Maui Alaloa

The canoe was a principal means of travel in ancient Hawaiʻi.

Canoes were used for inter-village coastal and interisland travel, while trails within the ahupuaʻa provided access between the uplands and the coast.

Most permanent villages initially were near the sea and sheltered beaches, which provided access to good fishing grounds as well as facilitating canoe travel between settlements.

At about the same time of Christopher Columbus crossing the Atlantic to America (he was looking for an alternate trade route to the East Indies,) Piʻilani was ruler of Maui.

According to oral tradition, Piʻilani unified the entire island of Maui and ruled in peace and prosperity, bringing together, under one rule, the formerly-competing eastern (Hāna) and western (Wailuku) multi-district kingdoms of the Island.

Piʻilani's prosperity was exemplified by a boom in agriculture and construction of heiau, fishponds, trails and irrigation systems.  Famed for his energy and intelligence, Piʻilani constructed the West Maui phase of the noted Alaloa, or long trail (also known as the King’s Highway.)

Ancient trails facilitated trading between upland and coastal villages and communications between ahupuaʻa and extended families. These trails were usually narrow, following the topography of the land.  Sometimes, over ʻaʻā lava, they were paved with waterworn stones (ʻalā or paʻalā).

Pi‘ilani died at Lāhainā and the kingdom of Maui passed to his son, Lono-a-Piʻilani (Lono.) Pi‘ilani had directed that the kingdom go to Lono, and that Kiha-a-Piʻilani (Kiha - Lono’s brother) serve under him in peace.

In the early years of Lono’s reign all was well … that changed.

Lono became angry, because he felt Kiha was trying to seize the kingdom for himself.  Lono sought to kill Kiha; so Kiha fled in secret to Molokaʻi and later to Lānaʻi. When Kiha, with chiefs, warriors and a fleet of war canoes, made their way to attack Lono; Lono trembled with fear of death, and died. (Kamakau)

Kiha assumed power over Maui.  Like his father, the reign of Kiha was, “eminently peaceful and prosperous, and his name has been reverently and affectionately handed down to posterity”. (Fornander)

Kiha resumed what his father had started in West Maui.  Kiha laid the East Maui section and connected the island.  This trail was the only ancient pathway to encircle any Hawaiian island (not only along the coast, but also up the Kaupō Gap and through the summit area and crater of Haleakalā.)

Kiha connected the entire island with a network of trails to aide his people in their travels which gave him quick access to all parts of his kingdom.

Four to six-feet wide and 138-miles long, this rock-paved path facilitated both peace and war.  It simplified local and regional travel and communication, and allowed the chief’s messengers to quickly get from one part of the island to another.  The trail was used for the annual harvest festival of Makahiki and to collect taxes, promote production, enforce order and move armies.

Missionaries Richards, Andrews and Green noted in 1828, “a pavement said to have been built by Kihapiʻilani, a king … afforded us no inconsiderable assistance in traveling as we ascended and descended a great number of steep and difficult paries (pali.)” (Missionary Herald)

By the middle-1820s, significant changes in the Hawaiian Kingdom were underway. The missionaries, who arrived in April 1820, selected key stations generally coinciding with the traditional Royal Centers, which by this time, were also developing as trade points with foreign vessels. The development of trails to western-style roadways was initiated to facilitate access to mission stations, landings, and key areas of resource collection.

Until the 1840s, overland travel was predominantly by foot and followed the traditional trails. By the 1840s, the use of introduced horses, mules and bullocks for transportation was increasing, and many traditional trails - the ala loa and mauka-makai trails within ahupuaʻa - were modified by removing the smooth stepping stones that caused the animals to slip.

Eventually, wider, straighter trails were constructed to accommodate horse drawn carts. Unlike the earlier trails, these later trails could not conform to the natural, sometimes steep, terrain. They often by-passed the traditional trails as more remote coastal villages became depopulated due to introduced diseases and the changing economic and social systems.

