Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Kamakahonu was the name of the grand royal residence of Kamehameha; Ahu'ena
Heiau is the only remaining part of that compound. A few artifacts from Kamakahonu
are displayed in the lobby of the Courtyard King Kamehameha Beach Hotel, including
Kamehameha's royal feather cloak
(ʻahuʻula)
and helmet
(mahiole)
, as well as 40 paint-
ings by local legend Herb Kane depicting traditional Hawaiian folkways and mythology.
Mokuʻaikaua Church
CHURCH
(
www.mokuaikaua.org
; 75-5713 Aliʻi Dr; 7:30am-5:30pm)
Completed in 1836, Mokuʻaikaua
Church is a handsome building with walls of lava rock held together by sand and coral-
lime mortar. The posts and beams, hewn with stone adzes and smoothed with chunks of
coral, are made from ohia, and the pews and pulpit are made of koa, the most prized nat-
ive hardwood. The steeple tops out at 112ft, making this the tallest structure in Kailua.
Often referred to as 'the big stone church on Aliʻi,' Mokuʻaikaua is the gestation point
of Hawaiian Christianity. On April 4, 1820, the first Christian missionaries to the
Hawaiian Islands sailed into Kailua Bay. When they landed they were unaware that
Hawaiʻi's kapu system had been abolished on that very spot just a few months before.
The church is popular for weddings, and inside is a dusty model of the missionaries'
ship,
Thaddeus,
and a history of their arrival.
Contemporary
services
are held at 9am on Sundays, with traditional services follow-
ing at 11am. The latter features the Ohana Choir and is followed by a short lecture on the
history of the church.
Kailua Pier
LANDMARK
The town's pier, built in 1915, was once a major cattle-shipping point. Cattle driven
down from hillside ranches were stampeded into the water and forced to swim out to
waiting steamers, where they were hoisted aboard by sling and shipped to Honolulu
slaughterhouses.
Today Kailua Pier is where locals get wet on their lunch hour, where the Ironman
Triathlon starts and finishes, and the official weigh-ins happen at the annual Hawaiian In-
ternational Billfish Tournament.
Kona Brewing Company
MICROBREWERY
