Recreation and Places of Interest

The state flourishes as a year-round tourist resort, and outdoor recreation takes many forms. Visitors and residents may hunt for wild boar in the mountains, fish for marlin offshore, examine volcanic craters at close range, trek across desolate lava flows and through dense rain forests, play golf and tennis in Honolulu, or ski on the snowy slopes of Mauna Kea. Ecotourism, which focuses on nature study and outdoor activities that minimize ecological impact, is also becoming more popular in Hawaii. Beach sports include surfboarding, body surfing, swimming, canoeing, skin diving, water-skiing, or spearfishing.

Another form of recreation for tourists is the popular Hawaiian feast called the luau. Tourists can also watch native Hawaiians take part in a hukilau, a community fishing festival on the shore. Everyone helps draw in the huge fishing net and shares in the catch. Still more entertainment is provided by the rhythm of native dancers, who perform in ti leaf skirts and leis to the music of ukuleles and Hawaiian guitars.

National Parks

The largest of the five national parks in Hawaii is Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. It covers 84,861 hectares (209,695 acres) on the island of Hawaii. It contains the active volcanoes of Mauna Loa and Kilauea. Haleakala National Park, on the island of Maui, includes Haleakala, a volcano that last erupted around 1790 and has a huge summit depression, sometimes incorrectly referred to as a volcanic crater. Geologists refer to this massive basin as an eroded coalescence of two valley systems. Pu’uhonua o Honaunau National Historical Park on the island of Hawaii is the site of an ancient Hawaiian sacred place of refuge for islanders who broke taboos and for defeated warriors in time of war. Kaloko-Honokohau National Historical Park, also on Hawaii, preserves native culture at the site of a Hawaiian settlement important before the arrival of Europeans. The famous leper colony on Molokai is the site of the Kalaupapa National Historical Park. The Pu’ukohola Heiau National Historic Site, on Hawaii Island, contains the ruins of the “temple on the hill of the whale” (a translation of the park’s name), built by King Kamehameha I. The USS Arizona Memorial on Oahu straddles the remains of the battleship sunk during the December 7, 1941, attack by Japan on Pearl Harbor and which became a symbol of United States resolve during the ensuing war.

State Parks

Hawaii has more than 70 state parks and recreation areas, which preserve sites of scenic beauty and historic interest.

Among the state preserves on the island of Hawaii are Akaka Falls State Park, Lave Tree State Monument, Manuka State Wayside, and Wailoa River and MacKenzie State Recreational Areas. On the island of Maui are Puaa Kaa State Park, with its scenic waterfalls and mountain pools, Kaumahina State Park, which lies on a high cliff overlooking the ocean, and Poli Poli Springs State Park, on the slopes of Haleakala. Iao Valley State Park on Maui is located in a large, beautiful valley. Rising 600 m (2,000 ft) from the valley floor is an isolated point of volcanic rock, referred to today as the Iao “Needle”. On Oahu a magnificent view of Honolulu can be seen from Puu Ualakaa State Park. In Keaiwa Heiau State Park, also on Oahu, is preserved an ancient Hawaiian heiau, or place of worship. On the island of Kauai are Wailua River State Park, which contains a fern-shaded grotto, and Kokee State Park, which lies in an area of upland rain forest. Na Pali Coast State Park, also on Kauai, is an area of spectacular cliffs and valleys and is accessible only from sea. Also on Kauai is Waimea Canyon State Park. The Waimea Canyon has been compared with the Grand Canyon of the Colorado River. Palaau State Park on Molokai overlooks the leper settlement of Kalaupapa.

Museums

Hawaii’s major art museum is the Honolulu Academy of Arts, with notable exhibits of Chinese, Japanese, Polynesian, and European art. Also in Honolulu is the Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum, devoted mainly to ethnology and natural history. Another museum of natural history and geology is the Thomas A. Jaggar Museum in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.

Other Places to Visit

Diamond Head, Hawaii’s most famous landmark, rises on Oahu to the east of Honolulu. Another well-known landmark, Punchbowl, also overlooks Honolulu. The crater of Punchbowl contains the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific. A scenic road winds from Honolulu and through the Nuuanu Valley to Nuuanu Pali, a 370 m (1,200 ft) high cliff and mountain pass with a view of the windward side of Oahu. Among the numerous places of interest in Honolulu are Waikiki Aquarium; Foster Botanical Garden; Iolani Palace, which once was the royal palace; and the State Capitol. The Polynesian Cultural Center, at Laie on Oahu, includes replica villages of seven Polynesian peoples. Also near Honolulu is Sea Life Park, one of the largest exhibits of marine life in the world.

Source: MSN Encarta: Online Encyclopedia