Sometimes, the new corridors were constructed over the alignments of the ancient trails, or totally realigned, thus abandoning - for larger public purposes - the older ala loa. In addition to these modifications in trail location and type due to changing uses, trails were also relocated as a result of natural events such as lava flows, tsunami, and other occurrences. The Hawaiian trail system was and will remain dynamic.

Hoapili is credited with improving the King’s Highway (in early 1800s - portions were called Hoapili Trail, initially built during the reign of Pi‘ilani.)  Hoapili commissioned road gangs for the work. The Rev. Henry Cheever noted that these road gangs were largely composed of prisoners who had been convicted of adultery; Cheever called it “the road that sin built.”  (Samson)

By the early 1850s, specific criteria were developed for realigning trails and roadways, including the straightening of alignments and development of causeways and bridges. This system of roadwork, supervised by district overseers, and funded through government appropriations - with labor by prisoners and individuals unable to pay taxes in another way - evolved over the next 40 years.

With the passing of time, emphasis was given to areas of substantial populations. Because of the on-going decline of the Hawaiian population, and the near abandonment of isolated communities formerly accessed by the ala loa and earlier alanui aupuni, segments were abandoned.

In the later years of the Hawaiian monarchy, the need to define and protect Hawaiian trails and roadways was recognized, particularly in support of native tenants living in remote locations. Often these native tenants` lands were surrounded by tracts of land held by single, large landowners who challenged rights of access.

In 1892, Queen Liliʻuokalani and the Legislature of the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi signed into law an “Act Defining Highways, and Defining and Establishing Certain Routes and Duties in Connection Therewith,” to be known as The Highways Act, 1892.

“All roads, alleys, streets, ways, lanes, courts, places, trails and bridges in the Hawaiian Islands, whether now or hereafter opened, laid out or built by the Government, or by private parties, and dedicated or abandoned to the public as a highway, are hereby declared to be public highways.”

The image shows a portion of the Kings Highway footpath showing rounded rocks laid into lava bed (LOC.) In addition, I have added other related images in a folder of like name in the Photos section on my Facebook and Google+ pages.

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Māʻalaea

The name Māʻalaea may be a contraction of Maka-‘alaea, which means “ocherous earth beginning,” a reference to ‘alaea, a red clay commonly used for coloring sea salt.  Other place names found on old maps include Kalae‘ia, Palalau and Kanaio.    (Engledow)

Māʻalaea is part of the land division called Waikapū, which originates in one of four valleys created by streams known as Nā Wai Eha - The Four Waters. Those famous streams carved the steep ridges and gullies of four valleys of the West Maui mountains - Waikapū, ‘Īao, Waiehu and Waiheʻe.

The Waikapū district covers approximately half of the isthmus known as Kama‘oma‘o, reaching the south shore and including the shoreline from near Māʻalaea to Kïhei Püko‘a.  (Engledow)

After Kamehameha conquered Maui in 1795, the district of Waikapū was given to Ke‘eaumoku, one of the “four Kona Uncles” who had been his main supporters. When Ke‘eaumoku died in 1804 it went to his son, Kahekili Ke‘eaumoku, and on his death in 1824 to Kuakini, then to Leleiōhoku in 1844. During the Great Māhele of 1848, some Land Commission Awards (LCA) were granted in Kamaʻalaea.

“On the south side of western Maui the flat coastal plain all the way from Kihei and Māʻalaea to Honokahua, in old Hawaiian times, must have supported many fishing settlements and isolated fishermen's houses, where sweet potatoes were grown in the sandy soil or red lepo near the shore. For fishing, this coast is the most favorable on Maui, and although a considerable amount of taro was grown, I think it reasonable to suppose that the large fishing population which presumably inhabited this leeward coast ate more sweet potatoes than taro with their fish.” (Handy)

One product of the area was salt. In an entry dated February 1, 1817, an early voyager describes arriving at “Mackerey (Māʻalaea) Bay; here we lay until the 6th, and took on board a great quantity of hogs, salt, and vegetables. This bay is very deep and wide and nearly divides the island, there being but a narrow neck of land and very low, keeping the two parts of the island together."

