Un-Cruise Adventures - Hawaiian Seascapes

Small Ship Cruise from Molokaʻi to Hawaiʻi, the Big Island (or reverse)

Explore and experience four very different islands on this delightful 7 night cruise. Board the 36-guest boutique yacht and let the adventure begin.

Hālawa Valley, Moloka'i, Hawaii

Located on the east side of Moloka’i, the Hālawa Valley is home to breathtaking vistas and the 250-foot Mooula Falls. It is believed that ancient Polynesians settled here as early as 650 AD, making the Hālawa Valley one of the island’s most historic areas. Extending several miles inland and spanning half a mile wide, the valley feels thick with wonderful tradition and lore of the past. Hidden heiau—or temples—add to the mystique. Once the site of extensive taro fields, after several 20th century tsunamis prompted most residents to move away, this quiet valley is home to only a few families nowadays. At the mouth of the valley, a beautiful beach offers a pristine spot for quiet, peaceful relaxation.

Hawaiʻi, the Big Island

Living up to its name, the Big Island is unmatched in its diversity of natural wonders. Its lush rain forests, volcanic deserts, and snow-capped mountains include all but two of the world’s climate zones. Built from five separate volcanoes erupting sequentially, one overlapping the other, this southern-most and eastern-most island in the Hawaiian chain is also the youngest. And it’s still growing! On the south end of the island, Mauna Loa – the largest volcano in the world (by volume and area), is home to spectacular Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park and neighbors Kilauea, the world’s most active volcano.

The island also boasts the world’s tallest mountain surpassing even Mount Everest. While Mauna Kea may only display 13,800’ of its height above water, it measures over 33,000’ from its true base on the ocean floor. Average island temperatures might be in the 80’s but it’s not unheard of to see the peak of the “white mountain” crested with snow; an unexpected spectacle when observed from a warm, palm-tree-lined tropical beach.

The volcanoes provide a natural division of the island with the classic Hawaiian white sands beaches on the west, “dry” side, and beautiful valleys, green with exotic vegetation on the east, “wet” side. King Kamehameha I, who united all of the islands, is said to have been raised in fertile, deep Waipio Valley on the northeastern coast. The Big Island is also the fateful location where Captain Cook lost his life in 1779. Protected, gorgeous Kealakekua Bay Historic Park is now the site of a memorial to Captain Cook and also, arguably, the island’s best snorkeling in its cerulean blue water.

Kailua-Kona, Hawaiʻi

Rising up from Kailua Bay along the side of Hualālai volcano, Kailua-Kona is green with tall palms, 'Ōhi'a Lehua trees with their distinct red flowers, many-colored hibiscus, and deliciously scented plumeria. The capital of the Kingdom of Hawaii at the time of King Kamehameha I, Kailua-Kona was a quiet but important fishing village into the 20th century. During his visit in the mid-1800s, Mark Twain described it as, “the sleepiest, quietest, Sundayest looking place you can imagine.” The town remained a central place for Hawaiian royals and is still a place of great importance today.

In recent years, it has grown dramatically with a population of nearly 12,000 clustered around Kailua Bay. While it is the hub of commerce and tourism on west Hawaiʻi, it operates on “island time” and the pace is happily a leisurely one. The oceanfront walk through town passes many historic buildings including the Victorian Hulihe’e Palace and the first church built in the islands, Moku’aiaua Church. One of the most significant locations of both historic importance and modern-day community is King Kamehameha beach and the Kailua Pier. At the beach, guarding the mouth of the bay, reconstructed Ahu’ena Heiau was a temple to the god Lono and a vital ceremonial place for King Kamehameha. Today the pier at the beach is home to the annual Ironman World Championship triathlon and is the site for many outrigger canoe races that showcase the skill and cooperative power of local paddlers from youth to seasoned adults.

The town’s coastline stretches south of the main center and opens up between thick stands of trees and homes exposing pockets of sandy beach and rough lava-lined coves where surfers get in their morning, afternoon, evening or anytime session. A salt-and-pepper sand beach, Kahalu'u Bay at the most southern end is considered to be one of Hawaii's best locations for snorkeling and is regularly frequented by docile and charmingly graceful green sea turtles who mingle with zippy angel fish, spotted tobies, neon parrot fish and schools of yellow tang.

