Hō'ihi i Ka 'Āina

Respect the land. The Hawaiian people, both ancient and contemporary, revere the beauty and bounty of the land. Songs and poems and dances are filled with both wonder and respect for this amazing land. 

In order to appreciate the Hawaiian Islands fully, one needs to understand how truly unique they are, just from a geological perspective alone. They stand virtually alone in the Pacific some 2000 miles from the U.S. mainland. The islands, numbering in the hundreds, spread over around 1,500 miles.

Of course the eight main islands are the best known and comprise what most mainland residents think of as "Hawai'i". These are Ni'ihau, Kaua'i, O'ahu, Moloka'i, Lana'i, Kaho'olawe, Maui, and Hawai'i.

The Hawaiian islands were formed as the continental plate upon which they sit drifts over a "hot spot" in the earths crust. Molten magma rises up through the crust and forms volcanoes. These volcanoes erupt slowly and continuously, over many thousands of years, adding layer upon layer of cooled lava until finally, an island emerges from the sea. The process of island formation continues to this day, with volcanic flows on Hawai'i Island producing from 300,000 to 600,000 cubic meters of new land a day! Even now a new undersea volcano located off the southern tip of Hawai'i Island, named Lo'ihi, is busy forming the next island in the Hawaiian chain.

Take a moment to ponder this while visiting: You are standing upon one of the most remote and geographically isolated places on earth. It's hard to conceive of while sipping a Mai Tai in the hotel bar, surrounded my so much "civilization". Here there are species of plants, birds and fish found nowhere else in the world. Hawai'i is every bit of the evolutionary playground that Darwin's Galapagos are, with the added benefit of being accessible to regular folks like you and me. 

As a visitor, I urge you to take the time to understand a bit of how Hawaiians feel about the land. Hawaii should never be treated as a tropical "backyard" in which mainlanders play. It is a vibrant and totally unique place filled with wonders to enjoy and explore. It is no wonder that so many places in the islands are considered sacred to the Hawaiian people, but you will never see these if you never leave the beach at your resort. Get out and experience the 'āina for yourself, but please, show respect while you do.