The Big Island of Hawaii - Hawaii with Kids - page 200

Cowboy Culture
For more information on the Big Island's paniolo (cowboy) past, contact
the Hawaii Island Economic Board, 200 Kanoelehua Ave., Suite 103, Hilo,
HI 96720 ( & 808/966-5416; www.rodeohawaii.com), which offers a free
brochure on the paniolo lifestyle and history; tips on where to meet the
paniolos of today; and information on ranches, outfitters, activities,
shops, and more.
the mana (power) of Old Hawaii. Bring a picnic lunch and swimsuits and spend
the day.
A cultural festival, usually held in June, allows you to join games, learn crafts,
sample Hawaiian food, see traditional hula, and experience life in the islands
before outsiders arrived in the late 1700s. Every Labor Day weekend, one of
Hawaii's major outrigger canoe races starts here and ends in Kailua-Kona. Call
for details on both events.
Hwy. 160 (off Hwy. 11 at mile marker 104), Honaunau. & 808/328-2288. www.nps.gov/puho. Admission $5
per vehicle. Visitor center daily 8am-4:30pm; park Mon-Thurs 6am-8pm, Fri-Sun 6am-11pm. From Hwy. 11,
it's 3 1 ⁄ 2 miles to the park entrance.
THE KOHALA COAST
Puukohola Heiau National Historic Site All ages. This seacoast
temple, called “the hill of the whale,” is the single most imposing and dramatic
structure of the ancient Hawaiians. It was built by Kamehameha I from 1790 to
1791. The temple stands 224 feet long by 100 feet wide, with three narrow ter-
races on the seaside and an amphitheater to view canoes. Kamehameha built this
temple of sacrifice with mortarless stone after a prophet told him he would con-
quer and unite the islands if he did so; 4 years later, he fulfilled his kingly goal.
The site also includes the house of John Young, a trusted advisor of Kame-
hameha, and, offshore, the submerged ruins of Hale O Ka Puni, a shrine dedi-
cated to the shark gods. Plan on at least an hour to tour.
Hwy. 270, near Kawaihae Harbor. & 808/882-7218. www.nps.gov/puhe. Admission $1. Daily 7:30am-4pm.
The visitor center is on Hwy. 270; the heiau is a short walk away. The trail is closed when it's too windy, so
call ahead.
ANCIENT HAWAIIAN FISHPONDS
Like their Polynesian forebears, Hawaiians were among the first aquaculturists
on the planet. Scientists still marvel at the ways they used the brackish ponds
along the shoreline to stock and harvest fish. There are actually two different
types of ancient fishponds (or loko i'a ). Closed ponds, inshore and closed off
from the ocean, were used to raise mullet and milkfish, while other ponds were
open to the sea, with rock walls as a barrier to the ocean and sluice gates that
connected the ponds to the ocean. The gates were woven vines, with just enough
room for juvenile fish to swim in at high tide while keeping the bigger, fatter fish
from swimming out. Generally, the Hawaiians kept and raised mullet, milkfish,
and shrimp in these open ponds; juvenile manini, papio, eels, and barracuda
occasionally found their way in, too.
The Kalahuipuaa Fish Ponds, at Mauna Lani Resort ( & 808/885-6622 ),
are great examples of both types of ponds in a lush tropical setting. South of the
Mauna Lani Resort are Kuualii and Kahapapa Fish Ponds, at the Marriott
Waikoloa Beach Resort ( & 808/885-6789 ). Both resorts have taken great pains