"There is good anchorage; and the only danger arises from the trade winds, which blows so strong at times as to drive ships out of the bay with two anchors down; it lies NE and SW and is well sheltered from every other wind. The neck of land is so low, and the land so high on each side, that the NE trade comes through like a hurricane. On this neck of land are their principal salt-pans, where they make a most excellent salt.”  (Engledow)

During the California Gold Rush, between 1848 and 1850, Māʻalaea Bay functioned as a major port for transporting Hawaiian-grown goods, such as Irish potatoes, sweet potatoes, onions, pumpkins, oranges, coffee and molasses. Such goods were then shipped to San Francisco and elsewhere along the west coast of the continent.  (Engledow)

Much of the region of Waikapū was converted for agriculture during the mid-1800s, with sugar cane as the primary crop. Eventually the entire ahupuaʻa was sold to Henry Cornwell in 1885. Cornwell, along with his brother-in-law James Louzada, of Waimea, Hawaiʻi, began the Waikapū Plantation. The plantation fell under the control of the Wailuku Sugar Company in 1894.  (Engledow)

Two traditional sayings, or ‘ōlelo no‘eau, referred to this area, and both have to do with its famous winds. “Ka makani kokololio o Waikapū, The gusty wind of Waikapū,” is referred to in the song “Inikinikimālie” by James Kahale. Another is “Pā kamakani o ka Moaʻe, hele ka lepo o Kaho‘olawe i Māʻalaea, When the Moa‘e wind blows, the dust of Kaho‘olawe goes toward Māʻalaea." (Pukui)

The area of Kapoli Spring, at the western end of Māʻalaea, is traditionally said to be the site where the high chiefs landed by canoe and been a landing point for centuries.  Two large boulders are nearby; one is known as Pōhaku O Maʻalaea, situated along Kapoli Spring. One stone is recorded as a pōhaku piko, while the other stone, known as the “Kings Table,” was used for either food preparation or adze grinding. Both stones have been moved from their original locations.

Stories tell of Kihapiʻilani landing here on his return to Maui, after he had fled Lānaʻi following a fight with his brother Lonoapiʻilani. Kihapiʻilani and his wife supposedly met people with bundles “going down makai to the shore to trade some food” at “Kamāaʻalaea,” another name for Māʻalaea.

In 1736, Kapoli in Māʻalaea was the landing place to take the remains of Kekaulike, the ruling chief of Maui, by land to Wailuku in the ʻĪao Valley.  “Then, fearing the arrival of Alapaʻi bent on war, the chiefs cut the flesh from the bones of Kekaulike in order to lighten the load in carrying the body to ʻĪao [for burial]."  (Kamakau)

In the early-1790s, Captain George Vancouver visited Maui and brought the first cattle and root vegetables to the island.  A memorial, with Canadian totem poles, to Vancouver was erected by Canadian J Gordon Gibson near the initial landing site, across the bay at Kihei.

The main mauka/makai trail followed Kealaloloa Ridge.  Because of the steep terrain in the area, there was no coastal trail between Olowalu and Māʻalaea, so “from ‘Olowalu travelers were ferried by canoe to Māʻalaea, thence to Makena”.  (Rechtman)

One of the places they passed along that route was a promontory that has a modern name of McGregor Point.  Here, the wind was so strong at times, that it would shred the sails of vessels trying to traverse the coastline by sea (as noted in Nūpepa Kūʻokoʻa, 1868:)

