Hawaii

The push to save one of Hawaii’s only voyaging temples

Published

1 year ago

November 17, 2023

The push to save one of Hawaii’s only voyaging temples

Koa Heiau Holomoana is an ancient Hawaiian heiau (traditional Hawaiian place of worship) that was used to train navigators for ocean voyaging by using the alignments of the stones with the stars.

Hawaii Land Trust/Shibby Stylee

On Hawaii Island, in the hills of North Kohala overlooking the Pacific, a unique Hawaiian cultural site sits beneath the stars, free from light pollution. The ancient Hawaiian heiau, or temple, called Koa Heiau Holomoana, is one of the rare few dedicated to long-distance ocean voyaging. Some think it was built over a thousand years ago. A training ground for navigators, its standing stones are aligned, with keen precision, with islands on the other side of the Pacific, farther than the eye can see.

For decades, the coastline of North Kohala has been under threat of resort development, and the island’s county council supported its development.
Despite community opposition, one after the other, developers proposed large hotels, condos, homes and an 18-hole golf course on land that contains this sacred heiau and 174 other historic cultural sites, such as shrines, burials and trails.

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Hawaii Land Trust is raising $20 million to save Mahukona from resort development.
Hawaii Land Trust

When the latest developer’s plans fell through, the Kohala community partnered with the nonprofit Hawaii Land Trust to try to buy the 642 acres and preserve the land into perpetuity. “There’s been a very, very long-term community use of Mahukona for a bunch of things, from recreation to cultural practice to subsistence gathering, and the community was worried that had that resort been developed, they would have lost access and ability to continue those practices,” Olu Campbell, CEO of Hawaii Land Trust, told SFGATE.

Hawaii Land Trust is actively campaigning to raise $20 million, to be used to purchase the land from a holding company, as part of an agreement that expires on Dec. 15. It has raised enough funds to acquire the property, but needs the total amount to support immediate stewardship activities. “I’m optimistic, but yeah, there’s definitely a chance that [we won’t reach it]. We’re about $1.3 million away from completing that goal,” said Campbell. The purchase would create 4 miles of protected coastline, including Kapaa Beach Park to the north and Lapakahi State Historical Park to the south.

“It allows us to continue to steward Koa Heiau Holomoana,” Chadd Paishon, expert navigator and executive director of Na Kalai Waa, a Hawaii Island organization that perpetuates traditional ocean voyaging. (Aside from the coastal trail, Mahukona is on private property and visitors are not allowed to visit the heiau without permission from Hawaii Land Trust.)

The Makalii is Hawaii Island’s long-distance voyaging canoe that’s part of Na Kalai Waa.
Hawaii Land Trust

Cultural revitalization

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Long before modern-day GPS and even prior to the invention of the compass, Polynesians voyaged across the islands of the Pacific by using the positioning of the stars, moon, sun and ocean swells to navigate their way. They traveled between Hawaii and the South Pacific on voyaging canoes for centuries. But for unknown reasons, voyaging declined and ceased in Hawaii around the 14th century. Some surmise that the voyagers’ time and energy turned to cultivating land for its growing population.

It wasn’t until the 1970s that Hawaiians, with the help of Micronesian master navigator Mau Piailug, rekindled their relationship with the voyaging traditions by building the double-hulled canoe Hokulea and sailing successfully to Tahiti in 1976.

Na Kalai Waa’s founders Clay and Shorty Bertelmann were involved in this resurgence of voyaging — and, in the 1990s, when they were building Makalii, their voyaging canoe for Hawaii Island, kupuna (elders) from Kohala introduced them, and Paishon, to Koa Heiau Holomoana.

“It had been in their family for generations,” said Paishon. “In the stories that we have learned, that particular heiau was used as a training ground, a school for potential navigators. And because we’re continuing that tradition of voyaging, they wanted us to know about the place and really to care for it. And so we basically, still utilize that heiau as our school.”

