Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
lokaʻi's Pali Coast and some will do pick-ups on Molokaʻi. Molokaʻi Fish & Dive offers
packages from $160 per person.
GETTING THE GOAT & SAVING THE REEF
Nonnative feral goats, pigs and deer have run amok in the highlands of Molokaʻi
and are voraciously chewing their way through the foliage. This has led to deforest-
ation and greatly increased the runoff from the frequent rains. These flows of mud
slop down to the south coast along the east end of Molokaʻi, choking the Palaʻau
barrier reef, which in parts is massively degraded. Some of the old fishponds have
been filling with silt at the rate of a foot per year. Talk about Indonesian butterflies
and chaos theory! A goat eats a shrub on a remote Molokaʻi peak and coral dies off
the coast.
Locals have been encouraged to hunt the critters, especially the feral pigs, which
often star at family BBQs. Still, amateur efforts are not enough and the Nature
Conser-vancy has ferried hunters by helicopter to remote parts of the mountains.
CENTRAL MOLOKAʻI
Central Molokaʻi is really two places. In the west there's the dry and gently rolling
Hoʻolehua Plains, which stretch from the remote and rare sand dunes of Moʻomomi
Beach to the former plantation town and current coffee-growing center of Kualapuʻu. To
the east, the terrain rises sharply to the misty, ancient forests of Kamakou. Enjoy one of
the island's great adventures here by going on a hike that takes you back in evolutionary
time.
Molokaʻi's second most popular drive (after the Halawa Valley drive in the east) runs
from Kualapuʻu (with its superb little cafe) up Hwy 470 to Palaʻau State Park, site of the
Kalaupapa Overlook (
Click here
)
, where you'll find one of the island's most captivating
views.
TOP OF CHAPTER
Kamakou Area
The best reason to rent a 4WD vehicle on Molokaʻi is to thrill to the views from the
Waikolu Lookout before discovering the verdant mysteries of the Nature Conservancy's
Kamakou Preserve, where you'll find the island's highest peaks. Exploring this secret
side of Molokaʻi is pure adventure. Besides gazing down into two deep valleys on the is-
