Audrey Sutherland

I first heard of Audrey Sutherland from an interview in the Hawaiian Air in-flight magazine.  This week I finished reading her wonder first book and was thoroughly impressed in every way. Well written, it's part travel diary, part Hawaiiana, part philosophy and lighter musings, and overall a small window into her world of solo adventure to the very most remote remaining parts of the islands. Her treks are all the more amazing and insightful because she does it solo, with her own gear and supplies and entirely self-powered (except for getting to and from the island). She's an original and absolutely heroic.

Sutherland, Audrey, 1921- Padding my own canoe / Audrey Sutherland. -- Honolulu : University Press of Hawaii, c1978. 136 p. : ill. ; 24 cm. (A Kolowalu Book) Autobiographical. ISBN 0-8248-0618-2 1. Hawaii--Description and travel--1951- 2. Sutherland, Audrey, 1921- I. Title. DU623.2.S87   919.69'04'4

Aud (as she calls herself throughout the book: solo travel books are by necessity monologues) is a lady who relishes a challenge. On an inter-island flight she spies the uninhabited north coast of Moloka'i, replete with sea cliffs and waterfalls, and is particularly drawn to explore it herself because there are so many hula'ana. As she explains, a hula'ana is a Hawaiian term for an impassible section of coastline, such as where there is only a cliff along the coast line.

Long story short, she shows up next summer on the island with a make-shift floating backpack rig -- this was before REI and high-tech gear was made, in the 1960s. "I scrounged a new rubber meteorological weather balloon, wrapped the camera, food, and clothing in it, rolled it inside a shoer curtain, put the bundle into an army clothing bag, and lashed it all to a lightweight aluminum pack frame..." I won't spoil the fun of telling how splendidly that worked out for her, in waters known to have plenty of sharks no less, but she did survive to write the book obviously.

Over the years she returns over and over again to this territory for time alone, to luxuriate in the exquisite natural beauty, and in no small part to test herself out there. She discovers an abandoned shack and over the years renovates it (carrying in and out everything herself) to because what she calls "Pelekunu Plaza". It's a quick read and chock full of her unique wisdom and creativity.

A beautiful quote near the end of the book encapsulates the lesson she has lived and narrated throughout. To me this rings so true, yet is so counter to the conventional wisdom, and the entire book is full of examples of exactly what she means.

"The only real security is not insurance or money or a job, not a house and furniture paid for, or a retirement fund, and never is it another person. It is the skill and humor and courage within, the ability to build your own fires and find your own peace." -- Audrey Sutherland