Lahaina, Maui

Located on the west side of Maui and 45 minutes from the Kahului Airport, this former capital of the Hawaiian Kingdom and quaint 19th-century whaling village has transformed itself into a Maui hot-spot of art galleries, unique shops, and restaurants.

Easily explored by foot, Lahaina’s main thoroughfare and hub of activity is Front Street and the Banyan Tree Square town center – easily identified by an extremely large Banyan tree planted in 1873. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, you can still get a feel for old Lahaina as you stroll through town and visit its many historic sites.

Lana'i, Hawaii

Legend tells of a prince, banished from Maui to Lāna’i for bad behavior, who rid the island of pesky evil spirits that had tormented the islanders. Free from the naughty tricks of ghouls and goblins, people from neighboring Moloka’i and Maui were happy to make the journey across the channels to inhabit the island. Ruins of old fishing villages can be found along the Lānai’i’s rugged coastline.

The sixth largest island in the Hawaiian archipelago and the smallest that is publically accessible, most of Lāna’i’s 3,100 residents live in Lāna'i City. With no shopping malls, public transportation or traffic lights, the island is remarkably reminiscent of old Hawaii and has retained much of its native culture. This arid, volcanic landscape has been weathered over the years, creating unusual and dramatic rock formations and steep cliffs along some of the coastline. Secluded beaches are often shared with only your own companions and the life swimming below the surface.

Like the other islands, Lana’i’s volcanic origins created incredibly rich soil which is how it once came to be known as the Pineapple Island. In 1922, James Dole, president of the Dole Food Company, bought 98% of the island and turned it into the world's largest pineapple plantation. Now, the plantation is gone, but old mills and buildings associated with the operation can be seen.

Maui, Hawaii

Hawaiian legend tells the story of a great hero, Maui, who caught the ocean floor with his fish hook. By a little scheme of trickery, Maui convinced his brothers to paddle strongly in order to help him catch a “big fish,” only their paddling pulled up an island instead of an ahi or mahi mahi. By repeating his trick a few times, Maui created the Hawaiian Islands.

Whether pulled from the ocean by a mythological hero, or through the powerful forces of volcanic creation, the island of Maui is the second largest in the chain and one of the youngest at roughly 1.3 million years old. Known as the “Valley Isle,” two volcanic mountains, eastern Haleakela and West Maui Mountains—or Mount Kahalawai—are connected by a low valley. Along the flanks of the mountains, erosion over thousands of years has created many lush, dramatic valleys including the famed Iao Valley and the ruggedly beautiful region of Hana. With over 30 miles of accessible white, red, and black sands, Maui is said to have some of the best beaches in the world. Waters off the coast are rich with colorful marine life and offer prime humpback whale watching locations from December to early May.

Moloka'i, Hawaii

Formed from two shield volcanoes and scattered northward across the Pacific Ocean about 1.5 million years ago, a tsunami in the mid-twentieth century wiped out fields of lo'i (taro) leaving behind the highest sea cliffs in the world. On three sides, steep pali (cliff walls) create the deep valley of the island and intermittently hide and reveal slender waterfalls.

Moloka’i is old Hawaii, an undeveloped place of cathedral valleys, soaring sea cliffs, and ancient secrets. Throughout time, it has been revered for the wisdom and religious prestige of its people. When the Polynesians first arrived from the South Pacific about 1,500 years ago, fertile land, mountain waters, and abundance of food from the sea and the land provided sustenance for the oldest known Hawaiian settlement in the Hālawa Valley. Today, meandering rock walls reveal forgotten heiau (temples) and are the only archaeological evidence of this 7th-century settlement. With no written language during this period, most of its history has come from chants, stories, and dances passed down from generation to generation.

Hawaiians believe that everything is a living thing and one must seek the answer from nature. This place is full of Mana where every rock has a tale. You are surrounded by life and can feel the intensity.

Olowalu, Maui

Located on the west side of the island of Maui, Olowalu has been considered a place of refuge, or pu'uhonua, by Hawaiians since ancient times. If you committed a kapu—broke a sacred law—your only chance of survival would be to escape to a pu’uhonua. The sanctuary of this place would keep you from any harm. Entering this area, it’s impossible not to feel the powerful aura of those ancient protections.

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