Ke holo nei ka moku a kūpono i Ukumehame, nānā aku i ka makani wili ko‘okai i ka moana, kahea mai ‘ia ke Kāpena i nā sela a pū‘ā i nā pe‘a, e hao mai ana ka makani pau nā pe‘a i ka nahaehae.   (The ship sailed on until reaching just outside of Ukumehame, watching the strong whirling winds whipping the seas, the captain called out to the sailors to furl the sails, the wind was gusting and the sails were torn.) (Rechtman)

McGregor ordered the anchor dropped for the night.  With the light of the morning, McGregor awoke to find that he had discovered an excellent cove with a protecting point.  The point, just over a mile southwest of Māʻalaea Bay, continues to bear his name.  In 1877, Wilder Steamship Company initiated passenger and freight service between the Hawaiian Islands.  At that time, there were few navigational aids, so the steamship company was forced to erect lighted beacons for the safety of its own vessels.

One of these private aids was placed at Māʻalaea Bay in the 1880s and was an ordinary lantern, fitted with red glass and displayed from a post.  In 1903, land was acquired on McGregor Point and a light was placed on the point to replace the one at Māʻalaea.  This was later upgraded in 1915.

The area is known for another famous landing.  On February 18, 1881, The “Beta” under the command of Captain Christian L’Orange, an early plantation owner who, under a commissioned from King Kalākaua, landed 600-Scandinavian immigrants who had signed on to work in the booming sugar plantations.

Sometime before 1825, a hand-built trail for horseback and foot travel connected Wailuku and Lāhainā (the alignment is referred to as the Lāhainā Pali Trail;) it served as the most direct route across the steep southern slopes of West Maui Mountain.  Laura Fish Judd, in 1841, described it as, “A new road had been made around the foot of the mountain, the crookedest, rockiest, ever traveled by mortals. Our party consisted of five adults and five children. We had but two horses. One of these was in a decline on starting; it gave out in a few miles.”

Around 1900, the Lāhainā Pali Trail fell out of use when prison laborers built a one-way dirt road along the base of the pali. In 1911, a three-ton truck was the first vehicle to negotiate this road, having a difficult time making some of the sharp, narrow turns.  Over the years, the road was widened and straightened until 1951, when the modern Honoapiʻilani Highway cut out many of the 115-hairpin curves in the old pali road and a tunnel cleared the way through a portion of the route.

This was the first tunnel ever constructed on a public highway in Hawaiʻi - built on the Olowalu-Pali section of the Lāhainā-Wailuku Road (now Honoapiʻilani Highway,) completed on October 10, 1951. The tunnel is 286-feet long, 32-feet wide, and more than 22 feet high.  (Schmidt)  Today, a remnant of the old trail is a recreational hike – five-miles long (from Māʻalaea to Ukumehame (the ahupuaʻa adjoining Waikapū)) and climbs to over 1,600-feet above sea level.

Māʻalaea was the site of Maui's first commercial airport. “In late 1929, Interisland Airways (which later became Hawaiian Airlines,) Hawaiian Commercial & Sugar, and the Kahului Railroad cooperated in building a paved airstrip near Māʻalaea,” but the airport closed in 1938-39. It was troubled by high winds, was too close to the West Maui Mountains and was inadequate for the larger airplanes that had come into use.   (Engledow)

In May 1944, training for the assault on Saipan were held at Māʻalaea Bay and Kaho‘olawe.   The Fourth and Fifth Marine Divisions also used the area for joint ship-to-shore training and amphibious landing practice before the 1945 battle of Iwo Jima.  The Māʻalaea Bay area furnished an antitank moving-target range, a close-combat range, and a 20-point rifle range. The beach at Māʻalaea Bay was fortified with pillboxes and emplacements modeled after the Tarawa Beach.

Today, Māʻalaea remains as a boat landing area.  The present Small Boat Harbor facilities were first developed by the Territory in 1952 and improved in 1955 and 1959.  The harbor, under the control of DLNR-DOBOR, has approximately 30-berths, 61-moorings, boat ramp, a harbor office, a dry dock, a restaurant and a boat club.

