The beautiful Island of Molokai is often referred to as either, “The Most Hawaiian Island” or "The Friendly Island.” In addition, both are true. With its population of about 8,000, this little island embodies the old Hawaii, amidst breathtaking natural beauty, rain forests and deserted beaches. Adventurers come here to enjoy the least developed of all the Hawaiian Islands. Far from the hustle and bustle of everyday life, Molokai offers a peaceful way of life, with secluded beaches, clean air and brilliant colorful sunsets. A true getaway, you will not find a traffic light or any building higher than a palm tree. However, you will find authentic island accommodations, great food, unspoiled seascapes, true Hawaiian culture and music, rugged outdoor adventures and a serene lifestyle. On this small piece of paradise, you will find the world's highest sea cliffs and Hawaii's longest white sand beach. If you want a stunningly beautiful getaway where you can taste the true flavor of Hawaii, come to Molokai.
Location and Geography
Molokai is a Hawaiian Island located in Polynesia near the center of the Pacific Ocean, below the Tropic of Cancer and approximately 2,397 miles west of California. Situated in the middle of the eight major Hawaiian Islands, Molokai is separated from Oahu on the west by the Kaiwi Channel, from Maui on the southeast by the Pailolo Channel, and from Lâna’i on the south by the Kalohi Channel. It is situated in Maui County, in the State of Hawaii and is the fifth largest island in the Hawaiian archipelago. Maui County is in the Kahului-Wailuku metro area, and is bounded by Honolulu County to the northwest, Hawaii County to the southeast, and Kalawao County to the north.
Molokai encompasses 260.9 square miles of geographic variety. It is 38 miles long and just ten miles wide at its widest point, with 88 miles of coastline. The island was formed by three volcanic eruptions and the last produced a peninsula jutting out of the steep cliffs of the north shore. One side of Maui is a flat, austere, arid desert, while the other is lush and green. It is mostly mountainous, with Mt. Kamakou the highest peak on the east side. The Kalaupapa peninsula is on the north coast, separated by a rocky mountain wall from the rest of the island and accessible only over a 2,000-foot pass, on which the Kalaupapa leper colony existed. Much of the east section of the island is in Molokai Forest Reserve.
Molokai is 25 miles southeast of Oahu, and from the eastern end of the island, it is only 8 miles to Maui. It’s main city of Kaunakakai is approximately 56 miles southeast of Honolulu, 156 miles northwest of Hilo, and 162 miles southeast of Kapaa.
History/Interesting Facts/Historic Buildings and Places
With no written language, most of the Hawaiian history has come from chants, passed down from generation to generation. It is believed that Hawaiians first came to live on Molokai around 650 A.D. It is thought that the first settlers originated from the Marquesas, with later migrations coming from Tahiti and other South Pacific areas. The oldest known Hawaiian settlement on Molokai occurred in Halawa Valley. The eastern side of the island was heavily populated in pre-contact Hawaii, due to ample water from the mountains, fertile farming land, and the abundant ocean. A quality of mysticism clings to the land here, and the old ways continue to govern life. Molokai was well known, respected and sometimes feared for the wisdom and power of its religious leaders. In the 1500s, pilgrims came from all the Islands to seek the wisdom and advice of the renowned prophet, Lanikaula. Molokai became a place of retreat, protected from war by its religious prestige and the marital alliances of its chiefs.
This island was the home of Hawaiian dance. Legend has it that Laka, goddess of the hula, gave birth to the dance on Molokai, at a very sacred place in Ka'ana. This is recognized on Molokai every May, at a celebration of the birth of hula, called Ka Hula Piko. When Laka died, her remains were secretly hidden somewhere beneath the hill, Pu'u Nana. The hula was eventually established, the work of Laka was complete, and the dance flourished throughout Hawaii.
In November 1778, Captain James Cook sighted Molokai on his first visit to the Sandwich Islands. A few years later, in 1786, Captain George Dixon anchored off Molokai's coast, and the first Europeans visited the island. In 1832 a Protestant mission was established at Kalua'aha by Reverend Harvey Hitchcock, to serve an estimated population of 5,000. The walls and part of the roof of his building are still standing today.
