The Secluded Island of Kahoolawe

Not all of the Hawaiian Islands are ideal for some fun tourist sightseeing. Among the 8 major islands of Hawaii namely Big Island, Maui, Oahu, Kauai, Molokai, Lanai, and Niihau, the Kahoolawe Island is the smallest one of them all. This tiny island only measures around 12 miles in length and its area is approximately 45 square miles. The island’s tallest peak is the Lua Makika’s crater located at Pu’u Moaulanui’s summit, which stands at around 1,477 feet above the sea level. What is fascinating about this island is not only its small size, but also the fact that it is completely deserted.

The island of Kahoolawe, as legend goes, is believed to have been christened after Kanaloa, who was among the 4 major Hawaiian gods. Kanaloa was forbidden from entering heaven by Kane, who was the chief Hawaiian god and from then on, the disgraced god became similar to Lucifer. Kanaloa was then supposed to have been the ruler of the dead as well as every poisonous thing on the planet.

Evidently, it was only until the 13^th century that the island of Kahoolawe was inhabited by native Hawaiians. Because of constant drought, these Kahoolawe residents transferred to the other Hawaiian Islands, which were able to offer them more water. For roughly 600 years, the island of Kahoolawe continued to be desolate. But during the 1830s, a penal colony comparable to the Alcatraz Island was established here but it was also abandoned soon after.

After being utilized as a place for prisoners, the island was later taken over by the United States military and it was used as their training ground. Back in 1994, the U.S. government gave the island back to the Aloha State. However, there was limited access to Kahoolawe until 2003 since the United States Navy had a job to tidy up the island first, owing to the fact that plenty of unexploded ammunitions remained in this isle.

These days, the island is being run and controlled by the Kahoolawe Island Reserve Commission. It is widely assumed that not every single hazardous explosive from the U.S. Navy has been removed from Kahoolawe yet. There are a few people who believe that the military had only removed around 25 % of their total explosives, so if the allegation is true, there are still 75 % of the entire explosives that still remain on the island.

In the olden times, Kahoolawe was an exquisitely lush island filled with flourishing flora and fauna. However, the goats that were brought to Kahoolawe consumed and spoiled the once thriving vegetation. Moreover, the powerful ocean winds also became a factor to the island’s erosion and Kahoolawe turned arid and rocky. This erosion occurred even before the military had taken over the island.

The Aloha State has already started the restoration of the island of Kahoolawe by getting rid of the grazing animals as well as by planting vegetations. This would really be a lengthy process and it would take numerous years before the island is entirely restored. Until that day comes, visits to Kahoolawe would be very limited and would require a special permit. But still, this historic place welcomes interested visitors. To get more information on possible access to the island of Kahoolawe, guests should get in touch with the Visitors Center located on Honolulu or the island of Maui.