Discovering Kauai, Hawaii

The town of Lihue, the second biggest city on the island, located on the southeastern coast, is the seat of Kauai County, while Kapaa on the Coconut Coast, situated about 6 miles north, has two times more people with a population of around 10,000.

Waimea in the southwest region used to be the capital of Kauai; it was founded at the mouth of Waimea River, which formed Waimea Canyon or The Grand Canyon of the Pacific, which measures 3,000 feet deep.

There is an abundance of Kauai historic sites since the island is over 5 million years old and is the oldest in Hawaii.

Many explorers from other continents have visited the island over the centuries, leaving their marks; that's why some structures and places have a legend to tell.

Kauai history

Around 400 to 500 A.D., Kauai had its first share of settlers who brought primary food products like taro which is commonly used to make poi. The Marquesans from Polynesia became the island's first inhabitants, bringing many plants that you can still find in Kauai today.

In 1000 A.D., Tahitians arrived and overpowered the Marquesans to settle in Kauai as well.

Westerners came on the island during the 1700s. Captain James Cook is the most famous of all western explorers who navigated Hawaiian waters.The HMS Discovery and Resolution of the Captain first landed in Waimea Bay, the west coastal region, in 1778, resulting in trinket and food trading as well as cultural education from Hawaiian hosts. Captain Cook named the islands Sandwich Islands after the Captain's superior officer, the 4th Earl of Sandwich.

Cook, however, attempted to kidnap a Hawaiian high chief when a boat was stolen but was killed by the islanders. James King assumed the lost position, and a few years later, merchants, missionaries, and diseases found their way into Kauai history. There are also undocumented reports that Gaetan, a Spanish explorer, was accidentally blown off course into the island in 1542.

During the reign of King Kamehameha, the island of Kauai was one of the last Hawaiian Islands to join his Kingdom of Hawaii. Their ruler, Kaumualii, resisted Kamehameha for years. King Kamehameha twice prepared a large fleet of ships and canoes to take the islands by force and twice failed.

However, to avoid further invasion attempts, Kaumualii decided to join the kingdom and became Kamehameha's vassal in 1810. He ceded the island to the Kingdom of Hawaii upon his death in 1824

In 1815, Georg Scheffer, a Russian doctor, visited Kauai to hopefully establish trade privileges with King Kamehameha.

The island, however, was still nominally under the control of King Kaumualii, so the doctor promised Kaumualii to liberate Kauai with the help of Emperor Nicholas I of Russia in exchange for cargo located in Waimea. Fort Elizabeth was then constructed on the western part of the island, plus a couple more near Hanalei.

Unfortunately, Scheffer was called back to his home country, resulting in Fort Elizabeth's fall into the hands of King Kamehameha.

With the other Hawaiian islands, Kauai was incorporated as the 50th State in the United States of America on 21st August 1959.

What to see in Kauai

The island of Kauai offers many attractions and historic sites for its visitors to enjoy and discover.

The Kilauea Lighthouse, built in 1912 and dedicated in May of the following year, at the northernmost point of the major Hawaiian islands, features the largest glass lens of its kind and was used to guide sailors from the Orient. It continued to function until 1970 and is now considered a historic landmark and part of the Kīlauea Point National Wildlife Refuge.

The Hauola Place of Refuge used to be a sacred sanctuary for people who lose in battle or break the law. The Waioli Mission House features antique furnishings dating back to 1850.

In Kapaa, East Kauai, the Sleeping Giant is a Nounou Mountain ridge with a very similar appearance to a sleeping giant. Kauai villagers warded off invaders by lighting fires behind the mountain, which illuminated the figure. Hiking trails to the top of the mountain are available for those willing to enjoy the breathtaking view.

The Kauai Museum, home to the first public library on the island that opened in 1924, was later converted into a museum that features today some of the best native Hawaiian artifacts and dioramas in Kauai history.

The Grove Farm Homestead Museum features the Wilcox family as well as how sugar plantations existed in 1860. It is located On Hawaii Route 58, southeast of Lihue.

While the Kamokila Hawaiian Village lets you experience the ancient lifestyle of the Hawaiian people and admire crafts, games, and demonstrations.

The admission-free Kokee Natural History Museum provides an overview of the natural and cultural history of Kauai. Here you can find trail maps and shop other unique items. It is located is about a mile past the Koke'e State Park entrance sign.

Kauai's bellstone is a rock that, when struck sharply at a specific point, a note would resonate a unique tone that can be heard from distant locations. The bellstone was used to inform people from nearby settlements and islands of special events occurring, such as a royal birth.

The bellstone on Highway 580, Wailua, East Kauai, is found downhill from two big boulders that were placed to calibrate the Hawaiian calendars according to the winter and summer solstices.

To see the bellstone, go to Mile Marker #1 on Highway 580 or Kuamoo Road until you enter the dirt road leading to the ocean. Follow the trail until you reach the two big boulders. 100 feet from the guardrail is the Kauai historical site.

The Captain James Cook Monument can be found at Hofgard Park, Waimea, West Kauai. It was erected to commemorate the British captain who influenced a lot of Hawaii's history when he reached the Waimea Harbor in 1778. He led two ships, namely Resolution and Discovery, and is considered the pioneering westerner ever arrived on Kauai. The Captain, however, was killed by local villagers over a minor rowboat dispute.

Fort Elizabeth in Waimea, Southwest Kauai, was built by the Russian doctor George Scheffer with the help of King Kaumualii in 1816. The original purpose for creating the fort was not realized when Scheffer was brought back to Russia. King Kamehameha gained control of it afterward.