Lawai International Center

Lawai is on the main highway about ten miles west of Lihue, just before you get to Kalaheo. Nestled in this quiet community is a unique place called the Lawai International Center.

Visiting the center begins with a short presentation of its history and how the community came together to save and restore this unique cultural site. I won't attempt to convey all that here.

Generations ago when Japanese immigrated to Kauaʻi to work on the plantations, local families recreated the Japanese tradition of the Shikoku pilgrimage by constructing 88 miniature temples on the hillside here. When you visit the center you can pay respects at each of the temples in less than an hour (compared to quite a lot of time and travel to do it in Shikoku).

There also is newly built traditional Japanese structure nearly completed on the grounds.

Quite a few lovely orchids can be seen in the garden and around the shrines.

Visiting: the following may be subject to change - check the web site for latest details and contact information

• Open to visitors (no reservation needed) every second and last Sunday of the month.
• Other times can be arranged by phoning the center.
• Take the main highway (50) to Lawai. Just west of Koloa Road (530) turn makai (toward the ocean) on Wawae Road - it's a small street that almost looks like a driveway, fairly close to the major 530 intersection with traffic light. Follow Wawae a short block to the end, and turn right uphill into the gravel parking area. 
• The center welcomes visitors under large open tents set up on the grounds.

Now available: the best pineapple

I have raved about Sugarloaf pineapple more than once here, and shared it with friends every chance I get, and have yet to get anything but a very positive agreement that it is worth making a fuss over. Until now it was only been available locally and intermittently at that thanks to a lot of hard work at Hole in the Mountain farm it is now available for sale online to anywhere in the US and they expect to have fruit available nearly year round.

Order at kauaisugarloaf.com.

We visited the farm recently and they have a big crop coming in, including some absolutely monster-sized beauties nearing perfect ripeness.

If you try some, please leave a comment here as to how you liked it.

Nualolo Kai

Saturday we were very fortunate to ride along on an expedition to Nualolo Kai [map]. Access to the public is restricted so it was a real treat to be able to spend the whole day there and get a guided tour by knowledgeable scientists David & Lida Burney of the Makauwaki cave reserve who were leading the group.

We left Kikiaola harbor at the crack of dawn and had a remarkably smooth ride over with ideal sea conditions and got a quick tour of the nearby sea caves before landing. There's no dock so you deep-wade to come ashore.

Nualolo Kai is perhaps half mile of shore line along the Na Pali coast of western Kaua'i with continuously curving sheer cliffs backing it up and virtually isolating it from access other than by sea. When inhabited by native people there was access via a ladder and path system to go around Alapi'i point providing access into the neighboring Nualolo Aina valley. All traces of the ladder are now gone and we confirmed by walking out over the rocks that the rocky point is completely impassible today. They say it was intimidating to the uninitiated even using the ladder which took you up the cliff overhang (steeper than 90 degrees angle) and then to get around the point you had individual footholds in bare rock at a considerable height to negotiate. The picture above shows Alapi'i point as seen from about the center of the run of shore, with the reef line clearly visible demarked by waves breaking over it.

The cliff on that side actually overhang and provided natural protection from the elements so this is where many people lived in ancient times. In the photo at left you can see a series of large flat areas going up the hill hugging the cliffside that are thought to be sites for living quarters. This is the location of one of the largest archeological digs in Hawaii by the Bishop Museum and the Smithsonian that date these sites going back approximately 700 years or more. Dr Burney mentioned a proposal to have the artifacts from this location exhibited in a traveling tour to finish up in a new permanent display on this island of their origin (currently everything is on Oahu or in D.C.).

Nualolo Kai dramatically shows the geological history of the island. The entire Na Pali coast is the remains of volcanic action millions of years ago, long since ended with the island slowly eroding and collapsing back into the sea. This view shows an unmissable "X" in the cliff that is believed to result from two lava dikes - cracks formed in the settling rock filled with lava that solidified to seal them cleanly. Apparently one diagonal crack formed first, sealed, and then the other opened up at a angle to the first and in turn was sealed that just happened to be of about the same dimensions.