Within the Harbor is the Māʻalaea Ebisu Kotohira Jinsha (completed in 1999, it is a replica of the original shrine built in 1914.)  Ebisu is one of the seven lucky deities and the guardian god of fisherman and merchants; kotohira means 'fishermen'; and jinsha means 'shrine.' This traditional Shinto fishing shrine on the shore of Māʻalaea Small Boat Harbor was originally located on the site of the Maui Ocean Center.

McGregor Point Lookout is a popular vantage point for seeing humpback whales from land. From this vantage point you have a sweeping view of the ocean.  Humpback whales arrive in Hawaiʻi over a six-month period, with the best viewing months from mid-December through mid-April.

The image shows Māʻalaea.  In addition, I have added related images in a folder of like name in the Photos section on my Facebook and Google+ pages.

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Road to Hāna

The Maui News reported that this “fine piece of road” was of “practically no benefit”.

They later changed their tune and called it a “great road making achievement in the Islands, fraught with tremendous difficulties in engineering and construction work” and completed by “dare-devil exploits.”  (NPS)

OK, it’s called “Hāna Highway” but that name conjures up the wrong images of what this roadway is all about.  Drive slowly, because you can’t drive fast, anyway.

It’s 52-miles long; there are 620-curves, 59-bridges and 8-culverts … in your slow motion ride, along the way you will also see a variety of scenic views, including the ocean, mountains, sea cliffs, waterfalls, small villages, native and exotic vegetation and traditional landscapes.

This transportation link has a long history … let’s look back.

Back in the 15th Century (around the time Columbus was crossing the Atlantic,) Maui was divided into two Royal Centers, Lāhainā and Hāna.  Back then, the canoe was the primary means of travel around and between the Islands.

Piʻilani, ruling from the Royal Center in Lāhaina, where he was born (and died,) gained political prominence for Maui by unifying the East and West of the island, elevating the political status of Maui.

Famed for his energy and intelligence, Piʻilani constructed the West Maui phase of the noted Alaloa, or long trail (also known as the King’s Highway.)  His son, Kihapiʻilani laid the East Maui section and connected the island.

This trail was the only ancient pathway to encircle any Hawaiian island (not only along the coast, but also up the Kaupo Gap and through the summit area and crater of Haleakalā.)

Four to six feet wide and 138 miles long, this rock-paved path facilitated both peace and war.  It simplified local and regional travel and communication, and allowed the chief’s messengers to quickly get from one part of the island to another.

Missionaries Richards, Andrews and Green noted in 1828, “a pavement said to have been built by Kihapiʻilani, a king … afforded us no inconsiderable assistance in traveling as we ascended and descended a great number of steep and difficult paries (pali.)” (Missionary Herald)

The 1848 account of Moses Manu noted, “This road was treacherous and difficult for the stranger, but when it was paved by Kihapiʻilani this road became a fine thing.” (NPS)

The first modern roads on Maui began to be built around the late-1800s.  Many of these early roads led to and from different plantations in the town of Hāna, where sugar, pineapple, wheat and rubber all flourished.  In 1849, George Wilfong opened the first sugar mill in Hāna near Kaʻuiki Hill.

The modern history of the Hāna Belt Road began in the 1870s when fifteen miles of unpaved road was built from central Maui into East Maui’s rain forest to facilitate the construction of the Hāmākua Ditch (to carry water for irrigation of central Maui’s sugar plantations.)

By 1883, the number of sugar plantations in Hāna grew to six.  At this time there were small roads going from one plantation to another, as well as partial routes to Kahului from Hāna or from Pāʻia to Hāna.  The problem was a lack of reliable roads into and out of Hāna.

