Kauai - Hawaii with Kids - page 345

Niihau: The Forbidden Island

Just 17 miles across the Kaulakahi Channel from Kauai lies the arid
island of Niihau, “The Forbidden Island.” Visitors are not allowed on
this privately owned island, which is a working cattle and sheep ranch
with about 200 residents living in the single town of Puuwai.
In 1864, after an unusually wet winter that turned the dry scrubland
of the small island (18 × 6 miles) into green pasture, Eliza Sinclair, a Scot-
tish widow, decided to buy Niihau and move her family here. King
Kamehameha IV agreed to sell the island for $10,000. The next year,
normal weather returned, and the green pastures withered into sparse
semi-desert vegetation.
Today, Sinclair's great-great-grandson, Bruce Robinson, continues to
run the ranching operation and fiercely protects the privacy of the
island residents. From the outside, life on Niihau has not changed
much in 140 years: There's no running water, indoor plumbing, or elec-
trically generated power. The Hawaiian language is still spoken. Most
of the men work for the ranch when there is work, and fish and hunt
where there is no work. The women specialize in gathering and string-
ing pupu Niihau, prized, tiny seashells (found only on this island), into
Niihau's famous leis, which fetch prices in the thousands of dollars.

restaurants and the island's major
shopping areas.
KAPAA The center of com-
merce on the east coast and the
capital of the Coconut Coast
condo-and-hotel district, this
restored plantation town looks just
like an antique. False-front wooden
stores line both sides of the high-
way; it looks as though they've been
here forever—until you notice the
fresh paint and new roofs and real-
ize that everything has been rebuilt
since Hurricane Iniki smacked the
town flat in 1992.
The North Shore
Kauai's North Shore may be the
most beautiful place in Hawaii.
There's only one road in and out,
and only two towns, Hanalei and
Kilauea—the former by the sea, the
latter on a lighthouse cliff that's
home to a bird preserve.
KILAUEA This village is home
to an antique lighthouse, tropical-
fruit stands, little stone houses, and

Kilauea Point National Wildlife
Refuge, a wonderful seabird pre-
serve. The village itself has its
charms: The 1892 Kong Lung
Company, Kauai's oldest general
store, sells antiques, art, and crafts;
and you can order a jazzy Billie
Holiday Pizza to go at Kilauea Bak-
ery and Pau Hana Pizza.
PRINCEVILLE A little over-
whelming for Kauai's wild North
Shore, Princeville Resort is Kauai's
biggest project, an 11,000-acre
development set on a high plain
overlooking Hanalei Bay. This
resort community includes a luxury
Sheraton hotel, 10 condo com-
plexes, new timeshare units, and
cliff-side access to pocket beaches.
HANALEI Picture-postcard
Hanalei is the laid-back center of
North Shore life and an escapist's
dream; it's also the gateway to the
wild Na Pali Coast. At Hanalei Bay,
sloops anchor and surfers play year-
round. The 2-mile-long crescent