Hawaii - Jeff Campbell [380]
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KALA’E
Rudolph Wilhelm Meyer, a German immigrant who had plans to make it big in the California gold rush, stopped off in Hawai’i en route (he was going the long way around). He never left, and married a member of Hawaiian royalty who had huge tracts of land on Moloka’i. Meyer busied himself growing potatoes and cattle for export, serving as overseer of the Kalaupapa leprosy settlement and as manager of King Kamehameha V’s ranch lands. In 1876, when a new treaty allowed Hawaiian sugar planters to export sugar duty-free to the US, Meyer turned his lands over to sugar, and built the mill. It operated for only a decade until falling prices killed its viability.
The mill has enjoyed a series of restorations over time. Features include a 100-year-old steam engine, a mule-powered cane crusher and other working artifacts. It now houses the Moloka’i Museum & Cultural Center (567-6436; adult/concession $2.50/1; 10am-2pm Mon-Sat), which has a small but intriguing display of Moloka’i’s history with period photos, cultural relics and a 10-minute video. Meyer and his descendants are buried in a little family plot out back.
Ironwood Hills Golf Course
The ‘pro shop’ in the dilapidated trailer tells you everything you need to know about this wonderfully casual nine-hole golf course (567-6000; green fees 9/18 holes $18/24; 8am-5pm) that was originally built for plantation managers in the 1920s. Electric cart rental is $8; clubs are $5.
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PALA’AU STATE PARK
Thrill to views over the Kalaupapa Peninsula, listen to winds rustle through groves of ironwood and eucalyptus trees and partake of sacred rocks that represent human genitals. This misty state park is at the end of Hwy 470, near the Kalaupapa trailhead. It’s good for a picnic, some photos and possibly a chance to get pregnant.
Sights & Activities
Kalaupapa Overlook
The Kalaupapa Overlook provides a scenic overview of the Kalaupapa Peninsula from the edge of a 1600ft cliff. The best light for photography is usually from late morning to mid-afternoon.
It’s easy to get the lay of the land from the lookout; you’ll get a good feel for just how far you travel when you descend nearly 1700ft on the trail. Interpretive plaques identify significant landmarks below and explain Kalaupapa’s history. The village where all of Kalaupapa’s residents live is visible, but Kalawao, the original settlement and site of Father Damien’s church and grave, is not.
Kalaupapa means ‘flat leaf,’ an accurate description of the lava-slab peninsula that was created when a low shield volcano poked up out of the sea, long after the rest of Moloka’i had been formed. The dormant Kauhako Crater, visible from the overlook, contains a little lake that’s more than 800ft deep. At 400ft, the crater is the highest point on the Kalaupapa Peninsula. A lighthouse stands erect near the northern tip of land. It once boasted the most powerful beam in the Pacific but now only holds an electric light beacon.
There’s a vague trail of sorts that continues directly beyond the last plaque at the overlook. The path, on a carpet of soft ironwood needles, passes through diagonal rows of trees planted during a Civil Conservation Corps (CCC) reforestation project in the 1930s. Simply follow this trail for 20 minutes or so until it peters out.
Kauleonanahoa
Kauleonanahoa (the penis of Nanahoa) is Hawaii’s premier phallic stone, standing proud in a little clearing inside an ironwood grove, about a five-minute walk from the parking area. The legend goes that Nanahoa hit his wife Kawahuna in a jealous rage and when they were both turned to stone, he came out looking like a dick, literally.
Reputedly, women who come here with offerings of lei and dollar bills and stay overnight will soon get pregnant. There’s no mention of what happens to men who might try the same thing with some nearby stones that have