Kauai News & Information

My family and I have been vacationing on the Hawaiian island of Kauai for almost every summer for the past 20 years, staying in sunny Poipu, located on the island’s south shore. Nicknamed the garden island because of its lush vegetation, scenic mountain views and diverse landscape, Kauai has a reputation of being the most beautiful of all the Hawaiian islands.
We have done a number of activities on the island from taking snorkelling trips on the Na Pali coast, to renting surfboards at Kalapaki Bay — even to cliff-jumping at Wailea Falls. For years I have wanted to hike the Kalalau trail, however, I could never convince anyone from my family to hike it with me. I heard the usual excuses from family members, including “It’s too hot today, maybe tomorrow” to “I don’t want to get my shoes muddy.” Eventually I gave up asking, resigned to the fact I would never get the chance.
The Kalalau trail is located on the island’s north shore, at the end of Highway 56, and follows an ancient route that once linked earlier Hawaiian settlements along the coastline. Originally built in the late 1800s, the trail is 18 kilometres and rated by the Sierra Club as among the most difficult in the United States. However, the trail can be divided into sections. The first 3.2-kilometre section, which leads to Hanakapi’ai beach, is moderate in difficulty and is a popular day hike with tourists.
Last summer my aunt and uncle, along with my three cousins, joined us in vacationing on Kauai. Fortunately for me, my uncle and cousins shared my sense of adventure and enjoyment of hiking and we made plans to hike the first 3.2 kilometres.
It was recommended to us by a tour guide to leave early in order to avoid the crowds and the hot midday sun. On the day of the hike we pulled our rental car on to the highway at 6:30 in the morning, and even at that early time the sun was already shining bright.
The drive from Poipu north to K’ee Beach where the trail begins took around an hour and a half and was an incredibly scenic drive.
After stopping at the picturesque town of Hanalei for breakfast, we proceeded to make our way slowly along the two-way highway and series of seven one-way bridges that lead to Ke’e beach, where the trail begins.
After parking the car and changing into our hiking boots we set off along the trail. Hiking for just 15 minutes along a steep incline, we stopped at a lookout point that provided an amazing view of the beach below. As we peered into the distance we could make out the tiny figures sunbathing and snorkelling in the water.
As we continued on we received our first sight of the breathtaking Na Pali cliffs, which extend upwards of 300 metres from the turquoise blue water of the Pacific Ocean. As we continued on, we made our way up and down mountain valleys, through running creek beds, passing diverse vegetation, including banana, guava plant and orchids.
The trail is located in one of the wettest regions in the world; nearby Mount Waialeale receives on average more than 1,150 centimetres of rain a year. As a result, frequent rain showers can leave the trail muddy and slippery. We fell several times, which left our backsides covered in Kauai’s famous red dirt mud.
After hiking for two hours we made it to Hanakapi’ai beach, where we stopped for lunch. The beach is one the most beautiful on the island, with its white sand and inviting water. However, it is recommended that you should not swim at the beach, as there is an extremely powerful undertow and currents.
On the way back to Ke’e beach, the trail was crowded with tourists going the opposite way. Some brave individuals were attempting the hike with only sandals on. After making it back to the lookout point we saw an unbelievable sight. A local hunter was carrying a wild boar on his back. He had caught the boar farther up the trail and was carrying it back to his car for dinner later that night.
After making it back to the car we went swimming at Ke’e Beach. After the four-hour hike it was great to jump into the 21 C water and cool down.
The hike was much more strenuous than we had anticipated, but was worth the spectacular views, and everyone felt a sense of accomplishment after completing it. The hike provided me with a sense of discovery on an island on which I had thought I had done everything. After showing my parents the pictures we had taken with the digital camera they were amazed by the sights.
Next year I might even try to convince them to try the full 18 kilometres with me.”

