Spirit of Aloha | Articles | Island Chronicles | May/June 2005

Island Chronicles
By: CAROL SILVA

Royal Routes on the Windward Coast

From the lookout at the gap in Nu‘uanu Pali, a sweeping landscape greets the traveler. The lands on the eastern side of this mountain range were called Nā Pali Ko‘olau, The Windward Cliffs, for the towering backbone of peaks that level into the sea. The coastline is both breathtaking and fabled. Its sights are unmatched in beauty on the island of O‘ahu. In ancient times, windward lands supported gods and chiefs, and the offshore waters enticed royal navigators from distant homelands to beach their double-hulled canoes and settle. In more recent times, large-scale cultivation of taro, sugar cane, rice, pineapple and bananas, as well as ranching, dairy farming and fishing, provided a full spectrum of productivity and livelihood.

Driving down the Pali Highway to the Windward Side, you are soon caught in the shadow of gentle foothills that roll into an extensive marshland called Kawai Nui, Great Body of Fresh Water. Both vegetable, starch and protein foods were found at Kawai Nui, with taro planted as a staple in this wetland and the choicest varieties of fish stocked further seaward. Ancient stone temples, abandoned in 1819 (a few have been preserved), sat on the edges of Kawai Nui. One such temple, or heiau, known as Ulupō, is located adjacent to the YMCA on Kailua Road. It can be visited, with the quiet respect that all sacred sites deserve.

You will be rewarded if you follow Kailua Road through the quaint and friendly town to the coast. An ancient coconut grove, white sand beaches, exceptional fishing and surf were perfect reasons for Hawaiian chiefs of old to select Kailua as a seat of government and a place of resort. Head north along this shore and you will pass through a palm-shaded residential area, which will lead you to remnants of an immense, traditional fishpond complex at the entry to Mōkapu Peninsula. Four of the larger fishponds occupied more than 500 wetland acres. In addition to fishponds and salt ponds, Mōkapu Peninsula was a sacred land of temples and burial grounds. In 1918, the federal government established a military installation at Mokapu; it funds programs to restore ponds and wetland habitats.

Continue on Kamehameha Highway, following the curve of Kāne‘ohe Bay. A large working fishpond is situated seaward of another rich marshland reserved for the chief. Just north of the long bridge that separates the pond from the marsh is a lush, beautiful park situated on Kealohi Point. A rare chance to view the coastline awaits you here.

To the sheltered waters of Kāne‘ohe Bay came the canoes of the famed navigator, La‘amaikahiki, who brought a new order of rank and religion to the native culture. Centuries ago, this sacred chief sailed to Hawai‘i with new gods and a priesthood, as well as temple and hula drums yet unknown to the Islands. He settled on the shores of Naoneala‘a (at the end of Waikalua Road) and Kualoa, for a while, founding a chiefly class of rulers and enjoying the peaceful bounty of windward resources. The modern-day double-hulled canoe Hōkūle‘a still beaches at Kualoa, and departs from, in commemoration of La‘amaikahiki’s epic voyages.

Two sizeable islands float offshore. The first is Moku o Lo‘e (Coconut Island); the second is Mokoli‘i. In the early 1880s, Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop planted the coconut grove on Moku o Lo‘e. The princess was the last direct heir to the lands conquered by the warrior chief Kamehameha. At her death in 1886, she left her extensive estate to support the education of Hawaiian children. The University of Hawai‘i’s Institute of Marine Biology currently conducts research on the island.

Beyond the reach of Kāne‘ohe Bay, Kamehameha Highway offers views of sheer cliffs and pristine beaches, sleepy villages and windblown waterfalls. It was a favorite route for vacationing chiefs and royalty of past eras—one that can be equally appreciated today.

Island Chronicles Archives