The journey to Hāna was made partly over unpaved wagon roads and horse trails, often rendered impassable by damage from frequent rains. The most common means of travel to Hana was by steamer ship. Writer Robert Wenkam states that:
“When Hana was without a road, and the coastal steamer arrived on a weekly schedule, Hana-bound travelers unwilling to wait for the boat drove their car to the road's end … rode horseback … walked down the switchback into Honomanu Valley.  … By outrigger canoe it was a short ride beyond Wailua to Nahiku landing where they could borrow a car for the rest of the involved trip to Hana. Sometimes the itinerary could be completed in a day. Bad weather could make it last a week.” (Library of Congress)

In 1900, folks saw the need to extend a good wagon road through to Hāna, which would be part of the island's “belt” (around-the-island) road system. That year, a rudimentary road was built from Ke'anae to Nahiku.

The 1905 Superintendent of Public Works report stated that “very rough country is encountered in these districts. On account of the great expenses of road construction, the road has been made as narrow as possible in order to construct, with the money available, the maximum length of road”. (LOC, Territory of Hawaiʻi 1905)

Overland travel continued by horse and many travelers followed the trails along the irrigation ditches. Steamers remained the preferred mode of transportation for travel along the Hāna Coast.

Beginning in 1908, in anticipation of road improvements, twenty-four solid-paneled, reinforced-concrete bridges were built by 1915; from 1916 to 1929, an additional thirty-one bridges were built with a reinforced-concrete.

A large part of the road to Hāna was constructed by prison labor based at the Keʻanae Prison Camp. The camp was built in 1926 to house the prisoners who would construct the road, including several bridges from Kailua to Hana. When the road was completed, men from Keʻanae to Hāna town were hired to maintain the road, especially during the rainy season.  (McGregor)

Finally, after multiple phases of road and bridge construction, the Hāna Belt Road was opened to the public on December 18, 1926. Honiron, a publication of Honolulu Iron Works, described the road as “spectacularly chiseled out of abrupt cliffs and precipitous valleys.” The road was not paved along its entire length when it was opened in 1926. (NPS)

Miles of the roadway were nothing more than a 16'-wide shelf cut into the mountainside, with towering masses of rock above and sheer drops measuring hundreds of feet to the ocean below.  (NPS)

The Maui News claimed the road was the most scenic drive way in the world, with vistas of lofty mountains, the Pacific Ocean, wild canyons, cataracts, waterfalls and luxurious tropical vegetation.  Signs marked "bad turn" and "go slow" were installed to mark dangerous curves and other points in the road. The average speed for driving the Hana Belt Road was 20-mph.  (NPS)

The Hāna Highway portion of the “belt road” traverses approximately fifty-two miles along Maui’s north and east coast from Kahului in central Maui to the remote East Maui community of Hāna. After Hāna, the road continues as the Piʻilani Highway. Together, these East Maui roads were part of Maui's “belt” road system around the entire island.  (NPS)

It is not just a road; it is an attraction ... for all, an experience.

In August 2000, the Hāna Highway was officially designated a Millennium Legacy Trail.  The designation is given to trails that reflect the essence and spirit of our nation's states and territories. Millennium Legacy Trails are representative of the diversity of trails; rail-trails and greenways, historic trails, cultural itineraries, recreation paths, waterways, alternative transportation corridors and many other types of trails. (Rails to Trails Conservancy)  On June 15, 2001, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places.

The image shows a portion of the Hāna Highway. I added other images in a folder of like name in the Photos section on my Facebook and Google+ pages.

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Honolua, Maui

In northwest Maui, the district the ancients called Kaʻānapali, there are six hono bays (uniting of the bays,) which are legendary:  from South to North, Honokowai (bay drawing fresh water), Honokeana (cave bay), Honokahua (sites bay,) Honolua (two bays), Honokohau (bay drawing dew) and Hononana (animated bay).

This area was likely settled between 600-1100 AD. By about the 15th century, all of Nā Hono were under the realm of Pi’ilani, the ruling chief of Maui, Kahoʻolawe, Molokaʻi and Lānaʻi.

