Cnsider an Kauai Hawaii Vacation

by Phyllis Wheeler

If you love a mystery, consider a vacation on Kauai, Hawaii.

Once you are on Kauai, you will wonder about neighboring Ni'ihau, privately owned and closed to visitors. N''ihau was purchased by the Robinson family in 1864. The island measures 550 square miles, and is the westernmost of the main Hawaiian islands.

Ni'ihau (Nee-ee-how) is visible from the southwest shore of Kauai, lying low on the horizon 17 miles away. There are 200 or so native Hawaiians who live there and speak the Hawaiian language. In fact, it's the only place the language is spoken any more. It is taught in the island's only school, which goes K-8.

Ni'ihau residents regularly cross the strait to Kauai to buy provisions. Ni'ihau is short on provisions because it is a desert, lying in the rain shadow of the tall mountain on Kauai, Mt. Wai-ale-ale, drenched with 460 inches of rainfall every year. It is often called the wettest spot on earth.

Sheep ranches have historically supported the people of Ni'ihau, under the ownership of the Robinson family.

The women of Ni'ihau string tiny shells into complex shell leis, a stunning folk art. Their families comb the beaches to find the miniature, pearl-like shells, collecting them in a variety of colors--whites, browns, and reds. Then they sort the shells. The artist uses a simple awl to make a hole in each tiny shell, breaking at least half of them in the process. Because there are no cars on the island, bicycles are plentify, and her awl may be made from a recycled bicycle spoke.

The Ni'ihau shell leis are precious in part because the shells are rare on other Hawaiian islands. Kauai, for example, was home of sugar plantations for many years. The agricultural runoff has destroyed many of the sea creatures that make shells.

Ni'ihau is mostly flat and sandy, except for an eroded lava dome on the east side facing Kauai. It also has two freshwater lakes. Is the lava dome the remains of Hawaii's oldest volcano? It would seem so, because Ni'ihau is on the opposite end of the island chain from the currently active volcanos on the Big Island of Hawaii. The islands were formed as the earth's outer crust moved over an active lava vent. Early Hawaiians thought Ni'ihau was the oldest island, naming it as the ancient original home of the volcano goddess Pele, who hopped from island to island with the active volcanos and now lives on the Big Island. But scientists say actually Kauai is the oldest island, and that Ni'ihau was formed by a side vent of the volcano that made Kauai.

Seeing the low lava dome of Ni'ihau from the southwest side of Kauai is tantalizing. You can find a map of Ni'ihau. You can even find pictures of rock formations on Ni'ihau. What if you are dying to see for yourself? If you are willing to pay for the privilege, you can go--the Robinson family allows a few helicopter tours to remote beaches on Ni'ihau. Or they may let you take a hunting safari to shoot feral bighorn sheep and Polynesian boars, when those populations need culling. Or you can scuba dive offshore--no permission needed.

All that is available from Kauai, Ni'ihau's big sister island 17 miles away. Kauai has immense charms of its own; not only does it have the usual beaches and surf, but it has incredible beauty on its northwest coast, called Na Pali, or The Cliffs.

If you adore a puzzle, you'll come to Kauai for a (http://www.kauai-treasure-isle.com/) Kauai Hawaii vacation. You'll want to learn all about (http://www.kauai-treasure-isle.com/Niihau.php) Niihau, the off-limits Hawaiian isle, as well as about Kauai, place of vibrant natural beauty, from writer Phyllis Wheeler.