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Huaka‘i
Ka‘apuni Kaua‘i
Traveling To Kaua‘i - From the San Francisco Presidio
to Po‘ipu Beach |
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Waiting in
the cool, late afternoon air behind the stage at the Presidio
Parade Grounds last August 7, I couldn’t help experiencing
an odd kind of double thrill: the first was to actually be
performing at the renowned San Francisco Aloha Festival
with Kumu Mark and the Academy of Hawaiian Arts, as we presented
a suite of songs dedicated to the island of Kaua'i. The second
was to know that 24 hours later, I would be able to visit
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many of the
places we were honoring in song and dance – I was
finally going to Kaua'i!
Over the months leading up to this day, we had been learning
and practicing a number of mele. We had learned how to make
our own ipu heke, and were learning how to use them for
many of the hula and mele we would be presenting. Kumu Mark
had shared with us his one great wish for our performance:
that the people in the audience who were from Kaua'i would
look at the stage and say, "Kumu Mark and the dancers
are singing and dancing those songs for us! For Kaua'i!!
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So we worked on,
practiced, and mastered "Maika'i Kaua'i," "Mele
No Ko'olau," "'Ai Manu Ko'olau," and "Hanohano
Waimea," among several others. And the names of places
around the island of Kaua'i became more and more familiar
to us as we learned to sing and dance their praises: Waialeale,
Kalanikini, Kawaikini, Maunahina, Hīhīmanu, Manu'akepa,
Hanalei and Hā'ena (from "Maika'i Kaua'i'); Kalalau,
Nu'alolo, Mākuaiki and Kamalie (from "'Ai Manu Ko'olau");
Waimea, the Menehune Ditch, Waineki, Luhi and 'Aipō (from
"Hanohano Waimea"). |
Map of Kaua'i |
After this Kaua'i immersion, my own great wish was to visit
at least some of these now seemingly magical places. |
The next afternoon, after a
brief stopover to change planes in Honolulu, we landed at
Līhu'e airport. Facing the splendor of the Hā'upu
mountains under a crown of clouds, with brilliant blue sky
on either side, it was easy to see how so many songs of glory
would have been composed about Kaua'i.
From our accommodations in Po'ipu, over the next week, my
husband, Keith, and I interspersed adventure time with relaxation
time, and by doing so, my wish was fulfilled. We traveled
by car, by boat, and by helicopter, bathing in the views –
and capturing them on film. Here’s a mini-photo album
of this part of our journey: |
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Kalalau Valley by helicopter.
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Kalalau Valley by boat. |
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Kalalau Valley
As we sailed by this lush and beautiful valley, we were
told that the last residents of the Kalalau Valley had been
"removed" in the 1920's. We later learned that
the grandmother of the captain of our boat had been one
of those people.
Although she has paperwork dating back to prove her ownership
of the land, the corresponding U. S. government title office
papers don’t exist (because the building burned down),
and as a result, she can longer occupy her own land. |
Menehune Ditch marker stone. |
Menehune
Ditch
There is an impressive marker stone set into the lava wall
above the remains of the ditch.
These stones have an ancient look: weathered, worn, almost
soft. But they are still neatly lined up, and water still
runs inside the ditch! |
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Hanalei Poi Fields
Taken
on an overlook directly facing Waialeale, these poi fields
produce most of the poi packaged in the Hawaiian islands.
But oddly enough, we could not find any Hanalei poi in Hanalei
(or even in nearby Princeville)! It turns out that the poi
is processed in Waimea – too bad we didn’t know
that when we went looking for it!!
Waialeale
We sat one day and ate our lunch at the valley overlook,
waiting for the cloud cover to lift so that we could see
the summit. The next day, our luck changed, and the mountain
revealed its full glory.
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Hanalei Poi Fields
Waialeale by air |
| We sank beneath
the mist and clouds for this very close up view. Our pilot
explained that there should have been dozens of waterfalls,
but we saw only a few; apparently, it has been very dry on
the island this year. |
The one place we didn't actually take pictures was where we
stopped to snorkel in the bay at Nu'alolo – but it looks
something like this. |
| Nu'alolo
I had an encounter with a playful honu (turtle),
who almost let me touch its back flipper before dive bombing
right in front of me. |
This is where our mini-pictorial ka'apuni (traveling around)
of Kaua'i ends.
I've chosen this spot because of its proximity
to a very special place, which I’ll be describing
in greater detail in the next newsletter edition: the Hula
Heiau and Hālau at Kē'ē,
Hā'ena, Kaua'i.
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In the vicinity of Hā'ena …
or thereabouts. |
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