Sugar Plantation
Today, we did the South Shore prowl. The guidebook defines the south shore as everything from Puhi (just west of Lihue, about 4:00) to Kalaheo (just east of Hanapepe, about 6:00). That's actually a rather small portion of the island. But there was plenty to see.
In the first place, we started out by driving back to Kekaha, on the west shore (8:00), to see something we missed the previous day; the Gay and Robinson Sugar Plantation - the last remaining sugar plantation on the island.
Sugar Plantation
I mentioned earlier that the island of Ni'ihau, to the southwest of Kaua'i, is privately owned. The Robinson family, which owns the Gay and Robinson plantation (the Gay family sold out years ago) are the owners of Ni'ihau. They also own a lot of Kaua'i. They're quite, shall we say, comfortably well off.
There's a small musuem and gift shop at the plantation. Here's Terry checking out some sugar cane.
Sugar Museum
We also bought some pineapple syrup, passion fruit syrup, and coconut syrup. In fact, just this morning, as I write this (January 14), we made pancakes, and opened up the syrups. Delicious.
Here's a picture of me in the musuem parking lot. This picture is notable mostly for the fact that Terry is holding the camera. Who says blind people can't be photographers? This picture is better than several that I took!
Me By Terry
As we drove out of the parking lot, I started singing "Sugar, Sugar." Terry told me to shut up. (Those of you younger than I am may not remember that song. Consider yourselves fortunate.)
We then drove back to Hanapepe and prowled around a bit. The town has a lot of art galleries, old buildings with plaques describing their history, and a kind of funky atmosphere. We also stopped for lunch at a place called Bobbie's, and then stopped for pie at the Camphouse Grill.
In the town of Koloa, there's an abandoned sugar mill, the oldest on the island (1835).
Koloa Sugar Mill
Nearby is St. Raphael's, the oldest Catholic church on the island (1841) (sorry, no picture).
In Poipu, at the southern tip of the island, is Prince Kuhio Park. Mr. Kuhio was the last royally designated heir to the Hawaiian throne, and he was also a member of Congress in the 1920's. Unfortunately, we couldn't get into the park, but I took this picture from the outside.
Prince Kuhio Park
The guidebook also said that this park contained a "heiau," or ancient temple. I looked for it, but couldn't see it - or so I thought. All I saw were some rock walls enclosing a grassy area. It wasn't until the next day, when I saw some more heiaus, that I realized that the rock walls, and the space they enclosed, were the heiau. There were originally structures within the enclosure, but they were made of wood, and are long gone.
On the road from Poipu back to the main highway, there's a stretch called "The Tree Tunnel," so named because of the eucalyptus trees lining the road.
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The Tree Tunnel
That night, we went to a place called Smith's Tropical Paradise, at the mouth of the Wailua River (3:00), for a luau. Every tourist who goes to Hawaii has to go to a luau - I think it's a law. The guidebook says this is the best one. Overall, it was fun, but it was still very "touristy." I wonder if there's any place where you can go to an authentic luau that hasn't been tarted up for the tourists.
Anyway, we had a good time. Here's the entrance to the facility.
Smith's Tropical Paradise
Smith hardly sounds like a Hawaiian name, but most of the family is Hawaiian. Mr. Smith was a European immigrant who married a Hawaiian woman, and the family still runs the business. In addition to the luau, they also do a variety of tours, and they have very nice gardens. Mr. Smith is no longer with us, but Mrs. Smith, now in her nineties, is still around, and still mingles with the tourists.
Pond And Fountain
Ready To Party
A Banyan Tree
Still Ready To Party
A Peacock
The centerpiece of a luau is the Kalua Pig, a pig seasoned with sea salt and cooked all day in an underground pit, or imu.
The Imu
The luau starts with an imu ceremony, presided over by an M.C.
The M.C.
Then two young men come out and blow conch shells to the north, east, south and west.
The Ceremony
(They're hard to see, but they're there, I promise.)
Then, they dig up the pig. I took a picture of the pig, but some people might not want to see it, so I haven't included it here. If you want to see it, click here.
We all then retired to the luau hale, or dining hall, for dinner.
The Luau Hale
Dinner consisted of a buffet line with the pig, of course, but also teriyaki beef, lomi salmon (kind of Hawaiian ceviche), various salads, and several other good things in huge quantities. As we ate, we were entertained by a band...
The Band
...and a hula dancer...
The Hula Dancer
...who got several people up on stage for a hula lesson.
The Hula Lesson
Among the guests that night were a newlywed couple who were having their reception at the luau.
The Newlyweds
We then went to an outdoor amphitheater for a show. The show consisted mostly of a variety of dances from various locations in and around the Pacific - China, Japan, The Phillipines, Tahiti, Samoa, Polynesia, etc. The narration was sometimes embarrassing, but the dancing was fun to watch. I took a lot of pictures, it was too dark, and none of them came out.