DISCOVER KAUAI

Of volcanic origin, the highest peak on this mountainous island is Kawaikini at 5,243 feet. The second highest peak is Mount Wai'ale'ale near the center of the island, 5,148 feet above sea level. One of the wettest spots on Earth, with an annual average rainfall of 460 inches (11,700 mm), is located on the east side of Mount Wai'ale'ale. The high annual rainfall has eroded deep valleys in the central mountains, carving out canyons with many scenic waterfalls.

There is no known meaning behind the name of Kauai. Native Hawaiian tradition indicates the name's origin in the legend of Hawai'iloa — the Polynesian navigator attributed with discovery of the Hawaiian Islands. The story relates how he named the island of Kauai after a favorite son; therefore a possible translation of Kauai is "place around the neck", meaning how a father would carry a favorite child.


HISTORY OF KAUAI

During the reign of King Kamehameha, the islands of Kauai and Ni'ihau were the last Hawaiian Islands to join his Kingdom of Hawaii. Their ruler, Kaumuali'i, resisted Kamehameha for years. King Kamehameha twice prepared a huge armada of ships and canoes to take the islands by force and twice failed; once due to a storm, and once due to an epidemic.

In the face of the threat of a further invasion, however, Kaumuali'i decided to join the kingdom without bloodshed, and became Kamehameha's vassal in 1810, ceding the island to the Kingdom of Hawai'i upon his death.


ISLAND FACTS

The city of Lihu'e, on the island's southeast coast, is the seat of Kaua'i County and the second largest city on the island. Kapa'a, on the "Coconut Coast" (site of an old coconut plantation) about 6 miles (9.7 km) north of Lihu'e, has a population of nearly 10,000, or about 50% greater than Lihu'e. Waimea, once the capital of Kauai on the island's southwest side, was the first place in Hawaii visited by British explorer Captain James Cook in 1778. Waimea town is located at the mouth of the Waimea River, whose flow formed one of the most scenic canyons in the world. At 3,000 feet (914 m) deep, Waimea Canyon has been called "The Grand Canyon of the Pacific".

1992's Hurricane Iniki may have caused an indirect change in Kauai's ecosystem. Some say a chicken farm was destroyed, causing all of the chickens to roam free that one may see today. Others say that sugarcane plantation laborers in the late 1800s and early 1900s brought and raised chickens (for eating and cockfighting) and many got loose over the years and multiplied. Whatever their original source, Kauai is now home to thousands of wild roosters and hens, roaming the island with few natural predators. Wild roosters have been known to disturb evening quiet time at odd hours with their crowing.

The island of Kauaii has been featured in more than 70 Hollywood movies and television shows, including the musical South Pacific and Disney's 2002 animated feature film and television series Lilo & Stitch. Scenes from South Pacific were filmed in the vicinity of Hanalei. Waimea Canyon was used in the filming of the 1993 film Jurassic Park. Parts of the island were also used for the opening scenes of Raiders of the Lost Ark. Other movies filmed here include Six Days Seven Nights, the remake of King Kong and John Ford's 1963 film Donovan's Reef.

Coco Palms Resort is a famous resort located on this island and many of Elvis' films including Blue Hawaii were filmed here. The resort was damaged in the Hurricane in 1992, but is set to reopen by 2010.

Kauai is home to the U.S. Navy's "Barking Sands" Pacific Missile Range Facility, on the sunny and dry western shore.

Kauai was known for its distinct dialect of the Hawaiian language before it went extinct there. Whereas the standard language today is based on the dialect of Hawaii island, the Kauai dialect was known for pronouncing /k/ as /t/. Therefore, the native name for Kauai was Taua'i, and the major settlement of Kapa'a would have been called Tapa'a.


PLACES OF INTEREST

• Alakai Wilderness Area
• Allerton Garden
• Bell stone
• Fern Grotto
• Hanalei Bay
• Iraivan temple
• Ke'e Beach
• Koke'e State Park
• Limahuli Garden and Preserve
• McBryde Garden
• Makeleha Mountains
• Moir Gardens
• Moloaa Bay
• Na 'Aina Kai Botanical Gardens
• Na Pali Coast State Park
• 'Opaeka'a Falls
• Spouting Horn
• Wailua River
• Waimea Canyon
• Princeville North Shore

KAUAI HOTELS & ACCOMMODATION

KAUAI TOURS, TRAVEL & ACTIVITIES