News from the This Oil Crisis Sucks files: the Moloka’i ferry I’ve mentioned here at The Hawaii Traveler raised its rates today by adding a temporary fuel surcharge.  The regular $40 one-way fare to/from Maui and Moloka’i will now cost you $66.  Work commuters are certainly going to be the most hard-hit from the hike, but Sea Link, the ferry operator is appealing to the PUC for a special concession to avoid shutting down.Unlike other operators like the Superferry, Sea Link  receives no subsidies, loan guarantees or other special considerations from government; gas prices combined with declining tourist turn-out in August has Sea Link operating in emergency mode.

Photo by Flickr–Creative Commons, by woodleywonderworks

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Since its founding in 1951 The Nature Conservancy has become, “the leading conservation organization working around the world to protect ecologically important lands and waters for nature and people.” It’s an international organization with more than 117 million acres worldwide and 11 private preserves in Hawaii totaling 32,000 acres.Active for 20 years in the state of Hawaii, it’s a membership coalition that works in cooperation with more than 100 businesses. In Maui, the Conservancy manages preserves at Kapunakea and Waikamoi, the sites of a feral animal hunting initiative. On Lanai, it manages Kanepuu, the site of a see-it-before-you-die ecosystem. And on Moloka’i, the preserves Pelekunu, Kamakou, and Moomomi, which drew some controversy with its pro hunter approach to thinning non-native feral animals in an attempt to protect the landscape and vegetation, and prevent erosion.

However you feel about conservation and the environment, you owe it to yourself to see these preserves. Get in touch with The Nature Conservancy to find out how.

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Beaked whales are among the least understood whale species, as they are believed to spend most of their time feeding on or near the ocean floor.  For the full story on the discovery and transport of this unusual event, see the story at the Honolulu Advertiser.

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During the 1800s, during the rule of King Kamehameha I, Kaho’olawe was the site of the Hawaiian kingdom’s penal colony. Men were banished there, for such crimes as stealing, breaking marriage vows, and promoting Catholicism.

King Kamehameha II reserved the island for government operations, a radical new concept to the old Hawaiian regime. In the late 1800s and early 1900s, Kaho’olawe was leased to ranchers, who populated the island with grazing animals that eroded the landscape by summarily reducing the island’s vegetation down to nothing.

Once the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, that was the end of Kaho’olawe as a viable habitat for residents or tourists. For the next fifty years, the island endured virtually irreversible damage from the US government in the form of constant munitions testing.

Today, Kaho’olawe is strictly off limits to visitors, including the waters approaching the shoreline, mostly because sections of the islands are riddled with unexploded ordnance from Kaho’olawe’s days as a practice target for the US Navy.

But Kaho’olawe has sustained some other, indirect climate and environmental changes as the result of farming and ranching. The great bridging cloud that once spanned the forest of Maui to the island of Kohoolawe, has disappeared as cutting and cattle destroyed the upper forests on Maui. With the cloud forest gone, and the rivers dry, Kaho’olawe is a true desert island.

In 1998, the United States Navy began a federally funded 10 year cleanup program which fell far short of its restorative objectives. Now Kaho’olawe preservationists are working diligently to remove the remaining unexploded ordnance, and to resoil & re-vitalize the land, and rejuvenate its cultural and historical value.

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Best hike across what looks like a moonscape before finding yourself on a deserted black and white beach with a terrific array of tidepools:   Kiholo Bay  on the Northwest side of the Big Island.
Best beach for swimming with turtles and the occasional school of spinner dolphins: Tunnels Beach on Kauai.

Best giant-sized bathtub: Queen’s Bath on Kauai. (Pictured)

Best beach that requires four-wheeling first:  Mo’omomi Beach on Molokai. (Visit during the summer months for best results.)

Best beach that’s totally unsuitable for swimming: Shipwreck Beach on Lana’i.

Best beach for windsurfing locals: Baldwin Beach  on Maui’s north shore.

Photo by Flickr–Creative Commons, by ericrichardson

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And then in 2007, Hawaii Superferry Inc. began running the first passenger-vehicle ferry service between the Hawaiian Islands; however, protesters in Nawiliwili Harbor on Kaua’i suspended operations last August.

Today, however, Hawaii Superferry offers daily inter-island ferry service between Honolulu, Oahu and Kahului, Maui, with plans to serve the Big Island starting in 2009.

Other Islands

The Molokai Ferry provides ; however, this ferry does not accommodate passenger vehicles. Trips from Maui to Lana’i are still a little trickier, and require making a reservation on a private charter.

It’s going to be a while until there’s non-air service from Maui and Oahu to Kaua’i. Let’s hope there’s a viable, environmentally-friendly solution sometime before the transporter is finally invented. Ahoy!

Photo by Flickr–Creative Commons, by eye of einstein

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From the environmental files: did you know that Hawai’i is the Endangered Species Capital of the World?According to the Hawaii Biological Survey, there are more endangered species per square mile on these islands than any other place on the planet. On the list of endangered living things are:

• Nearly 300 taxa of plants
• The O’ahu tree snail
• The Monk Seal
• The Green Sea Turtle (honu)
• 30 species of bird including the Hawaiian ‘Akepa, the Hawaiian Duck, and Hawaiin Goose (nene)
• And many more.

There are heavy, heavy fines for tangling with endangered species of any kind, which begs the question, “What can I tangle with?” The common sense answer is: Don’t fuss with any of the wildlife or plants on Hawaii. Everyone is better off.

Photo of nene by Flickr–Creative Commons, by eye of einstein

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If you’re afraid of slowing down–I mean waaaay down, and leaving your ways and your workaday attitudes back home, then no, don’t go. But if you’re willing, even if only for a day or two, to lose yourself in another time and place, then go. If you love nature, hiking, or just looking at the most stars you might ever see, then go. But if the possibility of power outages or losing your cell phone signal creep you out, steer clear. Do you demand fine dining? Do you need to sit on a white sand beach all day, every day? Moloka’i isn’t for you.

Do you want to meet interesting people, eat fresh fish that someone is selling out of a cooler by the side of the road, and sleep in a canvas bungalow? Come to Moloka’i, where there is admittedly a slightly anti-tourist message; and where locals will adopt you if you’re the slightest bit gracious about following the rules and honoring age-old traditions. Are you generous with your time, and your patience, and you don’t sweat it that you may not be able to buy a bottle of wine on a whim? Then go to Moloka’i. Do you want to see an astonishing piece of history that not many others you meet will have seen? You can get that at Moloka’i (but you have to make a reservation first.)

It’s probably not the first island you’ll want to visit, but if you’re up for experimentation, adventure, and quiet (except for the roosters), Moloka’i is there. Bring your best face, and Moloka’i will deliver the goods.

Photo by Flickr–Creative Commons by *amelia*

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