Hawaii - Jeff Campbell [390]
ECONOMY & POLITICS
The island economy has long depended on Ni’ihau Ranch, the sheep and cattle business owned by the Robinsons. But it was always a marginal operation on windy Ni’ihau, with droughts devastating herds. In 1999 Ni’ihau Ranch closed.
The family has been able to keep the island relatively undeveloped by allowing some temporary US government projects. Keith Robinson joked of the preference in allowing military projects onto the island over development: ‘The military comes and goes. After a military project is over, it usually gets rusted down to nothing.’
Allowing some tourist access is one of the prices to pay for owning a private island. Much of the tourist access the Robinsons allow is to help pay for services for Ni’ihauans, such as a recently purchased helicopter used for Medevac services.
While it’s difficult to find a comparative relationship to explain the dynamic between the Robinsons and Ni’ihauans, the Robinsons view themselves as protectors. And though that’s the kind of paternalism that can rub outside Native Hawaiian groups the wrong way, for the most part Ni’ihauans don’t seem to mind.
In fact, the common thread between the Robinsons and Ni’ihauans seems a steadfast allegiance from both sides. That carries over even on Kaua’i, as Ni’ihauans who’ve emigrated seem to stay in Robinson territory, on Kaua’i’s Westside. Many who move to Kaua’i work for the Robinsons and live on their property, often in the Makaweli area. Kaua’i’s only church conducted in Hawaiian also is on Kaua’i’s Westside in Waimea, attended mostly by Ni’ihauans.
For the Ni’ihauans who don’t make it to Kaua’i, samplings of Kaua’i are brought to them via barge roughly twice a month. Soda and poi (fermented taro paste) are among items brought over.
Politically, Ni’ihau falls under the jurisdiction of Kaua’i County. In 2004, George W Bush got 39 of 40 votes cast by Ni’ihauans. In 2008, Ni’ihau’s precinct was one of only three of Hawaii’s 538 precincts to vote for John McCain over President Barack Obama. McCain received 35 votes and Obama received four votes, despite Hawaii being Obama’s strongest state in the nation.
VISITING NI’IHAU
Although outsiders are not allowed to visit Ni’ihau on their own, the Robinsons offer helicopter tours (Ni‘ihau Helicopters; 877-441-3500; www.niihau.us; 12550A Kaumuali’i Hwy, Makaweli; half-day per person $365; office 8am-2pm Mon-Fri), which take off from Burns Field in Port Allen. A half-day excursion includes lunch, snorkeling and swimming off the island’s shores; bookings must be made well in advance. The Robinsons also offer hunting safaris as part of the island’s conservation and wildlife management program (see the website for more information).
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Kaua′i
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HISTORY
CLIMATE
STATE & COUNTY PARKS
ACTIVITIES
GETTING THERE & AWAY
GETTING AROUND
LIHU′E
HISTORY
ORIENTATION
INFORMATION
SIGHTS
ACTIVITIES
FESTIVALS & EVENTS
SLEEPING
EATING & DRINKING
ENTERTAINMENT
SHOPPING
GETTING THERE & AROUND
EASTSIDE
WAILUA
WAIPOULI
KAPA′A
KEALIA BEACH
ANAHOLA
KO′OLAU ROAD
NORTH SHORE
KILAUEA
KALIHIWAI
′ANINI
PRINCEVILLE
HANALEI VALLEY
HANALEI
AROUND HANALEI
HA′ENA
HA′ENA STATE PARK
NA PALI COAST STATE PARK
SOUTH SHORE
KOLOA
PO′IPU
KALAHEO
WESTSIDE
′ELE′ELE & NUMILA
PORT ALLEN
HANAPEPE
WAIMEA
KEKAHA
BARKING SANDS
POLIHALE BEACH PARK
WAIMEA CANYON STATE PARK
KOKE′E STATE PARK
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Kaua′i people have always been staunch individualists. In ancient times, the locals defended their ′aina (land) from King Kamehameha and spoke a distinct dialect of the Hawaiian language. Today the people continue to push back – fighting urbanization and commercialization. As they say, ‘We’re not Waikiki and we don’t want to be!’
Born five million years ago (and five million years ahead of Hawai′i), Kaua′i boasts an epic landscape seen nowhere else: