1,000 Places to See in the U.S.A. & Canada Before You Die (104 page)

Honaunau, Big Island, Hawaii

In ancient Hawaii, death was the penalty for breaking a
kapu
(law), but offenders who somehow eluded the chief’s warriors could find safety at a
pu’uhonua,
or place of refuge. One of these, Pu’uhonua o Honaunau National
Historic Park, is located on the coast south of Kailua-Kona in Honaunau, and in wartime it offered sanctuary to defeated warriors as well as women and children. The 182-acre park is home to the nearly 500-year-old Great Wall. Ten feet high, 1,000 feet long, and 17 feet thick, the wall circumscribes the pu’uhonua proper; outside it lies a complex of archaeological sites, including temple platforms, royal fishponds, and reconstructed thatched huts. The restored temple, Hale o Keawe Heiau, built in 1650 as the burial site of King Kamehameha I’s ancestor Keawe, is located along the wall. The temple holds the bones of 23 ancient Hawaiian chiefs—an old Hawaiian belief held that the bones of high-ranking chiefs and powerful warriors carried their mana, or spiritual power.

Start your visit with an orientation in the amphitheater, and then take a self-guided tour through the royal grounds. Along the way you’ll discover temple sites; a canoe landing featuring koa-wood canoes guarded by carved statues; the stone remains of Hawaiian games
such as
konane,
similar to checkers; the royal fishponds; and the pu’uhonua itself. In addition, the park has hands-on demonstrations of Hawaiian culture, including poi-pounding and canoe-making; an oceanside picnic area, shaded by coconut palms; a beach for swimming and snorkeling; tide pools to explore; and from December to April, offshore sightings of green sea turtles and humpback whales.

Totems watch over the Hale o Keawe Heiau temple at Pu’uhonua o Honaunau National Historic Park.

W
HERE
: 22 miles south of Kailua-Kona. Tel 808-323-2288;
www.nps.gov/puho
.
B
EST TIMES
: late June or early July for the Hawaiian Cultural Festival; early Sept for the Queen Liliuokalani Outrigger Canoe Race.

Only the Strong Survive

Kailua-Kona, Big Island, Hawaii

It started as a bet in 1978, when Navy Commander John Collins and his buddies were arguing over which athletes were more fit: swimmers, runners, or cyclists. To settle the dispute, Collins proposed holding a one-day competition that
included Honolulu’s three most difficult races—the 2.4-mile Waikiki Rough Water Swim, the 112-mile Around Oahu Bike Race, and the 26.2-mile Honolulu Marathon; the winner would be called “Iron Man.” That first year, just 15 people showed up at Waikiki Beach for the event, 12 finished, and Gordon Haller became the first Ironman, with a time of 11 hours, 46 minutes, 58 seconds. By 1981, more than 300 people signed up to test their mettle, far too many for urban Oahu, so the race was moved to the then-rural Big Island, where it still takes place. Today, some 50,000 athletes from around the world compete in qualifying races for 1,500 starting positions. Most of the competitors, who range in age from 18 to 80, race just for the T-shirt that proclaims “Ironman Finisher,” but the top athletes vie for nearly $600,000 in prize money and lucrative endorsements. As of 2006, the course record is an astonishing 8:04:08, set by 1996 winner Luc Van Lierde, from Belgium.

Brag for the rest of your life.”—John Collins

The best view of the start is on the Kailua Bay seawall. Although the starting gun doesn’t go off until 7
A.M.
, the cherished seawall seats are filled by 5
A.M.
Once the swimmers are off, head for the intersection of Palani Road
“Swim 2.4 miles! Bike 112 miles! Run 26.2 miles!
and Kuakini Highway to see the bikers embark on their 112-mile round-trip to the town of Hawi at the tip of the Big Island. At the transition area on the Kailua Pier, by the King Kamehameha Kona Beach Hotel, competitors begin the 26.2-mile run. The best viewing is at the finish line, again at the seawall along Alii Drive, where the winners finish around 3
P.M
.

W
HERE
: start and finish at Kailua Bay and Pier on Alii Drive. Tel 808-329-0063;
www.ironmanlive.com
.
W
HEN
: Sat closest to the full moon in Oct.
W
HERE TO STAY
: King Kamehameha Kona Beach Hotel. Tel 800-367-6060 or 808-923-4511;
www.konabeachhotel.com
.
Cost:
from $170 (book a year in advance for Ironman reservations).
B
EST TIMES
: around 3
P.M
. for the top finishers; just before the midnight cutoff for the most poignant finishing moments.

The Kingdom’s Capital

Kailua-Kona, Big Island, Hawaii

The oceanside tourist town of Kailua-Kona, located at the base of 8,271-foot Hualalai Volcano and known for its sport fishing, is also one of Hawaii’s most significant historic sites. It was here in 1812 that Kamehameha I
established the capital of the Kingdom of Hawaii, after his 1785–1810 campaign to unite the islands. At Kamakahonu, a sacred spot at the tip of Kailua Bay, he restored the centuries-old temple Ahu’ena Heiau and dedicated it to Lono, the god of peace and prosperity. Today the compound, on the grounds of the King Kamehameha Kona Beach Hotel, measures just a third of its original size but still features an imposing
’anu’u
(oracle tower) clad in white tapa cloth and several
ki’i akua,
carved representations of temple gods.