The Hawaii Island canoe Makalii is housed at Mahukona, where Chadd Paishon of Na Kalai Waa uses the navigational heiau as a school for navigators.
Hawaii Land Trust/Shibby Stylee

Archaeoastronomical connections

The navigational heiau looks a bit different compared with other heiau in Hawaii, such as the large, stacked-stone heiau at Puukohola on Hawaii Island or the large enclosures of heiau Puu O Mahuka on Oahu. In contrast, Koa Heiau Holomoana is made up of upright stones pointing toward the sky. Paishon says its construction is similar to others found atop the island’s volcanoes and on Mokumanamana in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands.

Like a map, the heiau’s standing stones are aligned with the stars used by navigators to lead to certain islands, Paishon explains. They’re pointed across the Pacific, toward Samoa, Cook Islands, Tahiti and the Marquesas. The stones are also not from Mahukona – they were brought to this spot long ago from other Pacific islands.

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Koa Heiau Holomoana continues to be used solely as a school for students practicing traditional navigation and is not open to visitation.
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Hawaii Land Trust

Paishon says Na Kalai Waa takes student navigators to the heiau to teach them about these connections between stones, stars and other Pacific islands. “It’s about understanding what islands are connected to which stones, so that in the process of the movement of the stars, you can see which stars align to certain stones and whether the other stars are in alignment to those particular stones,” he says.

The heiau helps prepare students before a voyage. Their next long-distance voyage is in two years. If construction had proceeded at Mahukona, development would have obscured the night sky, making it impossible to continue the practice, which is why Paishon sees this purchase as a necessary step for conservation. “It allows that part of our culture to continue,” he says.

Editor’s note: SFGATE recognizes the importance of diacritical marks in the Hawaiian language. We are unable to use them due to the limitations of our publishing platform.

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Hawaii

Hawaii surfer Landon McNamara wins the 2024 Eddie Aikau Big Wave Invitational

Published

2 hours ago

December 23, 2024

Press Room

Hawaii surfer Landon McNamara wins the 2024 Eddie Aikau Big Wave Invitational

WAIMEA BAY (HawaiiNewsNow) – It’s official: Landon McNamara has won the 2024 Eddie Aikau Big Wave Invitational.

He received 135.8 points as well as the highest-scoring wave of the competition — a perfect score of 15 — which earned him the Best Wave Award.

“This is a childhood dream of mine, something I’ve been working at since being a little kid on the beach here, watching these events go down,” he said. “I don’t know what to feel right now. I’ve already cried 10 times.

“I’m grateful to Eddie,” McNamara said. “Both my heats, I had a turtle I was following. For real. … They say Eddie picks the winner, and I’m so grateful he picked me.”

The accomplishment is even more fitting considering his father, Liam McNamara, is the contest director.

The top nine finishers were:

Landon McNamara (HI, 2024 WINNER)
Mason Ho (HI)
Billy Kemper (HI)
Jamie O’Brien (HI)
Nic Lamb (CA)
Luke Shepardson (HI, 2023 WINNER)
Nathan Florence (HI)
Kai Lenny (HI)
Koa Rothman (HI)

Competitor Greg Long received the Aloha Spirit Award. “Participating in this event has been the greatest honor and privilege of my life,” he said.

THE EDDIE IS ON: View our complete coverage

Tens of thousands of people gathered on Oahu’s North Shore to witness the historic event Sunday.

Waves were 50 feet in face height, according to Liam McNamara.

“The conditions are amazing. There’s a strong offshore breeze right now,” McNamara told Hawaii News Now early Sunday morning. “We’re looking for an amazing day of competition. This is a historic day. We want to make sure we start it with a bang and we end with a bang.”

This is the 11th time “The Eddie” has run in the last 40 years, and participation is by invitation only.