A fascinating site is Molokai’s ancient fishponds, which stretch for 20 miles along the south shore. Hawaiians perfected aquaculture in 1400, building gated, U-shaped stone and coral walls on the shore to catch fish on the incoming tide. Then they raised them in captivity, producing a constant available supply of fresh fish. It took something like a thousand people to tend a single fishpond, and over 60 ponds once existed on this coast. While most have nearly disappeared, a few have been reconstructed and are still used by residents for aquiculture.
Jobs
Hawaii as a whole is working to diversify its economy with a focus on industries such as science and technology, health and wellness, tourism, diversified agriculture, ocean research and development, and film and television production.
As the most rural and undeveloped of Hawaii’s islands, Molokai does not have a great deal of tourist amenities. There is tourism, but it is minimal. There are attempts at diversified aquaculture/agriculture. The island has many cattle ranches, and the pineapple plantations have reverted to hayfields and other crops. The chief town and port is Kaunakakai, on central south shore, from where the island’s products are shipped to Honolulu for export. Molokai has a low unemployment rate of 2.7%, and has experienced a 3.61% increase in available jobs during the last year. The average commute time is 19 minutes. The median household income is $36,827 and the per capita income is $16,122.
Housing
The beautiful island of Molokai offers excellent value for Hawaiian properties, with affordable homes where you can escape the crowds. There are a variety of homes, condos, vacant land, building sites and commercial properties. There are three condominium projects on the West coast of the island, three just east of Kaunakakai, and one 13 miles from Kaunakakai in rural east Molokai. You can find a home on top of Kawela Plantation with panoramic views of the ocean and mountains, bordering onto a championship golf course or Oceanside. You can have a condominium with a pool, cabana area, tennis courts, and a golf course. Best of all, whatever your choice, you can enjoy it all away from the crowds and hustle and bustle of city life. You can find your piece of Paradise on Molokai.
Parks and Recreation
This little island boasts some amazing natural wonders, including Hawaii's highest waterfall and greatest collection of fishponds and the world's tallest sea cliffs. The island can be explored on foot, bicycle, mule, horseback, kayak, or boat. The island’s most notable hike is the Pepeopae Trail, which takes you on a boardwalk across the bog to see mosses, sedges, native violets, knee-high ancient ohias, and lichens that evolved in isolation over millions of years. You can take bicycle tours of the Coffee of Hawaii Plantation and the Kamakou Forest. The Pu'u-O-Hoku Ranch, 25 miles outside Kaunakakai, is one of the most picturesque places to go horseback riding. Guided trail rides pass through pasture then head up into the high mountain forest. For a real cowboy adventure, you can visit 53,000-acre Molokai Ranch Wildlife Park. Possibilities here include mountain biking, kayaking, horseback riding, sailing, hiking, snorkeling, or just relaxing on the endless white-sand beaches.
There are many extraordinarily beautiful parks and preserves on Molokai. Pala'au State Park is a lovely 233-acre park with pasturelands and forests, which borders the Kalaupapa National Historical Park. It has trails leading to the scenic Kalaupapa Lookout and Phallic Rock. Located near the top of the eastern Molokai mountain, is the 2,774-acre rainforest of Kamakou Preserve where you will find more than 250 species of Hawaiian plants, most of which are found nowhere else in the world, plus several extremely rare Hawaiian birds. There is a guided monthly hike along a narrow boardwalk through the Preserve. Kalauapapa National Historic Park is located on Kalauapapa Peninsula at the base of 1600-foot high sea cliffs. Once a village for victims of leprosy, this site covers 8,725 acres of land and 2,000 acres of water. You can only access the park with guided tours.
Water sports are popular here, and during the summer months, when the north shore waters are calm, Molokai offers some of the most spectacular kayaking in Hawaii. There are three beaches on the island that offer ride able waves for bodyboarding and bodysurfing: Papohaku, Kepuhi, and Halawa. You can charter a sailing trip on a 42-foot sloop, or when the waters are right, go scuba diving, snorkeling or windsurfing. The calm waters off Murphy Beach are perfect for snorkelers. There are also prime fishing opportunities on Molokai, including bottom fishing, fly-fishing, light-tackle reef-fish trolling, deep-sea fishing, and casting along the shoreline.