During his reign, Piʻilani gained political prominence for Maui by unifying the East and West of the island, bringing rise to the political status of Maui.

Piʻilani’s power eventually extended from Hāna on one end of the island to the West, in addition to the islands visible from Honoapiʻilani - Kahoʻolawe, Molokaʻi and Lānaʻi.

Piʻilani (“stairway to heaven”) unified West Maui; his territory included the six West Maui bays (Nā Hono A Pi‘ilani,) a place he frequented with his court to relax, fish and surf.

One of these, Honolua, is the subject of this summary.

Settlement patterns of Honolua followed patterns elsewhere, permanent habitation around the coastal and near shore lands, as well as the inland Honolua valley land. The forested and ridge-top lands were used for gathering forest products, and for forest plantings of various utilitarian Hawaiian plants.

Ancient Hawaiian villages on Maui were generally placed at the mouths of the larger gulches or at least within sight of the sea. Both pre-contact and historic features have been identified in the coastal and nearshore lands region. It can be inferred that the coastal lands were settled since the pre-contact period and extensively used during the historic period.  (Cultural Surveys)

Piʻilani had two sons, according to legend, one of whom, Kihaʻaʻpiʻilani, surfed at Honolua Bay.

Kekaulike, a descendant of Piʻilani, later became chief. He had two sons, Kauhiʻaimoku a Kama and Kamehamehanui, who engaged in civil war.

Honolua Bay was a landing site for Peleʻioholani, ruling chief of Kauaʻi and Oʻahu (mid- to late-1700s,) an ally of Kauhiʻaimoku a Kama. Warriors would convene at Honolua Valley, prior to traveling to Honokahua Bay.

Through the Māhele, the bulk of Honolua was awarded to William C Lunalilo (later King Lunalilo) on June 19, 1852.  In addition, kuleana lands were awarded to native tenants.

After Lunalilo’s death, his will established a trust to build a home to accommodate the poor, destitute and inform people of Hawaiian (aboriginal) blood or extraction, with preference given to older people.

Eventually, the land subsequently transferred several times, culminating with HP Baldwin in 1889.

Honolua (and neighboring Līpoa Point) was used in a variety of ways, coffee and cattle (Honolua Ranch, starting in late-1880s,) pineapple (Baldwin Packers and later Maui Land and Pineapple, starting in 1912,) an alternative airplane landing field (1920) and West Maui Golf Club (1926.)  Later, portions were included in the Kapalua Resort area (Kapalua Land Company, 1974.)

In 1946, a tsunami was generated by a magnitude 7.1 earthquake in the Aleutian Islands.  This tsunami struck Hawaiʻi on April 1st.  Wave run-up at Honolua was recorded at 24-feet, destroying coastal improvements.

Honolua Bay was the historic starting point for the Hōkūleʻa’s first trip to the South Pacific.  As part of the US Bicentennial, on May 1, 1976, Captain Kawika Kapahulehua and Navigator Mau Pialug, departed Honolua Bay for Papeʻete, Tahiti.

Mau navigated the leg to Tahiti with only his traditional knowledge and skills while the return leg was navigated using modern methods and tools.

Following the ill-fated 1978 capsizing of Hōkūleʻa, Nainoa Thompson successfully navigated a second voyage to Tahiti - a 6,000 mile round trip - with Mau on board in 1980.

In 1979, the Honolua-Mokulēʻia Marine Life Conservation District was established to conserve and replenish marine resources in Mokulēʻia and Honolua Bays.

With the protections and management through the Marine Life Conservation District, Honolua has some of the best snorkeling on Maui.

Today, on a good day, Honolua is reportedly one of the best surfing spots in the world.  Breaking wave heights associated with the largest north and northwest swells range between 10-20-feet near Honolua Bay.

The image shows Honolua Bay.  In addition, I have posted other images in a folder of like name in the Photos section on my Facebook and Google+ pages.

