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Molokai Missed The Tourism Bandwagon
It's true you will not find crowded resorts and many
facilities targeted to tourists on the Hawaiian island
of Molokai, but that's exactly why you should go!
It’s dusk on the island of Moloka‘i. You pull your car out onto the
main highway, heading to a restaurant for dinner. This is the busy
part of the island, near the main town of Kaunakakai. Then you notice
something strange and marvelous... nothing.
The two-lane highway is straight as a stick, and you can’t see a
single car all the way down the road. No headlights at all in your
rear-view mirror. No tall buildings or crowded luxury homes separate
you from the lake-like sea, which is shining with the last colors of
the sunset. The emerging stars look close enough to touch, and the sky
is full of silence. You pass a huge plumeria tree loaded with flowers
and, even with the windows rolled up, the sweet perfume fills the car
and becomes a topic of conversation.
Yes, it’s true there’s "nothing" on Moloka‘i, lots of it - an abundance
of the delicious "nothing" that busy people crave when their jobs and
lives crowd them. No red lights, ever.
On a drive like this, you feel muscles unclench.
"People come here for the vicarious Robinson Crusoe experience," say
Akiko and Glenn Foster, who offer secluded bed-and-breakfast accommodations
under the name Kamalo Plantation. "They’re people who like nature and want
peace and quiet. Many of them have seen the other Hawaiian islands, and
they want to get away from hotels and glitz. They want to do their own
thing -- buy a bunch of groceries in town, then settle in for some privacy."
The Fosters themselves found Moloka‘i through a very Robinson-Crusoe-like
boating mishap. Their sailboat dismasted, and they had to limp into
Kaunakakai Harbor for repairs. The people at the harbor were so friendly
and helpful that the Fosters decided to explore the island a bit. Rather
quickly, they changed their lives and retired from their international
Pacific-Rim business. "We came back to Moloka‘i. It gave us this uplifted
feeling. More energy," says Glenn.
“People write about this experience all the time in our guest book.
They say you have time here to regroup. To rediscover yourself.”
Kamalo Plantation’s two fully furnished houses -- one tucked in an
ancient grove next to an old Hawaiian temple of healing, and the other
set above its own pocket-sized beach on the island’s remote east
end -- make good examples of Moloka‘i’s out-of-the-ordinary guest
accommodations.
Here are some others. At the east end, Pu‘u O Hoku Ranch offers two
large hand-crafted cottages, each with a land-and-sea-scape that goes
on for miles. Exactly opposite Pu‘u O Hoku Ranch, at the island’s dry
west end with its huge beaches, travelers can
rent large homes that have swimming pools, hot tubs, and views across
wild land to a sandy cove. One of these, Papapa Plantation, is a beautiful
cedar home with four separate bedrooms -- a perfect share situation for
friends or a family group. Next door, Miller Moloka‘i has a similar
layout and rents its rooms separately to travelers who don’t mind mingling
in the spacious common areas.
Central Moloka‘i provides a variety of bed-and-breakfast type
accommodations. For example, at A‘ahi Place, just two miles from
Kaunakakai, visitors can rent a furnished cottage surrounded by fruit
trees and tropical plants. The cedar-walled cottage sleeps four
and - typical of such places - comes with all the kitchen basics, a
washer, towels, and snorkel gear. Owner Steve Sears has added a
cut-rate "backpackers lodging" and an open-air communal barbecue area
with television, a dipping pool, an outdoor shower, and the occasional
Moloka‘i-style jam session. Steve is a carpenter who happened to be
sailing past Moloka‘i one day, stopped for supplies, and decided not
to leave. Keeping with the spirit of this island’s aloha, he’s happy
to meet guests at the airport or ferry landing and help them get oriented.
Says Steve: "That’s what B&Bs do -- look out for people."
Along its sheltered south shore the island also offers three modest
mini-resorts. Two of them -- Wavecrest and Moloka‘i Shores -- are
condominiums designed for home-style living. Ocean-view buildings
enclose a central lawn, swimming pool, and barbecues. These are
quiet places where guests sit seaside watching the sun set -- or rise.
(This is one of the few places in Hawai‘i where you can watch both
events from the comfort of the same park bench.) The third such
option is the likeable Hotel Moloka‘i, a cluster of two-story buildings
designed like the classic South Seas "long-house". The hotel includes
a very good restaurant and, on many nights, Moloka‘i musicians playing
pool-side.
If you crave big, hot stretches of sand, you’ll find them on the
west-facing shore at Kaluako‘i. Three excellent condominiums take
full advantage of their beach-view locations -- the Paniolo Hale
perched on a natural ledge, Ke Nani Kai with pool, barbecue, and
tennis courts, and Kaluako‘i Villas rambling over 29 acres. All three
offer golf course privileges at the nine-hole course nearby.
For both comfort and novelty, nothing on the island can match the
Sheraton Moloka‘i. Based in the small hilltop town of Maunaloa,
the Sheraton offers two radically different experiences. First, the
Beach Village constitutes what must be the most comfortable beach-side
campground in the world. Guests stay in two-bedroom
"beach bungalows" -- ingeniously designed canvas-walled suites
with solar energy, private bathrooms, and daily maid service --
and they eat at a restaurant pavilion next to the crashing surf.
Second (and many Sheraton Moloka‘i guests like to do them in this order),
the Lodge provides the island’s most luxurious hotel experience. Here, ‘
30s-era ranch-house meets spa, billiards room, and deep sofa. Sheraton
Moloka‘i’s Cultural Center also offers a long list of opportunities to
hike, bike, ride horses, snorkel, surf, and practice marksmanship
(archery, clay shooting, pellet guns, and paint ball).
Two companies provide information and bookings for the dozens of
Moloka‘i homes, condos, and cottages that are available for rent.
Visitors who are planning a trip can learn a lot at either of these
websites: Moloka‘i Vacation Rentals (www.molokai-vacation-rental.com)
and Moloka‘i Resorts (www.molokairesorts.com).
None of these getaways is taller than three stories, and all of
them provide natural solitude. It’s the same natural solitude you
experience while kayaking along the island’s reef-protected south
shore, while finding an unpopulated beach, while hiking to Moa‘ula
Falls, while loafing.
Some families find this natural solitude to be a perfect backdrop
for a family-bonding vacation. Moloka‘i simply lacks a dozen different
reasons to scatter in all directions. So families share their adventures
- mountain-biking together, riding horses together, learning to windsurf
together. They have time to talk, to push the world aside and revive
the most fundamental relationships of their lives.
For couples - especially couples who love the outdoors or couples
who like the simplicity of quiet conversation - Moloka‘i is wonderfully
renewing, if not downright romantic.
Moloka‘i is not for everyone. To be frank, the drive from the airport
is rather bleak, passing through a parched landscape of abandoned
pineapple fields. But when you get inside Moloka‘i, the riches unfold.
Says B&B owner Steve Sears, "Moloka‘i attracts independent travelers
who don’t want to be isolated in a hotel with other tourists. They
want to see how people live. They like the freedom and safety here."
Article Courtesy of the Molokai Visitors Association
See also:
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