HONOLULU (AP) _ An adult female Hawaiian monk seal has given birth to the first pup born on Oahu in eight years.
The baby monk seal was born on a remote North Shore beach around June first.
David Schofield at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says the mother is the same seal who gave birth to a pup on Kauai last year.
Officials are not revealing the beach’s location because it could disturb the pup and the mother.
Schofield says people had already started to take pictures, and the sound of the shutter made the mother look up.
If the mother is bothered, she might stop nursing or bite people who get too close.
A barrier has been placed around the nursing pair to prevent people from getting within 150 feet of them.
The Hawaiian monk seal population is estimated at around 12-hundred

WAILUA, Kauai » A construction company is scheduled to load-test a former cane haul bridge in hopes that it can be expanded to handle more traffic over the Wailua River.
The bridge now handles one lane of traffic and is about 50 feet from a two-lane bridge. County officials hope to add a second lane for vehicles and a bicycle lane to the former cane haul bridge.

For the next three weekends, the bridge will be closed from 7 a.m. Saturday to 8 p.m. Sunday. Workers are scheduled to incrementally put 10 tons at a time in three different locations on the cane haul bridge, officials said.

Kauai Mayor Bryan Baptiste said that the two-lane bridge is part of the $17 million project to alleviate traffic on the Garden Isle, particularly through the normally congested Kapaa/Wailua corridor.

If the cane haul pilings can hold the weight of another lane, an Acro-type bridge and a bike lane will be constructed, with the project scheduled to be completed in 2007, Baptiste said.

The remains that washed up on a Kauai beach last month have been identified as belonging to a Kapaa High School senior who was swept out into the ocean.
Test results show the remains are those of 17-year-old John Dacuycuy. Last month he was swimming with friends at Nukolii Beach when he got caught in a current and was pulled under.
His remains washed up on shore a day later and were flown to the mainland for testing.
Dacuycuy died the same day 9-year-old tyler white of colorado drowned at anahola bay. His body has not been found. White’s mother died trying to rescue him”

“Four men and a boy were arrested Sunday off Niihau for illegal use of chlorine bleach for fishing, Kauai police and the state officials said yesterday.
The five from South Kauai’s Lawai-Omao area put bleach in a plastic bag in a hole in the reef, then popped it so the chlorine would drive fish out of holes and into their gillnet, Kauai police told the Star-Bulletin.
The Kauai residents were released pending investigation, while a boat, truck, gear, fish, lobsters and other items were seized as evidence, a Department of Land and Natural Resources news release said.
“Using chemicals isn’t fishing,” DLNR Director Peter Young said in the release. “It is destruction of marine resources and could pose a threat to human health and safety. It is unconscionable.”
“Ethical fisherman would never consider destroying part of a living, productive reef system to take marine resources,” he said.
Use of any poisonous chlorinelike substances near the water where aquatic life can be taken or aboard any fishing vessel or boat in Hawaii is a Class C felony, punishable by up to five years in prison and up to $10,000 in fines. Convicted offenders can be required to pay restitution and could forfeit their boat and gear.
Additional charges in this case are pending, the DLNR said.

HONOLULU (AP) _ Weather and emergency experts are warning Hawaii residents to prepare for hurricane season, which began June 1st.

A below-average number of tropical cyclones are expected in the Central Pacific this year, but officials warn that it only takes one cyclone to wreak havoc.

Jim Weyman at the Central Pacific Hurricane Center says residents shouldn’t believe the myths that Kauai is the only island at risk, or that they would be protected by the Big Island’s mountains.

Weyman says all the islands are at equal risk. Mountains wouldn’t slow a hurricane down.

Two or three tropical storms are expected to reach the Central Pacific this year. Usually, there are four or five storms in a hurricane season.

Hurricane season picks up in July, August and September.

Weyman says residents should prepare emergency kits with extra water, food, flashlights, a radio and other supplies.

