LANA'I, THE SECLUDED ISLAND
Until recently, few visitors were likely to see more of Lana'i than its mysterious volcanic silhouette framing the sunset from the mai tai lounges of West Maui resorts. Some had heard of "The Pineapple Island." Some sailed over for day trips, to enjoy a remote beach or excellent diving. But most just passed it by.
Even Hawaii residents knew little about Lana'i, other than its fame as the world's largest pineapple plantation and one of the state's best hunting areas. In any event, only a handful of visitors could be accommodated on the private island.
With the advent of two spectacular luxury resort hotels, there is reason to stop and more ways to discover an island that's been lost in time. This is a place for the people who seek the old Hawaii, where there are few buildings and fewer roads, where deer out number humans and beaches have no footprints. The pineapple plantation of yesterday is becoming the exclusive resort of tomorrow, at a prudent pace.
Lana'i is anachronistic in contemporary Hawaii, by virtue of its isolation and unusual history, and visitors should be aware that some things are lacking. Lana'i has no high-rise hotels or office buildings, no traffic jams, no tours buses, no shopping centers, no stop lights, no all-night discos, no golden arches and no crowds. The inconveniences of modern life have been held at bay, allowing visitors and residents alike to experience Hawaii as it once was, on tropical time, to allow for enjoying life and one another. A plantation speed limit sign admonishes, "Be Careful. Go Slow."
As a plantation population, Lana'i was aging dramatically. Children reaching adulthood were encourage to leave the island and seek a better future than the inevitable pineapple fields. Now a remarkable transition has begun. Workers are leaving the fields, learning new skills and becoming employees of the resorts or other new enterprises. With more choices, some of those who left are returning home to take some of the new jobs -- and enjoy the old lifestyle.
The lifestyle is family-oriented and out-of-doors. Lana'ians have grown up enjoying the same gifts of the Island -- fishing, hunting, riding, hiking, four-wheeling, golfing, swimming, beachcombing, exploring --available to visitors. Some Lana'i City houses display antler racks alongside marlin tails, attesting to the plentiful bounty to be reaped from local hunting and fishing.
Visitors to Lana'i can also ride trails along the mountain ridge, enjoy views of deep gorges below, challenge their golf prowess on scenic championship courses, play on the beach, sail off to snorkel or watch the whales in winter, or just soak up local color.
At the new Manele Bay Hotel, on a cliff overlooking Hulopo'e bay, the path to the beach leads through an ancient Hawaiian village site. Hulopo'e beach, with crystalline waters and white sand shaded by palms, is shared by guests and islanders. Would-be country squires will be in their element at The Lodge at Koele, a comfortable estate-like hotel amid cool upland forests and broad green lawns. Accommodations may also be found at the cozy Lana'i Hotel, a rustic eleven-room country inn and at several bed and breakfasts.