Moloka'i

Not a single traffic light.  How intriguing to be on an island so quiet and unfamiliar to the daily hustle and bustle of it's densely populated neighbor.  Moloka'i is the perfect place to embrace the concept, or master the art of "doing nothing."  Of course, there is much more that goes on with doing nothing than actually doing nothing.  But we'll decipher the beauty of this concept later.

Leave from Maui and get a bird's eye view of the world's highest sea cliffs.

Don't get me wrong, my Mom and I found loads to explore.  Serene stretched of beaches where we were the only visitors.   Beautiful tropical vistas and sea cliffs from above.  Ancient fishponds.  And get this - my mom is an off-roader...who knew?!  We traveled nearly every paved road on Moloka'i which left us to discover some unpaved roads, and more specifically, not well-maintained and heavily eroded unpaved roads. 

One off-roading mama on a quiter stretch of road

Moloka'i's south shore is dotted with fish ponds.  These ponds are used to trap and harvest fish.  We learned that different styles of fishponds exist allover the world.  Hawai'i's are unique because of how they capture fish.  A wall of rock with a single opening is built around a fresh water source, usually either a stream or freshwater spring.  This is because the interaction with the freshwater and saltwater create a nutrient dense environment which fishies love. 

The restored Ali'i Fishpond

The opening is small enough for fish too little to eat to be able to get in and out of the fish pond as they please.  One day, they will enter, feed and grow too big mighty to escape the little whole.  Bam, food for the people.  There is a bit more to it than this, and tides also play an important role.  But this is the basic concept and I find it fascinating.

All the islands have/had fishponds along the south shores and any other area protected by the powerful seas.  Development on O'ahu has practically eradicated most of the ponds, sadly.  But this is the world as we know it.

Fortunately, there is a movement on Moloka'i to restore the 60+ fishponds as a way of cultural preservation and a way to embrace and live sustainability again as a way of life on the island. We came across one and an NGO (www.kahonuamomona.org) involved with restoring the ponds...what a beautiful sight.  This is a good article in the Star Advertiser about the organization.

Clearly the fishponds intrigued me.  The political activism intrigued my mama.  The people on Moloka'i are certainly not willing to be bullied by corporations and manipulated with money, that's for sure.  It's so inspiring.

 

King Kamehameha V's Coconut Grove

 

View of Kalaupapa Peninsula

 



Handstand in Moloka'i - Halawa Valley.  Check that off the list.

It's so easy to appreciate the beauty of simplicity here

 



Southeast Coastline with Maui (left) and Lana'i (right) in the disctance

 

Sunset on the beach :)