You won’t find it in many of the guidebooks, and you might even have trouble finding it when you are looking for it. Na ‘Aina Kai Botanical Gardens doesn’t advertise. This secluded tropical paradise is appropriately located on the North Shore of Kauai, Hawaii’s sparsely populated Garden Isle. Only 58,000 people live on the island and it is easy to understand how such a treasure could be kept secret in this beautiful place.
Nature and art intwined
If Joyce and Ed Doty hadn’t decided to open their property to the public, you wouldn’t even know that it exists. The gardens just grew out of Joyce’s love and imagination and Ed’s desire to fulfill his wife’s dreams. Together they have created a stunning exhibition worthy of any nature lover’s visit.
“In the beginning of Na ‘Aina Kai, the challenge of creating the landscape occupied my enthusiasm,” said founder Joyce Doty.
“Then, like a painter who feels his work is still not complete, I realized that these already bounteous gardens could become even more alive if the art and culture muses were to share this space with nature’s extraordinary artistic creations.”
The Dotys left their native California in 1979 for early retirement in the islands and found the present site. They built a house and settled down to enjoy life in their new home, but they were not your typical retired couple. Joyce’s love of nature and art was perfectly matched to Ed’s conservation and building skills, and together they created their gardens with care and artistry.
“Lands by the Sea” in Hawaiian, Na ‘Aina Kai is a collection of 13 diverse and thriving gardens, surrounded by a hardwood plantation of 60,000 tropical hardwood trees, all raised from seed on the property. The 240-acre preserve includes a moss and fern-draped canyon as well as a pristine, sandy beach bordering a green, sprawling meadow as it opens to the blue-green waters of the Pacific.
Avid collectors, Joyce and Ed soon filled their home with art and then turned to the grounds. More than 70 bronze sculptures, one of the United States’ largest collections, decorate the gardens and wild areas throughout this once-private estate. Their former residence is now available for special functions, now that the Dotys have built a new home not far away.
On secluded Napali Coast
The growth of tourism on Kauai has brought more visitors each year to the North Shore.
Lihue, the gateway city of Kauai, is only a 25-minute flight from Honolulu. From the airport, the Kuhio Highway runs along the eastern side of the island to the rugged Napali Coast and the 3,000 foot high cliffs made famous in movies like Jurassic Park and King Kong.
At mile marker 22, turn toward the coast on Wailapa Road. The gardens await at the end of a half mile of blacktop. There is a small sign on the main highway that you are more likely to notice when you leave, than when you arrive. Only six and a half miles further up Hawaii 56 (Kuhio Highway) is Princeville, a planned resort community, complete with luxury condos and hotels, high atop the bluffs overlooking the Pacific Ocean.
The gardens are only open for tours Tuesday through Friday and because all tours are escorted, reservations are recommended. Costs ($25-70) are a bit more than most gardens because of this, but the visit is well worth the investment.
Hiking enthusiasts should consider the five-hour tour including lunch, which is the most complete way to see this marvel. Guests with limited walking ability can also see much of the gardens on a covered riding tour that takes three hours.
Ample parking is available at the Orchid House Visitor Center and all tours depart from the center. Nearby is the newly developed “Under the Rainbow” Children’s Garden, designed for children under 13. Also close to the Visitor Center is The Bog House, where temperate and tropical carnivorous plants are on display, including butterworts and pitcher plants, as well as orchids and a maidenhair fern wet wall.
Another short walk reaches the primary gardens and the former Doty home. Shower Tree Park and Ka’ula Lagoon are first announced with “stunning red hibiscus, kukui and paperbark trees, firecracker flowers, and fiddlewood trees with their aromatic, miniscule flowers and orange berries. These and the billowing bouquets hanging from rainbow and golden shower trees, are but a few of the botanical delights that adorn this setting,” according to the gardens’ guide.
A splendid, cascading waterfall feeds the lagoon, home to 200 colorful koi and equally brilliant water lilies. Nearby a Japanese teahouse stands sentry above the magnificent display of water and tropical vegetation, accented with several sculptures. Varieties of palm trees, exotic flowering plants, cattails and papyrus surround the lagoon. Footbridges lead to an island with opportunities to observe even more closely the fountain statuary central to the landscape.
Bringing a drawing to life
The Poinciana Maze dominates the grounds between the lagoon and the former Doty residence. Topiaries and sculptures populate the pathways through the maze of colorful trees and flowers. This was the beginning of the formal gardens in 1989 when Ed managed to take a drawing by Joyce and bring to life what is seen today. An overlook, from a nearby gazebo, gives you an opportunity to appreciate the sprawling creation.
While the residence is reserved for special functions and is not on the tour, several notable statues adorn the natural pool setting to the left of the house and the Hillside Garden to the back of the home offers some beautiful views of the Pacific.
The return route to the Visitor Center provides an opportunity to experience the Palm Garden and International Desert Garden, where succulents and cacti have been imported from around the globe. Inspired by Joyce’s short residence in New Mexico during her youth, this section was developed in 1991.
The hardwood plantation is dominated by teak trees, the predominant hardwood raised at the Kilohana Plantation. A variety of hardwoods including cedar, blackwood, rosewood, sandalwood, and mahogany are raised on the grounds. Among the more than 20 hardwood species are several prized in the making of fine musical instruments — pau ferro is used to make violin bows and cocobolo is a favorite for carving woodwinds.
The Wild Forest Gardens are densely foliated around natural springs, streams and ponds as the terrain rolls downhill into a canyon, opening toward the sea. Bronzes still dot the natural trails bordering the hardwood forests and disappearing into shaded crevices that ultimately embrace the Pacific. One trail along the ridge of the canyon leads to the southern extremity of the plantation where a natural bird garden has been created and a Polynesian Gazebo offers a stunning view of Kaluakai Beach below.
For hardy hikers the Ridge Trail is an interesting choice. It winds its way down the side of the canyon, then along a small marsh and across a boardwalk to Makai Meadow. It is the site of many special events, and doorway to a picturesque sandy beach. Here you may see humpback whales breeching offshore during their annual trek to the islands. You may even see a Laysan albatross, with its massive wingspan, soar overhead during its half-year visit to lay eggs and raise its young.
Joyce and Ed had not planned to have the gardens open during their lifetime, but established a non-profit foundation to operate the gardens after they departed. They provided funding through the cultivation of the hardwood plantation, so as to protect their legacy. But Ed noted how much Joyce enjoyed showing off her gardens on those occasions when they opened it for special guests.
Finally, late in 1999, they decided to open it to the public. In February of 2000, Joyce hosted all of the artists at Na ‘Aina Kai to see how their work was being displayed in the natural gardens and was delighted by their appreciation for what the Dotys had created.
It is still a work in progress — for as long as Joyce and Ed are alive there will always be another project, another place for a statue, another plant to display. Their combined energies and daily regimen are part of the appreciation guests have for this special place. Their gift will always be an inspiration.
Any visit to Na ‘Aina Kai is an experience to remember, but the longer you have to fully grasp all that it offers, the better.

