Best Adventures on Land
Birding at Hakalau Forest National Wildlife Refuge, the Big Island. Native Hawaiian birds are few -- and dwindling. But Hawaii still offers extraordinary birding for anyone nimble enough to traverse tough, mucky landscape. And the best birding is on the Big Island; birders the world over come here hoping to see three Hawaiian birds, in particular: akiapolaau, a woodpecker wannabe with a war clublike head; nukupuu, an elusive little yellow bird with a curved beak, one of the crown jewels of Hawaiian birding; and alala, the critically endangered Hawaiian crow that's now almost impossible to see in the wild. Hakalau Forest National Wildlife Refuge is the first national wildlife refuge established solely for forest bird management. It's on the eastern slope of Mauna Kea, above the Hamakua Coast.
Biking down a volcano, Maui. It's not even close to dawn, but here you are, rubbing your eyes awake, riding in a van up the long, dark road to the top of Maui's sleeping volcano. It's colder than you ever thought possible for a tropical island. The air is thin. You stomp your chilly feet while you wait, sipping hot coffee. Then comes the sun, exploding over the yawning Haleakala Crater, which is big enough to swallow Manhattan whole -- it's a mystical moment you won't soon forget, imprinted on a palette of dawn colors. Now you know why Hawaiians named it the House of the Sun. But there's no time to linger: Decked out in your screaming yellow parka, you mount your steed and test its most important feature -- the brakes -- because you're about to coast 37 miles down a 10,000-foot volcano.
Riding a mule into a leper colony, Molokai. Don't pass up the opportunity to see this hauntingly beautiful peninsula. Buzzy Sproat's mules go up and down the 3-mile Kalaupapa Trail to Molokai's famous leper colony. The views are breathtaking: You'll see the world's highest sea cliffs (over 300 stories tall) and waterfalls plunging thousands of feet into the ocean. If you're afraid of heights, catch the views from the Kalaupapa Lookout, in Palaau Park.
Four-wheeling to the Garden of the Gods, Lanai. Hop on a four-wheel-drive vehicle and head out on the dirt road that leads out of Lanai City, through the now uncultivated pineapple fields, to the Garden of the Gods, on Lanai's north shore. Take the time to explore this rugged, barren, beautiful place, full of rocks strewn by volcanic forces and shaped by the elements into a variety of shapes and colors -- brilliant reds, oranges, ochers, and yellows. Ancient Hawaiians considered this desolate, windswept place an entirely supernatural phenomenon. Scientists, however, have other, less colorful explanations. Some call the area an "ongoing posterosional event," others say it's just "plain and simple badlands." Go early in the morning when the light casts eerie shadows on the mysterious lava formations.
Horseback riding to remote and hidden beaches, Kauai. Only in Kauai can you ride a horse across the wide-open pastures of a working ranch under volcanic peaks and rein up near a waterfall pool. No wonder Kauai's paniolo (cowboys) smile and sing so much. It's worth your time and money just to get out to this seldom-seen part of Kauai.
