There is Much to Do on Moloka`i!

Some people you talk to will say that there is nothing to do on Moloka`i. We beg to differ! Even on day 4 we had a list of things to do and still didn't get them all crossed off. Guess we'll just have to go back!

We started the day full on vacation style with drinks by the pool. I must give you some background about Moloka`i. The community is very much about stopping most development dead in its tracks. However, back in the 1970s several resorts and ranches (with deer, pheasants, turkeys, for hunting) managed to get built. In the 1980s one of the resorts was sold to a Japanese Real Estate group. They had big plans to expand the resort area by building homes, more golf courses, and more hotels. There was big push back from the community and after a struggle to find new buyers, the whole area shut down. There are about 150 condominiums that are privately owned and have continued to operate, while all of the resort areas like hotel rooms, golf courses and club houses, and restaurants and shops have closed down. Now what's left is boarded up buildings, dilapidated stairs and hotel rooms, security guards in golf carts (presumably to make sure no one is squatting in the abandoned areas), a weird little gift shop, lots of deer, turkeys, peacocks, and pheasants running around, and a beautiful pool and area of landscaping around the condos. It is a very interesting dichotomy in a small area. 

That being said, we took Monday morning to enjoy the beautiful grounds, all to ourselves!

We had to check out from our room, so we went back, packed up, ate some lunch, and headed out to stop in at a few landmark destinations on the island. The first stop was the Moloka`i Museum. Here there was a restored sugar mill from the 1880s and pictures and history about Kalaupapa.

Will in front of the restored sugar mill.

The museum building.

Inside the sugar mill.

We made a stop to look around at the Coffee's of Hawai`i gift shop (unfortunately you can't tour the plantation anymore as they are protecting it again an invasive beetle that has been devastating the coffee plants on outer islands). Next we went to see the wharf. Suprisingly Moloka`i has the largest wharf in the state! We were able to drive all the way to the end and enjoyed watching the fishermen and seeing the beautiful view of the island.

Our flight was at 6:55, so we knew we wanted to do a bit of an early dinner and it was about that time. We went, you guessed it, back to Paddler's Inn for one last meal.

After dinner we drove back to the airport. The wonderful thing about it being so small is that you don't need to get there very early! We arrived about an hour before our flight and our plane wasn't even there yet, so we figured we had a little time to spare. As we were sorting through the car and getting things packed up, we realized we had one last beer in the cooler, so we decided to do a little tailgating! No one was around, so it wasn't going to be a problem, and funny thing was, was that as we walked from through the parking area to the terminal we saw several small piles of beer bottles under people's cars. So either it's the thing to do, to have some beverages before your flight, or perhaps people come and watch the planes come and go and drink for entertainment! We'll never know . . .

Our view from the tailgate.

Shaka brah

Mokulele airplane landing as we took off.

Aloha Moloka`i! You were beautiful and we will see you again!