Frommer's Kauai - Jeanette Foster [27]
Another marine-life conservation area that suffers from overuse is Molokini, a small crater off the coast of Maui. Twenty-five years ago, one or two small six-passenger boats made the trip once a day to Molokini; today it’s not uncommon to sight 20 or more boats, each carrying 20 to 49 passengers, moored inside the tiny crater. One tour operator has claimed that, on some days, it’s so crowded that you can actually see a slick of suntan oil floating on the surface of the water.
Hawaii’s reefs have faced increasing impact over the years as well. Runoff of soil and chemicals from construction, agriculture, and erosion can blanket and choke a reef, which needs sunlight to survive. Human contact with the reef can also upset the ecosystem. Coral, the basis of the reef system, is very fragile; snorkelers and divers grabbing onto it can break off pieces that took decades to form. Feeding the fish can also upset the balance of the ecosystem (not to mention upsetting the digestive systems of the fish). In areas where they’re fed, the normally shy reef fish become more aggressive, surrounding divers and demanding food.
FLORA The rainforests are among Hawaii’s most fragile environments. Any intrusion—from hikers carrying seeds on their shoes to the rooting of wild boars—can upset the delicate balance of these complete ecosystems. In recent years, development has moved closer and closer to the rainforests. On the Big Island, people have protested the invasion of bulldozers and the drilling of geothermal wells in the Wao Kele O Puna rainforest for years.
FAUNA The biggest impact on the fauna in Hawaii is the decimation of native birds by feral animals, which have destroyed the bird’s habitats, and by mongooses that have eaten the birds’ eggs and young. Government officials are vigilant about snakes because of the potential damage they can do to the remaining bird life.
A recent pest introduced to Hawaii is the coqui frog. That loud noise you hear after dark, especially on the eastern side of the Big Island and various parts of Maui, including the Kapalua Resort area and on the windward side of the island, is the cry of the male coqui frog looking for a mate. A native of Puerto Rico, where the frogs are kept in check by snakes, the coqui frog came to Hawaii in some plant material, found no natural enemies, and has spread across the Big Island and Maui. A chorus of several hundred coqui frogs is deafening (it’s been measured at 163 decibels, or the noise level of a jet engine from 100 ft.). In some places, like Akaka Falls, on the Big Island, there are so many frogs that they are now chirping during daylight hours.
6 Hawaii in Popular Culture: Books, Film & Music
In addition to the books discussed below, those planning an extended trip to Hawaii should check out Frommer’s Hawaii; Frommer’s Hawaii Day by Day; Frommer’s Honolulu, Waikiki & Oahu; Frommer’s Honolulu & Oahu Day by Day; Frommer’s Maui; Frommer’s Maui Day by Day; and Frommer’s Hawaii with Kids (all published by Wiley Publishing, Inc.).
BOOKS
Fiction
The first book people think about is James A. Michener’s Hawaii (Fawcett Crest, 1974). This epic novel manages to put the island’s history into chronological order, but remember, it is still fiction, and very sanitized fiction, too. For a more contemporary look at life in Hawaii today, one of the best novels is Shark Dialogues, by Kiana Davenport (Plume, 1995). The novel tells the story of Pono, the larger-than-life matriarch, and her four daughters of mixed races. Davenport skillfully weaves legends and myths of Hawaii into the “real life” reality that Pono and her family face in the complex Hawaii of today. Lois-Ann Yamanaka uses a very “local” voice and stark depictions of life in the islands in her fabulous novels Wild Meat and the Bully Burgers (Farrar, Straus, Giroux, 1996), Blu’s Hanging (Avon, 1997), and Heads by Harry (Avon, 1999). A great read is Honolulu Stories, Two Centuries of Writing, Edited by Gavan Daws and Bennett Hymer (Mutual Publishing, 2008), which has hundreds of