Small businesses of all sorts are sprouting on the Garden Isle as residents catch the entrepreneurship craze
By Jacy L. Youn
It was mid-April—a couple weeks after a seemingly never-ending bout of deadly heavy rainstorms tore through Kauai, leaving a national disaster and a distressed community in its wake—and it was clear, the island still hadn’t recovered. Piles of debris littered the streets and sidewalks. Small boulders and fresh chunks of land lay resting alongside the mountains they had slid off. And outside the Kauai Marriott fronting Kalapaki Bay, the guest parking lot, formerly home to scores of rental cars, was full of yellow tractors removing heaps of mud.
Indoors, however, it was a completely different story. Sure, businesspeople and island leaders made small talk about how the rain had lasted an unprecedented 40 days and 40 nights. But it was clear that not even rains of biblical proportions could cast a shadow over the event that had brought them all together—the island’s first-ever Small Business Expo, hosted by the Kauai Chamber of Commerce.
Inside the Puna Ballroom, where a healthy mix of retailers, financial institutions and small business-advocates exhibited goods and services from their respective booths, expo attendees were abuzz with business enthusiasm. People couldn’t stop talking about what they’d learned in the workshop series, which focused on important issues such as employee recruitment and retention, workers’ compensation and best practices. And others raved about the “notable” lineup of speakers, including the executive director of the Hawaii SBA, Jane Sawyer, director of the State’s Department of Labor and Industrial Relations Nelson Befitel and leadership training guru Rosa Say, who gave the keynote address.
It was obviously a nice change of pace for island residents, as business replaced weather as the topic du jour, and people were reminded that, despite all the gloom and doom, the island is still very much open for business.
“The event really exceeded our expectations. We were expecting about 70 attendees, but ended up with about 100. Close to 200 [attended] the SBA awards dinner [which proceeded the event]. And the booths seemed to be a real big success,” says Chamber of Commerce President Randy Francisco. “We’re all really happy with the overall turnout. And I think it was encouraging to some people who may have been unsure about the opportunities that Kauai has to offer.”
Francisco himself was once one of those people. Originally from Kauai, the Waimea High School graduate was one of many Kauaians who never returned to their island home after leaving for college. After attending the University of Hawaii, Francisco built a very successful career on Oahu, primarily developing work-force training and economic development initiatives within the UH system—but gave little thought to moving back home. And then one day, late last year, as Francisco thumbed through The Garden Island, he stumbled upon an article detailing the Chamber’s search for a new president. It was a full-time, paid position, and Francisco’s interest was piqued.
“I was away for about 30 years, and I began thinking about all the things I had done in work-force training and economic development and international education. The community as a whole here is facing so many challenges, and I thought about what an opportunity it was to bring all that knowledge and experience back home, and to do some good and make a difference,” says Francisco.
FERTILE GROUND FOR SMALL BUSINESS: The Kauai Chamber of Commerce’s first small business expo was a smashing success, according to Chamber President Randy Francisco
Little did he know, however, that through his efforts to learn about and address some of these community issues, he’d be gaining firsthand knowledge. “The chamber is a nonprofit, so I was expecting a salary cut from what I was accustomed to, and I was okay with that. But when one of the first questions I was asked [at the interview] was, ‘Where are you going to live?’ I had a feeling I was in trouble,” he says, laughingly. Much to the relief of the board, Francisco had already decided he’d be moving back in with his father, which meant nominal rent, which meant salary was a non-issue. “I’ve never seen people’s body languages go from that tense to that laid back, like theirs did when I told them housing wasn’t an issue,” Francisco says. Their overstated relief went to show just how big of an issue affordable housing is, when it comes to finding skilled workers on an island with an unbelievably low unemployment rate of 2.8 percent.
On the bright side of the unemployment issue, however, is that overall, there are more jobs available on the island. Many business owners say that’s the reason they can’t find qualified workers—because there are simply more jobs competing for them. And they’re right. With all of the islands’ major sectors (including real estate, tourism and everything in between) revving on full throttle—business on Kauai is booming.
