end, 20-ish miles away. The south shore is lovely, dotted with beachside parks and old Hawai`ian homes and homesteads. One of the sad things, though, is that the moneyed haoles have terribly hurt the local
communities by having bought up properties and erecting mansions. I was told by one local that there basically is
no more local community in a couple of the hamlets on this road because the locals have been driven out by those
building vacation homes. I know that there are no easy answers to all of this, but it is sad nonetheless. The last 5 miles of this road turns very, very, very narrow as it hugs the cliffs leading to the Halawa Valley. Chicken-skin driving. The view of the valley -- and two waterfalls -- is simply awesome when you get to the Halawa Valley overlook. Lana`i and Maui are also visible. This is the only one of Moloka`i's north/backside valleys that is accessible by car. Like the Waipio Valley on the Big Island, the Halawa Valley had a thriving local Hawai`ian community subsisting on taro farming and fishing -- until the terrible 1946 tsunami destroyed it.

The Halawa Valley is also one of the earliest spots for congregational missionary endeavors. There are a couple
of now-ruined churches near there, the oldest built in 1840. Its construction is still remarkable though.

We then headed back towards town and stopped at the sole restaurant/market (Mana`e Goods & Grindz, "Now
Open Until 6PM on Weekdays!") on the east end. Pretty good plate lunch. They had Häagen-Dazs ice cream, and the clerk triple-wrapped two pints for us when she heard how far (30 minutes ) we had to go. Noted the spot where Smith and Bronte had ended their trip on the first successful California-Hawaii flight. (They mistook a
keawe forest for a grass field. They both survived the landing). Drove back to our Moloka`i home.

For dinner, I was delegated to make a take-out run to Moloka`i Pizza again. Got the baby-back ribs for me and the mahi mahi plate for Mrs. cblaisd. Very ono. Made a stop at Dave's Ice Cream for two take-home pints. Very, very ono!

DAY 3

This was mostly a "hang around the house and read" day.

DAY 4

To the beach! Drove out to the west end. How very different from the middle or east sides. First went by the little town of Ho`olehua where the high school is located makai of an old Hawai`ian church. (There are four "topside" churches of my denomination on Moloka`i. There is one pastor for all four. The Ho`olehua church worships at 8:15 a.m., the one in Kaunakakai at 9:30, and the one on the east end at 11:00. The fourth one worships one Sunday a month at 12:30 p.m. I bet that pastor is ready for a nap after three -- or four -- church services every Sunday!). The little post office in Ho`olehua also has free coconuts which you can decorate, address, and send. The postmaster used to live on the Kona side on the Big Island but it got too crowded so he transferred.

Drove to the Kaluakoi resort. Looked around a bit then drove on. Drove into Papohaku Beach Park but the ocean was very strong. Drove on. Lots of McMansions in this area, clearly vacation homes with a few full-time residents. Ended up (thanks kaukau!) at Dixie Maru Beach -- a lovely little beach in a protected cove. Met a family from Puna (Big Island) who were camping there. The parents were born on Moloka`i and each year they bring their children to camp and fish so they will know their heritage. We had a nice time talking story with them.

After some early signs of sunburn, drove back. For dinner, had takeout from the Kualapu`u Kitchen again. In the evening this is a fun and lively place, with two local guy cooks who really enjoy their work. Had very, very, very good baby back ribs in lilikoi barbecue sauce; Mrs. cblaisd had the sauteed mahi mahi. Both plates came with a huge baked potato and sauteed vegetables. The portions were huge. Best meal on the island by far. ~$20/person. They also had pork chops, lamb, steak, and shrimp (or shrimps, as is said here )

DAY 5

Did some more exploring. Sent three coconuts to folks from the Ho`olehua Post Office. Drove around the Hawai`ian Homelands areas around Ho`olehua. Drove around the residential areas of Kaunakakai. Had lunch (decent fried saimin) at the Moloka`i Drive Inn. Procured more Dave's Ice Cream to take back. Got excellent takeout hamburgers from the Kualapu`u Cookhouse (again!).

DAY 6

Slept late. Took our time getting ready to leave. Got mochas and scones from the Coffees of Hawaii store in Kualapu`u. On our way to the airport stopped there again for very, very good milkshakes which were our lunch. Checked in for our WP flight MKK-ITO (with a 15 minute stay-on-the plane stop at OGG). Both legs full. Our flight path MKK-OGG seemed a bit unusual. South-southeast from MKK, then directly over Lana`i City to interecept the (very bumpy per afternoon usual at OGG) final approach. Some great views on final of Kaho`olawe and Molikini. All but 4 pax left at OGG. It was a quick turnaround, and some incredible views of Maui's north shore; we basically paralleled the road to Hana -- but covered the distance more quickly than by car

Some general observations/thoughts.

1. Moloka`i is very different from the east side of the Big Island -- relatively little sugar cane historically (and what there was was unsuccessful and so the land is not covered with old growth now-volunteer sugar cane), and far fewer ethnic Japanese (Moloka`i has the largest ethnic Hawai`ian percentage of any island -- except Ni`ihau, of course -- about 50%), no coqui frogs!

2. For a topside population of ~7000 (I believe) there are an awful lot of churches.

3. There is currently a very heated issue concerning the corporate successor to Moloka`i Ranch (which owns a very, very large amount of land on the west end and along the west coast beaches) wanting to develop Lau`u Point. As still malihini to the islands -- and certainly to Moloka`i! -- I don't pretend to understand the issues. Water, always a concern on Moloka`i, is also mixed up in this.

4. I've been on all but Lana`i and Ni`ihau, and my observation is that Moloka`i is the island where tourists are the least in evidence and there is not anything like the "tourist experience" infrastructure that Maui or O`ahu or even the Big Island have. The very upscale west end beach resort is a world apart, and talking story with some of the downtown Kaunakakai merchants reveals that for the most part that resort is a pretty self-contained experience.

5. The feral pigs and wild axis deer have done terrible damage to many of the hillsides. This is especially evident on the hills on the east end. Some of them are denuded. The deer and the pigs (particularly) have also had a very bad effect on water pollution.

6. Life IS slower on Moloka`i (as the sign upon leaving the airport alludes to). One of the groceries makes a big deal out of the fact that it stays open "late" until 8:30 p.m. Most of the restaurants close by 8:00 p.m., some earlier. I don't know if there is anyplace on the island that you could go satisfy an urge to buy a six-pack or a candy bar after 9:00 p.m.


If you want a place to relax, don't need or want the "Hawai`i tourist experience," don't need many-starred restaurants, this is indeed an intriguing place to spend some time. To my mind, you can spend as little or as much time on topside Moloka`i as you want; it's a very relaxing place and yet has lots of things to see and learn from.

FourWheels

Thanks for the trip down Memory Lane, cblaisd. I was there for the first (and only) time in May of last year and enjoyed the lack of crowds, traffic, etc. I'd go back in a heartbeat.

I thought the 5k awards were no longer. Good to know that's not true! Nice double dip-like tip too.

slippahs

Sounds like a great trip. Thanks for sharing!

kaukau

You're welcome, cblaisd! Moloka'i mo' bettah, eh?! Glad you made it over to Maui County and had a great trip!

TTYL!

slippahs

And just a little move over to Trip Reports for housekeeping.

-slippahs, Hawai`i forum co-moderator

gleff

A tough one, indeed!

Thanks for sharing the trip, not sure how I missed it when first posted.

Cheers,
Gary