Wednesday 11-12 - North and West on Molokai



Today we travel in the other direction with more scenic stops plus some information gathering about Molokai.

Our first stop is a coconut grove planted in the 1860s by King Kamehameha V, still a sacred spot but with falling coconuts and dead trees, not the place to allow wandering tourists. Opposite is what has been termed Church Grove. As the island was a beacon for the missionaries, 7 churches have been built side by side. Some are quaint, others modern and some the congregation small as they could do with some maintenance.

The Molokai Museum and Cultural Centre has a photo exhibition of the last occupants of Kalaupapa, a historic display to record the final days of the colony as leprosy has now been cured. These people have all been cured, but as they were taken from their families and homes, some at a very early age they have stayed at the colony as it is the only home they know. We learned that some of the people taken over the years were just whisked away without any information given to their family or friends and since all contact with the colony was limited their where abouts was never known. Of the 8,000 occupants of the colony over the years, 7,300 have been identified and recorded. A memorial with their names is being built to honour their memory. Work continues on trying to identify early occupants. The museum has also restored the Meyer Sugar Mill built in the 1870s with much of the original machinery and buildings. Rudolph Meyer was an engineer and was able to profitably grow sugar cane and make sugar and molasses for a period of time on a limited budget with what he had at hand, the sugar crush was powered by mule, and various pulleys enabled him to use his steam engine to power a variety of machines. He also helped the Kalaupapa colony by purchasing land in the colony and building housing for the unfortunate people landing there.

We follow the north road until the end to see the view over Kalaupapa National Historic Park including the Kalaupapa Lighthouse, the tallest in the Pacific Ocean, plus the tallest sea cliffs in the world and Phallic Rock, another sacred place.

The west road ends at the beaches, including Kepuhi Beach and Papohaku Beach, with 2 and a half miles of golden sand and crashing surf. On the way back we see some wild turkeys.

Another very nice sunset and we also watch Honey finish a close 3rd. A diverse day of stunning coastal scenery, beaches, interesting history and some leisure time.

Coconut Grove

Church Grove


Church Grove

Church Grove

Sugar cane crusher

Restored sugar cane mill

Phallic rock

Kalaupapa Peninsula

Lighthouse at Kalaupapa

Sea cliffs on north side of Molokai

Kepuhi Beach

Papohaku Beach
Wild turkeys







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