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Nā Hono A Pi‘ilani

In northwest Maui, the district the ancients called Kaʻānapali, there are six hono bays (uniting of the bays,) which are legendary:  from South to North, Honokōwai (bay drawing fresh water), Honokeana (cave bay), Honokahua (sites bay,) Honolua (two bays), Honokōhau (bay drawing dew) and Hononana (animated bay).

All were extensively terraced for wet taro (loʻi) in early historic and later times. Honokahua Valley has been described as having loʻi lands. Sweet potatoes were reportedly grown between the Honokohau and Kahakuloa Ahupuaʻa.

Collectively, these picturesque and productive bays are called Nā Hono A Piʻilani, The Bays of Piʻilani (aka Honoapiʻilani.)

In the 1500s, Chief Piʻilani (“stairway to heaven”) unified West Maui and ruled in peace and prosperity.  His territory included the six West Maui bays, a place he frequented.

He ruled from the Royal Center in Lāhaina, where he was born (and died.)  His residence was at Moku‘ula.

During his reign, Piʻilani gained political prominence for Maui by unifying the East and West of the island, elevating the political status of Maui.

Piʻilani’s power eventually extended from Hāna on one end of the island to the West at Nā Hono A Piʻilani, in addition to the islands visible from Honoapiʻilani - Kahoʻolawe, Molokaʻi and Lānaʻi.

Piʻilani’s prosperity was exemplified by a boom in agriculture and construction of heiau, fishponds, trails and irrigation systems.

Famed for his energy and intelligence, Piʻilani constructed the West Maui phase of the noted Alaloa, or long trail (also known as the King’s Highway.)

His son, Kihapiʻilani laid the East Maui section and connected the island.  This trail was the only ancient pathway to encircle any Hawaiian island (not only along the coast, but also up the Kaupo Gap and through the summit area and crater of Haleakalā.)

Four to six feet wide and 138 miles long, this rock-paved path facilitated both peace and war.  It simplified local and regional travel and communication, and allowed the chief’s messengers to quickly get from one part of the island to another.

The trail was used for the annual harvest festival of Makahiki and to collect taxes, promote production, enforce order and move armies.

Missionaries Richards, Andrews and Green noted in 1828, “a pavement said to have been built by Kihapiilani, a king … afforded us no inconsiderable assistance in traveling as we ascended and descended a great number of steep and difficult paries (pali.)” (Missionary Herald)

Today, Lower Honoapiʻilani Road and parts of Route 30 (Honoapiʻilani Highway) near the beach approximately trace the route of the ancient Alaloa (parts of the Alaloa were destroyed by development and sugar plantation uses.)

On the East side, portions of the Road to Hāna are a remnant of this 16th century coastal footpath, also known in this area as the King’s Highway, King Kiha-a-pi‘ilani Trail or even Kipapa o Kiha-a-pi’ilani (the pavement of Kiha-a-pi’ilani.)

Some beaches on the east side of the Alaloa along Route 360 were often used to cross gulches, since there were no bridges.  It has also been reported that travelers would swing across the streams on ropes or vines, or climbed across the cliffs.

Around 1759, Kalaniʻōpuʻu (King of the Big Island) captured Hāna and held it for a couple decades; the footpath fell into disrepair.  In 1780, Kahekili, the King of North Maui, retook Hāna, made improvements and reopened the trail.

It was accessible only by foot until around 1900; likewise, travel by canoe, and later other vessels, provided access from Hāna to other parts of Maui.

The ancient trails have typically been covered by modern highways and other development and only a few remnants of the King’s Highway remain.

Honoapiʻilani Highway, around the western edge of West Maui, and the Pi‘ilani Highway, along the Kihei coast, remain the namesakes for Piʻilani.

The image shows the six bays of Nā Hono A Piʻilani on Google Earth.

© 2013 Ho‘okuleana LLC