The year after Kamehameha’s death in 1819, the compound witnessed a momentous event: The late king’s son Liholiho sat down to dine with his mother, Kamehameha’s principal queen, breaking not just the
kapu
that forbade women and men to eat together, but the entire kapu system of restrictions that had governed religious and social life for centuries. Into the resulting spiritual void sailed Christian missionaries. Liholiho welcomed them and in the generous spirit that came to define Hawaiian culture, gave the strangers land next to his own sacred compound. There they built Hawaii’s first Christian church, Mokuaikaua Church, which today still stands about 100 yards from the Ahu’ena Heiau; its 112-foot steeple is the tallest man-made structure in Kailua-Kona.

Across the street from Mokuaikaua Church, Hulihe’e Palace, built in 1838 and used for years as a summer residence for royalty, occupies a site overlooking the bay. Now run by the Daughters of Hawaii, the regal mansion offers a window on the lifestyle of Hawaii’s ruling classes.

W
HERE
: the grounds of King Kamehameha Hotel. Tel 800-637-6060 or 808-923-4511;
www.konabeachhotel.com
.
W
HEN
: guided tours Mon–Fri.
M
OKUAIKAUA
C
HURCH
: Tel 808-329-1589.
H
ULIHE’E
P
ALACE
: Tel 808-329-1877;
www.daughtersofhawaii.org/huliheepalace
.
H
OW
: Historic Kailua Walking Tour, tel 808-323-3222;
www.konahistorical.org
.
B
EST TIMES
: last Sun of each month, when the Hulihe’e Palace hosts concerts dedicated to a Hawaiian monarch (in June and Dec, performances are held on King Kamehameha Day and Christmas).

Hawaiian Feast Under the Stars

Kailua-Kona, Big Island, Hawaii

The luau experience has long been an essential part of anyone’s visit to Hawaii. Most commercial luau are pale shadows of the grand Hawaiian feasts traditionally held to mark auspicious occasions, but the Kona Village
Resort’s Friday night luau stands apart. It’s the Big Island’s longest-running and most authentic, and even its name reflects respect for tradition: They call it by the old term
’aha’aina,
or “gathering for a meal” (luau comes from the word for young taro leaves, an ingredient of the feast, and replaced ’aha’aina over a century ago).

Preparations for this extravaganza get underway in the morning with the lighting of a mesquite-wood fire in the
imu,
an underground earthen oven; a few hours later, a whole pig is lowered into it, to cook slowly throughout the afternoon. Festivities begin with the Imu Ceremony, when the chefs remove the hot stones with their bare hands, extract the perfectly roasted, generously seasoned pig, and take it to the open-air dining pavilion, located alongside the resort’s ancient lagoons and lush tropical gardens. In addition to as many as 260 pounds of the shredded
kalua pua’a
(roast pig), there’s a vast array of typical luau fare, including
ahi poke
(raw tuna with seaweed, onion, and spices);
lau lau
(butterfish and seasoned pork steamed in ti leaves); and chewy raw limpets—snail-like mollusks—known locally as
opihi
. Plus: coconut pudding, taro chips, steamed breadfruit, and—of course—poi, the cooked and pounded taro root that is to Hawaii what rice is to Japan. Wash down the magnificent meal with tropical juices, mai tais, or Kona-brewed beer.

After everyone’s eaten, the entertainment begins with a Polynesian revue featuring music and dances of various Pacific cultures, from Hawaiian chants and hula to the Samoan fire knife dance. Watching the thrilling Maori
haka,
best known as a war dance, or the erotically provocative Tahitian
tamure,
it’s easy to imagine how hair-raising they must have seemed to the puritanical missionaries who encountered them in the early 19th century.

Tiki-torch-lit Kona Village, host of this well-known luau, is unique in Hawaii: a resort that is more Pacific island village than hotel, with a clutch of rustic early Polynesian-style thatched-roofed
hales
(cottages), decorated with a breezy island aesthetic. If you’d rather live like royalty, the Four Seasons Resort Hualalai is a plantation-chic oasis of low-rise town houses clustered around the three ocean-side swimming pools. Its excellent 18-hole, Jack Nicklaus–designed Hualalai Golf Course is a big draw; it lies atop an 1801 lava flow from the currently dormant namesake volcano that rises dramatically in the background.

Dancers provide dramatic entertainment at the luau.

W
HERE
: Queen Kaahumanu Hwy. Tel 800-367-5290 or 808-325-5555;
www.konavillage.com
.
Cost:
luau $89; hotel from $580,
includes breakfast and dinner.
When:
luau Fri.
F
OUR
S
EASONS
: Tel 888-340-5662 or 808-325-8000;
www.fourseasons.com/hualalai
.
Cost:
from $625; greens fees $145 (guests only).
B
EST TIMES
: late Jan for the MasterCard Championship at Hualalai Golf Course; early Aug for the “Cream of the Crop” Kona coffee tasting competition at the Four Seasons.