Wayne Levin has been shooting the water, its human inhabitants and marine residents his entire life. With 35 years of experience to his portfolio, Levin is a master in his class, known internationally for his underwater photography that both exposes a liquid landscape beneath the surface not many see, while only adding to the ocean’s […]
Once upon a time, Hawaii’s own ruled not just the world, but the entire dang universe. Pageant universe that is. Brook Mahealani Lee, born and raised in Central Oahu and a Kamehameha Schools graduate, is something of a trailblazer really. Not only did she win Miss Hawaii USA on her first try in 1997, she
Walt Disney Animation Studios’ “Moana” hit theaters on Nov. 23, 2016, and the colorful, heartwarming coming-of-age story set in the South Pacific 2,000 years ago has become a new favorite for people all over the world. The heroine of the film is Moana, a 16-year-old girl with aspirations of trans-Pacific voyaging. Playing this Polynesian character is
People watching manta rays from Rays on the Bay at the Kona Sheraton by Chance Carpenter “The name of the manta—hahalua—can be interpreted as ‘two breaths,’” she says, “ha, meaning breath, and lua, meaning two … When mantas leap [out of the water], their experience from below transcends into our sphere … Their transcendence speaks
Oh, baby, baby, it’s a wild world, indeed, especially in Hawaii’s forests and offshore waters. Sure, hikers trekking our hundreds of miles of mountain and valley trails rarely need to worry about wild things leaping out in full attack mode. (Lions and tigers and bears? Not us!) And we’ve nary a poisonous species of flora
I can’t remember a time when I’ve visited Kauai and someone—a coworker, a neighbor, my mom—didn’t ask me to bring back a brick of kulolo. You can find kulolo—a Hawaiian dessert staple made from mashed kalo (taro), coconut milk, sugar and little else—for sale on just about every Hawaiian Island. Most local grocery stores sell variants of
While plenty of bars and restaurants throughout Hawaii will break out the Dos Equis, chips and salsa for today’s Cinco de Mayo holiday, many family homes will celebrate May 5 a little bit differently: by flying koinobori, colorful carp-shaped flags, in honor of Tango no Sekku, or Boys’ Day. The traditional Japanese holiday’s original intent
There I stood, hugging a rudraksha tree. Hugging it like it was one of my parents. And I wasn’t the only one. Several visitors from the mainland U.S. and a local horticulturalist were doing the same—all of us, for the moment, literal tree-huggers. A few hours at Kauai Aadheenam, tucked amid the breathtaking verdure straddling
A new iPhone app created by the University of Hawaii at Manoa’s Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology allows users to virtually visit one of Oahu’s most historic Hawaiian fishponds wherever they are in the world. The free app called Loko Ia—Hawaiian for “fishpond”—offers iPhone users two types of interactive, multimedia tours of 800-year-old Heeia Fishpond
It’s 6 a.m., Thursday, in Kealakekua. The sun has yet to break through the morning haze lazing over the small town on the slopes of dormant Hualālai volcano, just south of Kailua-Kona. Not a car is in sight on Māmalahoa Highway, winding through town. On the pastures below the Kona Historical Society’s H.N. Greenwell Store
The phone in Mike Hirao’s office is ringing off the hook. He doesn’t answer it. “I bet this person wants chichi dango,” he says, eyeing the noisy phone. It’s 3 p.m. on a Thursday. Nisshodo Candy Store has been open since 7 a.m. The shop is an hour from closing. And the Japanese mochi dessert
Elmer Guzman was so desperate for a poke bowl while working in New Orleans for Emeril Lagasse he came up with a version using Louisiana ingredients. Instead of Hawaiian ahi, he used escolar (a deepwater fish similar to tuna). With no kukui nuts, he resorted to grinding pecans to give the poke its signature nutty flavor. Some sea
