Island of Lanai- 4 days, 3 nights

We are in the very back of the plane. It was so tiny!

We woke up at 5AM, caught the bus to the airport and 6AM, to check in at 7AM, for a flight from AlohaAir that was supposed to leave at 8AM. The flight was four hours delayed because the flight to Molokai from Oahu could not land so it returned, then it tried again and returned after another failed attempt. They finally gave up trying to land on Molokai, emptied the plane and let us get on. There are no restaurants at these terminals, so we were starving by the time our plane left as we ate breakfast at 5:30 that morning. I have always liked turbulence until our flight from Oahu to Lanai. Seriously the most scary take off and landing of my life. During take-off the plane was swerving back and forth and shaking while the engine is so loud it's the only thing you can hear. Landing was the same deal except it looked like we were headed straight for jagged cliffs.

Trace in downtown Lanai City, next to Dole Park

The island population is 3,000. The only town is Lanai City which is 1.5 mile x 1 mile. There are 30 miles of paved roads on the island, 1 school K-12, 2 resorts, 1 hotel, 2 grocery stores, 1 gas station, 6 restaurants (outside of the resorts). Only one beach is accessible by paved road, Hulopo'e Beach. The town is higher up on the island and feels more like a mountain camping town than a tropical island. While it gets warm (80 degrees) in the day, it cools off in the evening requiring pants and sweaters. Talking to the people, most of them work at one of the two Four Season resorts and spend their free time hunting. The island has both mouflon sheep and deer.

 

While the city has pine trees and feels like camping, the rest of the island is desert. We spent Thursday and Friday exploring the city. We visited the dental clinic, the Lana'i Culture and Heritage Center, drove to the Kaumalapau Harbor, and ate dinner with the local dentist at Manele Bay Resort.

Saturday we went to Hulopo'e Beach and hiked to Pu'u Pehe. Here are some photos from the hike. You can see Maui easily off the coast. The sand was soft and the sun was out, so we sunbathed, snorkeled, and body surfed at this beach. I haven't had a bad snorkeling experience until this beach. As we were going out the water never calmed after we passed the break and there wasn't much to see. When we turned around the water was pushing us into the rocks. Trace and I split up so we could maneuver more freely around the rocks and back to shore. Probably wouldn't recommend this spot to any novice snorkeler.

After the clouds and wind picked up at Hulopo'e Beach we drove to the other side of the island to see Shipwreck Beach. That ship is a WWII tanker stranded just off the coast. The water was rough and the wind was powerful. So it was a quick stop for us. But the island of Molokai looked gigantic off the coast from here.

We went to church on Sunday. The branch meets in a plantation home converted to a chapel. The branch has about 40 members. They were all super nice and invited us to their potluck after church ended. We packed and headed home later that evening. We tried most of the restaurants and the only place I'd repeat is the Blue Ginger Cafe. I am learning that these islands are more different than they are alike. So far Kauai, Oahu, Big Island, and Lanai have all been completely different in landscape, beach access, and culture. We'll see what Maui holds this week.