It’s a warm afternoon as I sit on the lawn at Kilohana Plantation in Līhuʻe on Kauaʻi. I’m covered by shade from a tent and yet a slight sweat breaks across my brow as I put all my concentration into my task at hand—weaving half of a fresh coconut frond into an open-top pāpale (the […]
In a historic effort to help repopulate the endangered Hawaiian Petrel, or ʻuaʻu in ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi (Hawaiian language), project partners were happy to see the first of 87 birds return to the protected bird sanctuary of Nihoku at Kīlauea Point National Wildlife Refuge on the island of Kauaʻi. With a small population of 6,000 to 8,000 mating couples in
A lot has changed in the 17 years since Bethany Hamilton lost her arm in a shark attack on Halloween morning in 2003. She’s published an autobiography; seen her story depicted in the movie, “Soul Surfer,” starring AnnaSophia Robb; and most recently released a documentary, “Bethany Hamilton: Unstoppable,” that provides a glimpse into her experience as
Paul Massey is alone in the middle of a forest. To the untrained eye, the sylvan backdrop could look like any of Kaua‘i’s many rich, verdant wooded areas. And yet this forest is unique. This is the Kaua’i Food Forest, founded (and planted, cultivated and harvested) by humans and designed to be a producer of food, both
This Kauai native ditched college at 18 and moved to Europe, where she fell in love with traveling and storytelling. Since then, she’s become a social media influencer with more than 800,000 followers on Instagram, entranced by her world travels and inspiring adventures. (She did go back and earned two degrees: journalism and international studies
A year ago Shannon Hiramoto was browsing the Salvation Army thrift store in Lihue when she came across a short muumuu, with bright pink and purple flowers and a ruffled neckline. She absolutely loved it and bought it for $4. The Kauai-born fashion designer has long had a thing for the loose-fitting aloha-print dresses that
There I was, standing in front of the Historic County Building in downtown Lihue one afternoon last November, wrapping a tape measure around the thick trunk of an old kukui when I realized it was official: I am a tree hugger. That’s not a big surprise. I grew up in the Midwest climbing trees. This
Elizabeth Freeman had just finished eating soup from the Healthy Hut Market & Café in the small town of Kilauea, Kauai, when an idea came to her. She set down her spoon, looking at it with newfound appreciation. “I was looking at the spoon convex side up, and I wondered if I could make the
It’s the only one of its kind. Across the street from Poipu Beach, the most popular beach on the south shore of Kauai, remnants of its ancient life emerge at the 13-acre Ke Kahua O Kaneiolouma (The Kaneiolouma Complex). Dating back to the mid-1400s, Kaneiolouma is one of the only remaining historic Hawaiian villages on
In winter, when Kauai’s shores morph into a magnet for monster swells, a cluster of sleepy, jungle-encroached surf towns transforms into a world-class destination for seasoned wave riders. In this wonderland of reef and point breaks reside some of surfing’s most revolutionary board makers. The Guru: Dick Brewer Dick Brewer, 81, has shaped 50,000 surfboards—and
Actors Rita Moreno and Howard Keel during the filming of “Pagan Love Song.” Photo: Kauai Historical Society In 1950s Kauai, the tourism industry was just beginning to take off. There were no direct flights to the island, but visitors could now travel eight hours from Los Angeles to Honolulu by plane—a lot faster than the
