People watching manta rays from Rays on the Bay at the Kona Sheraton by Chance Carpenter “The name of the manta—hahalua—can be interpreted as ‘two breaths,’” she says, “ha, meaning breath, and lua, meaning two … When mantas leap [out of the water], their experience from below transcends into our sphere … Their transcendence speaks […]
One of Hawaii Island’s most visited cities houses the headquarters for one of the state’s least visited and most remote places—the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. The Mokupapapa Discovery Center, an educational outpost and headquarters for the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument (PMNM), moved into the old Koehnen furniture store right off Kamehameha Avenue in downtown Hilo a
If you love seeing rare native plants and birds, then you won’t want to miss Kipukapualulu Trail, a 1.2-mile loop through one of Hawaii Island’s last vestiges of native forestland. Located just outside of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park in eastern Hawaii Island, the free-to-access trail is also known as “Bird Park” to area residents because
On July 28, a 1,368 lb. Pacific blue marlin was caught in the waters off Kailua-Kona. Catching a “grander”—the name for a fish weighing over a thousand pounds—is the holy grail of international deep-sea sport fishing. Reeled in by Kona resident Guy Kitaoka, last week’s 14.5 foot catch well exceeded that threshold and was reportedly
Hawaii Route 200, the Daniel K. Inouye Highway, also called Saddle Road, bisects Hawaii’s largest island, cutting over the raised slopes (the saddle) between Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea. The moderately-trafficked, often two-lane road is the fastest route between Kailua-Kona and Hilo and leads to observatory access atop both mountains. For years, the road crumbled
You haven’t had the full Hawaii experience until you’ve tried local poke. It’s comprised of cubed raw seafood—usually ahi tuna—mixed with a variety of increasingly innovative toppings from sesame seeds, chili and seaweed to sriracha mayo or even mango, poke is delicious eaten alone or in a bowl served over piping hot rice. Poke can
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Ahupuaa O Kahana State Park on Oahu’s Windward Side offers two moderate jungle-hike options into the lush Kahana Valley. On a recent visit, I opted for the longer of the two. The Nakoa Loop Trail, named for the numerous koa trees shading the 3.5-mile loop along the valley floor, winds through thick forest of hau,
At the northernmost tip of Hawaii Island, at the end of Highway 270, is a lookout over a windswept black sand beach fronting the lush and enclosed Pololu Valley. Many visitors to the Kohala Coast make the journey to its terminus—past the tiny towns of Hawi and Kapaau—to take in the panoramic view at the
Though Hawaii’s beaches are cleaner than many, the state’s location in the middle of the Pacific can mean that tiny pieces of plastic—broken down from larger pieces by the sun and waves as they are carried by currents from Asia and the mainland U.S.—wash up on our beaches. “The Northeast trade winds blow the trash
One of the most popular visitor shows on Maui, “Burn’n Love,” an Elvis tribute extravaganza, is sparking more conversations AND getting a little more action, after opening its second show in Waikiki this week. The new show by the same name opened at the Magic of Polynesia Theatre at the Holiday Inn Resort Waikiki Beachcomber
It’s Shark Week on Discovery Channel, and since Hawaii is surrounded by water and sharks, we decided to contact shark enthusiast, Kauai surfer and HAWAII Magazine photographer, Mike Coots, for his take. Coots suffered an unfortunate encounter with a tiger shark in 1997 and uses that experience to leverage attention to help save global populations
To create the cover of our July/August 2015 issue, featuring three traditionally dressed (and trained) hula dancers, HAWAII Magazine’s Art Director, Cody Kawamoto, worked with other members of the HAWAII Magazine team to scout sites, find the perfect dancers and set up the shoot. With only a theme of authentic culture and a vision of