A nice side effect of all this growth has been the development of smaller, niche industries, as well as a healthy number of new small businesses. The Hawaii Business Research Library shows just under 4,800 businesses currently registered on the island, however it’s difficult to compare that figure to years past, since there are no agencies, government or otherwise, that cull business registration data on an annual basis for public consumption.
Nonetheless, evidence of growth is everywhere.
Susan Tai, Director of the Small Business Development Center of Kauai, says, “There’s definitely an increasing trend toward entrepreneurship and small-business development here. We can tell because the number of client sessions we book with small-business owners has been on the increase, but as well, it’s obvious just by driving around the island.” It sure is. Everything from activity and tour companies to LA-style boutiques, have sprouted across Kauai, many of which weren’t there the same time last year.
“The reasons we’re seeing an increase in entrepreneurship are manifold,” says Tai. “But I think one important factor is that the concept of self-sufficiency and independence—separating oneself from the staple of the economy, which is really tourism and hospitality—has really caught on here.”
KEEPING IT LEVEL: Contracts with several car rental companies keep Next Level Customs’ owner Daniel Decker busy painting cars year-round.
There Are a Lot of New Trucks on the Road
The ironic thing is that the very things these entrepreneurs seek to get away from are the very things enabling their newfound freedoms. “A lot of [these new businesses] are born from or touched by tourism. They’re spider legs coming out of tourism,” says Kauai Visitors Bureau Executive Director Sue Kanoho. “And while we’re happy to see that growth in other industries, I think it’s important for people not to forget what really the anchor and the cornerstone of the island is—tourism.”
If anyone understands what Kanoho is getting at, it’s Daniel Decker and spouses Myca and Kim Paglinawan. Decker and the Paglinawans own neighboring businesses in the industrial area of Puhi. Decker operates a small auto body and paint shop, Next Level Customs, while the Paglinawans run a paint distribution company, M&KP’s Auto Refinishing Supplies. Neither business is one you’d immediately associate with the visitor industry, but both are quick to credit tourism for their healthy bottom lines. “There’s so many tourists on the island, no matter where you go, you’ll see a rent-a-car,” says Kim. “I like it though. It brings us money.”
On a slow year, the Paglinawans gross close to $250,000 in revenues annually distributing car paint. With no additional employees to cover, it makes for a nice, comfortable living for the couple and their 6-year-old son, Shaun. But Myca says money wasn’t the motivating factor behind starting the business. Originally, he and Kim were working as flight attendants, and Myca was painting car parts on the side. After the post-9/11 flight cuts, it became difficult for the Paglinawans, who were living on Kauai and commuting to Oahu, to secure flights back home.
“The commute was getting too hard, and we weren’t getting enough time with our son. So we brainstormed some ideas for starting a business. We thought about maybe opening a small auto body shop, but I didn’t want to have to paint every day,” says Myca. “But we did some research and found that there was a market for paint distribution, so we went with that.”
And just like that, the Paglinawan’s were in business. Their startup costs were minimal—just $20,000 out-of-pocket and a $50,000 SBA loan—but the rewards, they say, are enormous. “Now, if we have something to do with our son, we just close the shop, go and come right back,” says Kim. “We have a lot more flexibility. Of course, we work a lot more, and we work year round. We don’t take summer vacations.” That’s because summer is their busy season—the time when there are more tourists on the road, and therefore more fender benders.
Repairing rental cars, it turns out, is big business for small businesses on Kauai. M&KP client and neighbor Next Level Customs has contracts for repair work with four car rental companies on the island and is never at a loss for work. Proprietor Daniel Decker calls those contracts his “job security,” for while his real passion is doing custom paint jobs, it’s the rental car work that pays the bills. On any given month, Next Level Customs earns around $6,000 a month—or about 70 percent of its revenues—from contracts Decker has with rental car companies. “Tourism’s doing good on Kauai, and that work definitely keeps me busy,” he says.
True, tourism is booming. But if ever that end of the business ever drops off for Decker, he isn’t going to have to look far for work. “The visitor industry is one example of a sector on Kauai that’s doing well, but the economy’s up across the board. And that means locals are spending. They’re buying TVs and material culture things. And cars. Cars are one of the biggest indicators of Kauai’s booming economy,” says Francisco. “And I’ve been seeing a lot of new trucks on the road.”