Previous Coverage:

For more information:

Rip Curl The Eddie Big Wave Invitational
TheEddieAikau.com

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Hawaii

Hawaii surfing competition 'The Eddie' braces for 50-foot waves Sunday | Latest Weather Clips | FOX Weather

Published

10 hours ago

December 22, 2024

Press Room

Hawaii surfing competition ‘The Eddie’ braces for 50-foot waves Sunday

The forecast for massive 50-foot waves in Hawaii prompted the organizers of The Eddie Aikau Big Wave Invitational, the premier surfing event in the world, to schedule the event for Sunday. “The Eddie” competition requires consistent 40-foot or higher surf. If Sunday’s event goes on as planned, it’ll be only the 11th time it has happened since 1984.

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Hawaii

This Popular Hawaii Resort Has A New 3-Story Penthouse And Renovated Pools With Local Amenities

Published

18 hours ago

December 22, 2024

Press Room

This Popular Hawaii Resort Has A New 3-Story Penthouse And Renovated Pools With Local Amenities

The family-friendly Resort Pool at the Ritz-Carlton Residences, Waikiki Beach

Photo: Courtesy of the Ritz-Carlton Residences, Waikiki Beach

When it comes to Waikiki’s luxury hotels, the Ritz-Carlton Residences, Waikiki Beach, is one of the most beloved properties for frequent visitors to this popular corner of Hawaii. With all its spacious rooms boasting balconies with ocean views and kitchens to ensure a comfortable stay no matter how long your trip may be, it’s a true home away from home, with the added magic that comes with the brand’s phenomenal customer service. To make things better, the resort recently unveiled a collection of new suites and reimagined pools, providing guests an even more elevated experience than before.

Dubbed the Sky Suites, these sumptuous, multi-bedroom accommodations have become the pinnacle of luxury living in Waikiki. Encased in floor-to-ceiling windows, delivering sweeping panoramas of the neighborhood’s namesake beach and the beautiful blue Pacific at every turn, the vistas alone are worth every penny. But once you add in the modern furnishings, full kitchens with Miele appliances, the formal dining spaces, and pristine white marble bathrooms, you’ll never want to look back. To top it all off, they also come with exclusive perks, including roundtrip airport transfers, a dedicated VIP concierge, and a pre-stocked refrigerator with preferred beverages and snacks.

The three-bedroom Sky Suite

Photo: Courtesy of the Ritz-Carlton Residences, Waikiki Beach

Guests have the option between three- or four-bedroom Sky Suites. The former is a coveted corner unit that features what is arguably the resort’s best view of Diamond Head, along with a sleek, marble kitchen island that’s great for entertaining. The latter is the property’s largest, spanning nearly 3,000 square feet across two floors, and is the only four-bedroom suite in all of Waikiki. It also sports the resort’s biggest kitchen, making it particularly great for private chef dinners, and the double-height living room allows for plenty of natural light to filter in.

The Sky Penthouse rooftop deck

Photo: Courtesy of the Ritz-Carlton Residences, Waikiki Beach

But the Ritz-Carlton’s crowning jewel, quite literally, is the Sky Penthouse. Occupying the top floors of the resort’s Diamond Head Tower, this three-story, two-bedroom suite soars 350 feet above Waikiki. The first level houses the living spaces, a kitchen with a wine fridge, one bedroom, and a small media room that also doubles as a great private reading nook. The second floor is entirely dedicated to the master bedroom, but it’s the rooftop that’s the real selling point. Touting one of the neighborhood’s highest infinity plunge pools, the furnished deck also features a hot tub and grill, and is particularly ideal for sundowners.

You won’t need to book the Sky Penthouse for an incredible pool experience, though. The property offers its guests two infinity pools, one of which is an adults-only oasis. Both offer private cabanas, with the options at the family-friendly pool being larger, that come with a mini refrigerator stocked with local beverages and snacks. All guests can also expect a variety of thoughtful pool amenities, including sunscreen service and hourly snacks that pay homage to local favorites, like fresh pineapple dipped in li hing mui. The resort’s popular daily afternoon ritual of complimentary ice cream and sorbet is still available, and now includes an adult version with the addition of sparkling wine float. Quite frankly, there’s enough to keep you at the pool that you may never want to leave.

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