Hawaii - Jeff Campbell [355]
Dining Room (565-7300; Lodge at Koele, 1 Keomuku Hwy; mains $45-60; 6-9:30pm) Leave your sandals in the room but bring your wallet to this very high-end restaurant with a name that will remind you where you are even after you’ve seen the prices. Lobster, caviar, quail and more populate a menu of expertly prepared creations presented with flawless attention to detail and service. But really, this is Lana’i and we’ll take the fun and food of any of the places ringing Dole Park, first.
SHOPPING
Shops and galleries encircle Dole Park selling everything from flip-flops for locals to fine art for connoisseurs. You can spend an hour or much longer wandering.
Art lovers love Mike Carroll Gallery (565-7122; www.mikecarrollgallery.com; cnr 7th & Ko‘ele Sts), where you can find the eponymous owner either creating a new masterpiece or busy displaying the work of another artist.
Art lovers who want to make something, wander into the Lana’i Art Center (565-7503; cnr 7th & Houston Sts; noon-4pm Mon-Fri), where you can enjoy a short-term class in beading or painting or peruse displays of works by local artists.
Lovers of artful clothing flock to Local Gentry (565-9130; 363 7th St), a clothing store with color and flair that caters to visitors and locals alike. There’s no polyester schlock here.
GETTING THERE & AROUND
The resort shuttle (Click here) stops at Hotel Lana‘i, the Lodge at Koele and pretty much anywhere else you ask. Lana’i’s only car-rental office is Lana‘i City Service (Click here).
HULOPO’E & MANELE BAYS
Lanai’s finest beach (and one of the best in Hawai’i) is the golden crescent of sand at Hulopo’e Bay. Enjoy snorkeling in a marine preserve, walking to a fabled archaeological site or just relaxing in the shade of palms. Nearby, Manele Harbor provides a protected anchorage for sailboats and other small craft. It’s just a 10-minute walk to Hulopo’e Beach.
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Detour: LUAHIWA PETROGLYPHS
Lana’i’s highest concentration of petroglyphs (over 400 both ancient and modern) are carved into three dozen boulders spread over a remote slope overlooking the Palawai Basin.
To get to this seldom-visited site, head south from Lana’i City along tree-lined Manele Rd. After 2 miles, look for a cluster of six trees on the left and turn on the wide dirt road. Stay on this for 1.2 miles as you head toward the fills. When you see a house and gate, take a very sharp turn left onto a grass and dirt track for 0.3 miles. The large boulders will be on your right up the hill and there will be a turnout and small stone marker.
Many of the rock carvings are quite weathered, but you can still make out linear and triangular human figures, dogs and a canoe. Other than gusts of wind, the place is eerily quiet. You can almost feel the presence of the ancients here – honor their spirits and don’t touch the fragile carvings.
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Manele and Hulopo’e Bays are part of a marine-life conservation district that prohibits the removal of coral and restricts many fishing activities, all of which makes for great snorkeling and diving. Spinner dolphins seem to enjoy the place as much as humans. During wintertime kona (leeward) storms, strong currents and swells enliven the calm and imperil swimmers.
SIGHTS & ACTIVITIES
Hulopo’e Beach
One good thing about being the main beach on company-run Lana’i is that the same gardeners who manicure the Four Seasons keep things looking lovely in this free, public park. Everybody loves it – locals taking the kids for a swim, tourists on day trips from Maui and the many visitors who end up losing track of time here.
This gently curving white-sand beach is long, broad and protected by a rocky point to the south. The Four Seasons Resort Lana’i at Manele Bay sits on a low seaside terrace on the north side. Even with the hotel presence the beach is so big it never gets crowded. Generally, the most action occurs when the tour boats pull in from Maui at noon.