Visitor spending in April increased 14.9 percent from last year to $895.2 million.
Tourism officials see three reasons for the increase — inflation, more Mainland visitor arrivals for the Easter holiday and a large convention.
Otherwise, the month followed the usual trend of increased arrivals from the Mainland and fewer from Japan. Japanese visitors outspent Mainland visitors on a daily basis.
Total year-over-year visitor count was up 10.7 percent to 588,215 in April. Tourists stayed an average of 8.67 days and spent $175.50 per person per day, up 2.6 percent from last year.
Visitors from the U.S. West were up 18.1 percent to 266,998. U.S. East and Canadian visitor arrivals increased 10 percent and 20 percent, respectively.
The Japanese visitor count dropped 5.2 percent to 100,483 arrivals.
For the first four months of 2006, the number of domestic arrivals hit a new high of 1.7 million.
Oahu was the only island to see a drop in visitor spending during the first four months — down 1.8 percent to $1.7 billion. Maui saw an 24.6 percent increase to $1.2 billion, the Big Island 4.1 percent to $513.2 million, Kauai 9.4 percent to $391.3 million, Molokai 1.3 percent to $10.5 million, and Lanai 38.5 percent to $24.4 million.
The number of cruise visitors increased to 138,219 passengers in the first four months.

ASHLAND, Ore. (AP) _ Biologists and criminalists are joining forces to develop investigation techniques that work under water to protect coral reefs.
The goal is to improve investigation of reef pollution like the one that happened after a dam burst in Kauai in March.
David Gulko is a coral reef ecologist for the Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources.
He says it’s hard to enforce natural resource laws without tools to conduct investigations under water.
Gulko has been put in charge of the effort by the International Coral Reef Initiative, an international body dedicated to protecting coral reefs.
Researchers will present their recommendations to the International Tropical Marine Ecosystems Management Symposium in October in Cozumel, Mexico. They plan to offer a five-day training session for marine biologists from around the world.