Hawaii - Jeff Campbell [383]
SIGHTS & ACTIVITIES
At the bottom of the near-vertical pali is a deserted beach with stunning views of the steep cliffs you’ve just come down. The mule ride ends here and you’ll board a small bus for the tour. Remember your mule’s name so that the guides will put you back on the right one for the trip up! If you’re hiking (see opposite), you wait for the mandatory tour here.
The settlement is very quiet, and residents tend to stay indoors while the tour is going on. With their history of being persecuted and stigmatized, you can’t blame them for avoiding curious tourists, but the guide says that residents welcome visitors because it helps prevent their story from being forgotten. Restoration of village buildings is ongoing, and the homes that have been restored are small and tidy, with covered lanai, clapboard siding, and tin roofs. Other sights are mainly cemeteries, churches, and memorials. Fuesaina’s Bar, run by Gloria Marks, the wife of the late Richard Marks, sells drinks and snacks (this was closed during our visit due to Marks’ recent death). A park visitor center doubles as a small museum and bookstore, with displays of items made and used by former residents (‘Kalaupapa Patients Adapt & Innovate’) and books and films about the settlement for sale.
On the way to the east side of the peninsula is St Philomena Church (better known as Father Damien’s Church), in Kalawao, which was built in 1872. You can see where Damien cut open holes in the floor as a way to welcome the sick, whose disease made them need to spit frequently. The graveyard at the side contains Damien’s gravestone and original burial site, although his body was exhumed in 1936 and returned to Belgium. In 1995, his right hand was reinterred here. The large black cross on the revered Father’s grave is adorned with shells and leis.
The tour stops for lunch at Kalawao after a short drive through lush greenery dotted with colorful lantana vines. On the way, keep your eyes open for a heiau just past the water wells; the remains of the ancient temple are on the same side as the wells. The amazing view from Kalawao could be reason enough to visit the peninsula. It gives you a glimpse of Moloka’i’s Pali Coast (see the boxed text, Click here), which features the jarring spectacle of the world’s highest sea cliffs. Some boast near-vertical drops of 3300ft.
This is a popular film location for producers needing an almost otherworldly landscape, including the one’s scouting for ‘Skull Island’ in the second – and less impressive – King Kong from 1976. This impenetrable section of the northern shore contains two majestic valleys and Kahiwa Falls, the state’s longest waterfall.
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TOURS
Everyone who comes to the Kalaupapa Peninsula is required to visit the settlement with Damien Tours (567-6171; tours $40; Mon-Sat). Reservations must be made in advance (call between 4pm and 8pm). Tours last 3½ hours, are done by bus and are accompanied by lots of stories about life in years past. If you’re not on the mule ride, bring your own lunch and a bottle of water. The much-loved Richard Marks, longtime resident and tour guide, died in 2008.
Mule Rides
Molokai Mule Ride (567-6088, 800-567-7550; www.muleride.com; rides $165; Mon-Sat) offers the only way down the pali besides hiking; but be prepared – this is not an easy ride. You’ll be sore afterwards even if you’re an experienced rider, and it’s a safe bet that you’ve never experienced a ride like this one. At some points, the trail is only eight to 10 inches wide, nearly vertical in places, and it’s simply amazing how the mules carefully pick their way down. The mule skinners happily announce on the second switchback that it’s here that some people just get off and walk back to the barn, not willing to trust their lives to the sure-footed animals. So settle back and enjoy a natural thrill ride. You’ll need to be quick with the camera if you want to get shots of the amazing views, because the mules don’t stop for photo ops. (Hiking down would offer better chances for good pictures.)