Comments on: Blue Hole

By: Kaleimamo

Kaleimamo — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 18:48:14 +0000

Aloha from Kauai,
The lock down as someone described is because of the former natural areas that were open to the public and are now closed due to lawsuits. Now the locals can’t enjoy those areas. We probably have more visitors to the islands than Alaska so our odds of exposure to the sue happy individuals are greater, which means more of the natural slippery slides will close and soon Queen’s Bath and soon Kipu Falls to close..So we warn people about things like that so it’ll always remain open for everyone to enjoy. If we issue warnings and they still go, then they can’t sue. The Ultimate Guide Books forgets to warn people about some of the dangers.

By: Andy

Andy — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 07:02:31 +0000

Thanks for taking the time to write, Kim and Eric, and for adding new perspectives. The whole native-visitor debate is a thorny one, especially since Hawaii sees a lot of visitors who are more able to afford life in Hawaii than the born residents. One issue about sustainability is that as long as you have outside inputs (fuel, food, etc.) there are no natural limits as long as Hawaii can keep trading scenery and some ag products for mainland style of living. That’s why I think it is important to contain the development and designate zones as preserved, ag, commercial, housing and visitor destination area. After that you can debate how dense you want to go in the built up areas, but Hawaii has got to enforce the preservation of ag and natural areas.

Unfortunately, the seemingly unlimited and inhospitable spaces in Alaska are exactly the opposite of Hawaii. Islands by definition are limited, and the year-round agricultural climate combined with some unfortunate land policies to create some huge landowners. That’s the legacy we have today, but it’s not as locked down as it seems. The large landowners are fairly good stewards of the mountains, and there are lots of public parks and lands where people are allowed to explore.

So, more trails would be good, though I still believe we should start with the neglected ones we have. Maintenance is a problem, though, Kaua’i just doesn’t have the population to keep miles and miles of trails open in the tropical climate. Visitors have limited time and always want to do the same ones, hunters don’t want to be near the main trails, and the Sierra Club is spread thin. It’s not like Oahu where there’s also the Trail and Mountain club, and correspondingly more trails.

Maybe the conclusion from these points is that the wild adventure hike is better left to places like Alaska, and creating trails to channel the demand on Kauai would be the best way to share and preserve those areas.

By: Eric

Eric — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 21:04:21 +0000

So, I live in Alaska… tourism is big here as well. Something that blew me away when I took a Kauai helicopter trip around the island is how locked down everything is. “no, you can’t go there… private property”, “no, the state is afraid you’ll hurt yourself, so you can’t go there” etc. As an Alaskan used to being able to climb any mountain I could see without fear of trespassing, it’s weird, but I respect it.

So, my feelings about hikes in Kauai. Why not actually make established trails? If there’s a known, maintained trails, people won’t bushwhack to find the waterfalls they are looking for. Up here we have numerous non-profit groups that help with trail maintenance etc.

My concern is the same you bring up in point 1. Perhaps this is something of an “it’s mine, not yours” mentality. If you loved it, had an awesome experience, you would want to share it. For many, cruises and pre-packaged Hawaiian labeled merchandise made in China is perfect. They like the idea of Elvis in Blue Hawaii. But I want a real experience. Let’s not rope off these magnificent places on earth, let’s manage them in a way the land and the people and mutually benefit.

Thanks for the post. I appreciate you opening up your ideas and putting them out there. I agree, there’s no perfect solution. Good luck.

By: Kim

Kim — Sat, 30 May 2009 07:03:38 +0000

Man, I’ve gone through the same mental exercise in my head before; it’s why I leave out certain details in my own blog posts about my travels. I was raised on Kaua’i, and for a long time I pretty much hated tourists. I can’t any more because I love to travel. It would be unfair and hypocritical to impose myself on other people and places then come home and tell haoles to go home.

When I visit other places, I respect them. I expect people that visit my home to do the same (although there are those who don’t!). I like how some people of Moloka’i say – come, visit, enjoy, then go home. Islands have finite resources (land, water, food, energy…). There is absolutely a limit as to how many people our islands can sustain. What we all debate is where the line is drawn. The author of “The Price of Paradise” draws this line sometime in history, I think before I was even born.

I think ultimately blogs like yours are a good thing. You could argue that the more people there are aware and appreciative of these natural treasures, the more people there will be fighting to protect them. At least, that’s what we hope.