There are several beautiful beaches along Molokai’s 106-mile coastline. One Alii Beach Park is the oldest public beach park on Molokai, and 3-mile long Papohaku Beach is one of Hawaii’s longest beaches. Kapukahehu Beach is an excellent family beach, well protected, with a reef that is close and shallow. Kepuhi Beach is a scenic golden sand beach in front of the Kaluakoi Resort and Golf Course. Sandy Beach on the East End is Molokai's most popular swimming beach, with its warm, calm reef-protected waters and its great view of Maui and Lanai. Murphy Beach Park has a white-sand beach that offers excellent snorkeling and diving outside the reef on calm days. Halawa Beach Park is a scenic black-sand beach with a palm-fringed lagoon, an island offshore, and a distant view of the West Maui Mountains. It is safe to swim in the shallows close to shore. Kapuaiwa Coconut Beach Park is a perfect place to watch the sunset.
There are two tennis courts on Molokai, located at the Mitchell Pauole Center, in Kaunakakai. For avid golfers, you are in luck, too! Ironwood Hills in Kaulapuu is a nine-hole municipal course located in lovely Kalae. A fun course, Ironwood Hills is one of the oldest courses in the state, built in 1929 by Del Monte Plantation. This unique course sits at an elevation of 1,200 feet, amidst cool breezes, lush foliage, and stunning views. For a challenge, Kaluakoi Golf Course in Maunaloa is a championship course rated by several golf magazines as one of the top five courses in Hawaii. It winds along the ocean and through the woods, with pheasants, deer, and wild turkeys freely roaming the fairways.
Special Attractions
Riding a mule to Molokai's famous leper colony in Kalaupapa is a unique opportunity. You will view an awesomely beautiful peninsula as you descend the 2 1/2-mile Kalaupapa Trail with its 26 switchbacks. You will have a view of the world's highest sea cliffs and waterfalls plunging thousands of feet into the ocean. Alternatively, you can take a jeep to visit the Moomomi Dunes where archaeologists have found adz quarries, ancient Hawaiian burial sites, and shelter caves; botanists have identified five endangered plant species; and marine biologists are finding evidence that endangered green sea turtles are laying their eggs here. However, the most remarkable discovery so far is the bones of prehistoric birds that existed nowhere else on earth.
You can enjoy a delicious cup of java at the Coffees of Hawaii Plantation Store in Kualapuu, made from beans that were grown, processed, and packed on this 600-acre plantation. While you sip, check out the vast collection of native crafts. On the other hand, visit Purdy's All-Natural Macadamia Nut Farm in Hoolehua. The tour of the 1 1/2-acre homestead with fun demonstrations of nutshell cracking is a thoroughly entertaining event. While on the island, you may want to “Post-A-Nut.” You can write a message on a dried Molokai coconut with a felt-tip pen, and the postmaster will send it via U.S. mail over the sea.
For a taste of Hawaiian history, visit the Molokai Museum and Cultural Center. On route to the California Gold Rush in 1849, the German professor, Rudolph W. Meyer, came to Molokai where he married the high chieftess Kalama and began a small sugar plantation. This restored 1878 sugar mill, the last of its kind in Hawaii, is on the National Register of Historic Places. You can view the century-old steam engine, mule-driven cane crusher, copper clarifiers, and redwood, evaporating pan. The mill museum traces the history of sugar growing on Molokai and offers special events, such as wine tasting every 2 months, taro festivals, an annual music festival, and occasional classes in ukulele making, loom weaving, and sewing.
There is no shortage of festivities and special events to enjoy on Molokai. The Ka Molokai Makahiki Festival in January offers a series of lectures, land and ocean activities, hands on art and craft workshops, sporting competitions, oli composition competitions and traditional ceremonies. At the Earth Day Celebration in April, you can enjoy ono food, entertainment, and educational displays. On the third Saturday in May, Molokai celebrates the birth of the hula at its Ka Hula Pikoi Festival, featuring a full day of dance, music, food, and crafts. Also in May there is the Kaiwi Challenge, a 39-mile race for one-man canoes, and the Kanaka Ikaika Kayak Race. In October, the Aloha Festivals celebrate Hawaii's music, dance and history. Lastly, in December, the Festival of Lights offers local music, holiday crafts and an Electric Light Parade.
- NUMBER1EXPERT™ 
