Ni'ihau: The Forbidden Isle

We decided to do some exploring of the island, and though we had been to the West Coast of Kauai and seen the Napali Coast on a catamaran on a prior visit, we had not yet made the drive to the west side. The object of the day was to visit Waimea Canyon and familiarize ourselves a bit with the other side of our small island home.

We drove west to the town of Waimea and then up a narrow windy mountain road to a viewing point for the canyon. It is the largest canyon in the Pacific and measures 10 miles long, 1 mile wide, and over 3500 feet deep. Though smaller than the Grand Canyon, Waimea Canyon certainly rivals its beauty and majesty. It was formed by rivers and floods that flowed from the summit of Mount Waialeale, as well as different volcanic eruptions and lava flows over the centuries. A miraculous sight to behold.

On our way up the mountain to the canyon lookout, we were able to get a nice view of the only land that is visible from the island of Kauai. The island of Ni'ihau is the seventh inhabited island in the chain of Hawaiian Islands. It is located 17.5 miles to the southwest of Kauai and is privately owned currently by descendants of Elizabeth Sinclair, the original owner, who purchased the island from King Kamehameha in 1864 for $10,000.

The 200 residents of the island are all employees and family of the island cattle ranch and live in small homes, devoid of plumbing and electricity, provided by the ranch. Until recently, the entire island was off-limits to anyone but native-Hawaiian family members and invited guests of the owners. Though you can now visit the island via helicopter for a few hours, tourism is still very restricted. There are no hotels, no paved roads, cars, electricity, telephones, and the primary language spoken here is still Hawaiian. Fascinating. It is truly a 'land forgotten by time.' I hope to someday have the privilege of making a visit to this mysterious island, the only visible piece of land that I can see from my small island home.