It doesn't take long to notice that there is an inordinate predominance of noni throughout the best arable land above the beach, other than scrub brush and weeds. I know the ancient Hawaiians brought noni here and grew it, but there's no reason to have this much of it since it is more of a medicine than a food per se - in fact I think is fair to say that it smells and tastes awful (it smells like a very strong cheese, oddly enough). Turns out we have the goats to thank for all the noni - goats amazingly descend these cliffs to forage here and this is one of the few plants toxic to them so by consuming everything else they have effectively promoted noni exclusively here. We saw a herd of perhaps fifty goats moving along the near-vertical cliffs when we hiked up for the view (the top photo) scrambling up the accumulated loose rubble that climbs steeply toward the cliff base.

Not far from the house sites is a complex of rock walls that are the remains of an ancient heiau (temple).  This heiau is unique in these islands in that it built into the concavity of a natural depression that features a natural spring - usually these rock structures would be built up on a prominent high point. The spring is not covered over to discourage the goats from visiting here - it's about the only source of fresh water around. By the way, the coconut stumps just right of center were planted in modern times (what were they thinking?) and then had to be cut down when the roots threatened to disrupt the foundations of all the surrounding rock work.

After lunch and a short nap we went snorkeling well inside the reef and saw plenty of fish in the shallow waters. This is a popular place for commercial operators to bring visitors in for a snorkel but we found a time when we had it to ourselves.

The boats were back in time for our return trip and we flew back without much headwind and fairly smooth water all the way, past Miloliʻi, past Polihale, past PMRF, past Kekaha, back to the harbor before sunset.

Awaʻawapuhi Trail

This morning we hiked the Awaʻawapuhi Trail. Directions to the trail head are easy: take the road up to Kokeʻe State Park, continue past the meadow (where the restaurant and museum are) two miles and look for the signed trail head parking on the left. Itʻs before the first Kalalau lookout. GPS 22.141406,-159.648616.

Bring the usual essentials, especially plenty of water as it can be quite hot on the lower exposed part of the trail and you wonʻt see any water sources at all.

Not recommended if very wet or likely to get much rain, unless you like wallowing in slippery mud. Check the Kokeʻe section of the Hawaii forecast for weather info. Also be forewarned that the views over Na Pali are the highlight of this hike, but it can easily be overcast and foggy turning your view into a pure white-out. So check the weather and go on a day itʻs sunny at Kokeʻe and on the coast as well.

Unfortunately the cliff trail that connects this trail to the Nualolo trail (to the south/west) that parallels it is closed indefinitely. One section of the cliff trail is well known to be challenging - loose rock on a steep slope - but they have the entire area between the two trails cordoned off with new signage. Itʻs too bad because the full loop is my favorite hike this side of the island. Now that the two trails are separated one must choose between them:

• Nualolo is longer and steeper, definitely more strenuous
• Nualolo trail gets narrow and is more exposed in places
• Awaʻawapuhi is preferred if rain is expected or the ground muddy at all
• Both have great views at the trail end over the Na Pali coast

From the parking lot the trail gently rises a bit but thereafter itʻs downhill all the way out on average which means you have to climb back out. Today on the trail we were the first on the trail and on the return saw 11 people heading out.

The upper trail leads down through Kokeʻe forest, quite soon becoming quiet with plenty of bird song in the morning. The trail is wide and well-marked (including mileage markers every 1/4 mile), flat dirt for the most part with exposed roots on some sections and the occasional rock.

Lower down the tree open up and you also get your first views of the valleys to either side: Awaʻawapuhi on the left (outbound), Honopu on the right. Below is a shot of the top of the valley looking west showing (faintly) Niʻihau on the horizon at left and its nearby small uninhabited island Lehua at the far right.

At the 3 mile marker you will see the (signed off limits) cliff trail merge in and just a quarter mile further you reach the end of the trail where the Na Pali views are to be had, weather permitting. Conditions can change quickly here, so if you get there and itʻs all mist and fog, give it some time. Conversely, if itʻs clear, enjoy the views while you can because the mist can roll in quickly.

The shot at right is from trail end looking down over a very high cliff, and you can see a little mist.

Having enjoyed the views and perhaps a snack, turn around and begin retracing your path back up the hill to the trail head.

Update: A recent article on the Awaawapuhi. Use your own good judgment going as far out as shown.