Exploring Molokai, Hawaii

“You don’t want to go Molokai. People aren’t very nice to outsiders.”

“Why wouldn’t you want to go to Kauai instead? Or Oahu?”

“Wouldn’t you rather go to a resort and luau?”

Questions like this came at a constant to me as I was getting ready to go to Hawaii for my first time. The best part was, the majority of these comments came from people who had never been to the islands, so of course I smiled, thanked them for their concern, and promptly dismissed their “advice.”

Even though I am not a full-time traveler, I’ve learned that everyone has their own opinions about the places I go (or would like to go), but rarely have they themselves actually been. Most of their questions and concerns are genuine (for the most part), and I appreciate the heart-felt meanings behind them, but that’s as far as it goes for me.

Sounds a little harsh, I know. But I don’t care. I don’t travel the same way as most of my friends and that’s okay. I know myself better than anyone else, and I knew that I was going to have a blast exploring Molokai!

And you know what?

I DID!

Shocker. But I’m not the only one. Check out Anthony Bourdain’s visit to Molokai. I love him. But enough about that. Let’s talk about Molokai. Here are some of the highlights in no particular order:

Exploring Molokai Began with the Ferry Ride

My friend Nikki and I were all about traveling like the locals do during our trip to Hawaii. In keeping with that frame of mind, we opted for a 2 hour ferry ride from Maui to Molokai, instead of a faster and less-seasickness-inducing plane ride.

We waited on the dock with locals and their groceries, pets, and bikes while the ferry chugged closer, finally coming to rest in front of us. Exploring Molokai was about to begin!

It was a fun experience, listening to the locals complain about issues on the islands, teenagers venting frustrations that Burger King isn’t on Molokai yet, or how some of the families only come to Maui once a month to do some major shopping.

The ferry ride started off easy enough – we used to take ferry rides from Newport Beach to Balboa Island when I was growing up. We found a spot outside on the side of the boat, which offered dazzling views of the slowly setting sun.

However, once we got out far enough, we started to pick up speed…and the waves began to get choppier; I’m talking white-caps galore. After getting sprayed, Nikki headed back inside. Ever the mermaid, I opted to stay outside a little while longer…until I was completely soaked, afraid my phone was going to get ruined, and finally realized I was wearing a white shirt.

Oops.

I ducked inside and learned that the channel that we were crossing between the islands has a strong current that we were going against. Great. Cue the sea-sickness. Ugh.

Our Lodging While Exploring Molokai: The Unsailable Sailboat

After a 2-hour turbulent passage crossing, we emerged victorious on the docks of Kaunakakai, the largest town on Molokai.

We didn’t have to go far to find our lodging for the next few nights because Nikki found us a steal-of-a-deal on AirBnB: $35ish/night combined for lodging on an unsailable sailboat.

That’s right, you heard me.

We stayed on a sailboat that was docked in the harbor. The Hoa Hele is a 32 foot Erikson and unfortunately no longer available to rent.

As you can see, there’s not a dinghy or anything to help us get out to the boat: we had to pull the boat close enough to set a plank of wood and wedge it between a beam on the shore to create our “walkway” for us to get on the boat, which was just laying on the ground next to the water.

Mind you, the plank was just that: a plank.

We had to wedge it under the beam of wood on the ground, pushing it back far enough to support our weight as we walked a few feet over the water and clambered onto the back of the boat.

I can’t tell you how many times I thought we’d get back to the boat and not be able to find the wood.

Fortunately, we never had to swim out to the boat!

The problem was…the picture above shows what the walkway looks like during the morning-early evening…LOW TIDE. Oh yeah. During the evenings, the tide would come in and the boat would rise so much, we couldn’t use the plank.

How did we get on, you ask?

Simple (but not easy).

We had to jump a bit and land on one of those 2 platforms on our stomachs, and then do the worm until we could swing our legs around and find some leverage to pull ourselves up.

In keeping with the tradition of boats, the platforms were textured, so of course this process hurt. I know that I was bruised and scratched a bit, as was Nikki.

Oh – there were no midnight jaunts to the restroom.

You held it. There was no toilet on board. We had to use the public restrooms at the dock.

I’ll just let that sink in.

Our view every morning. So grateful that getting on and off the boat in the morning to start exploring Molokai was fairly easy.

The arrangement for staying on the sailboat also included a clause that stated for every 1 night stay, the tenants would do some sort of work on the boat. Nikki and I opted to sand and varnish.

Our sleeping arrangement inside the sailboat was what you would expect: Nikki slept in the salon and I got the V-berth. It was surprisingly comfortable. I didn’t get a great picture of the inside, but this will have to do:

Getting Around While Exploring Molokai

We didn’t really plan ahead for this part of our trip. Had we been smart, we would have arranged for a rental car prior to arriving on Molokai.

Since we didn’t arrange for a car, we had the use of a lovely U-Haul truck that we rented from a gas station/mechanic shop close to the docks, thanks to a tip from some wonderful locals.

You can see it in the 2nd picture above.

Molokai doesn’t have any kind of public transportation (they only have 1 signal on the island) and there isn’t enough traffic on the island to give us the courage to try and hitchhike around.

A huge truck it is!

I’m not sure how it happened, but I ended up driving the entire time we were exploring Molokai, which is totally fine since I love driving!

Even with this less-than-classy ride, we were SO GRATEFUL to have a vehicle. The places we accessed would have been a beast to find if we were stranded somewhere.

Although at some point, Nikki and I found ourselves along a mountain road that hugged the side of the cliff, which was only barely wide enough for our truck…and had to figure out how to navigate when we had cars heading towards us.

Nothing is more terrifying than driving along a cliff, looking down to the ocean on your right and then having a hairpin curve and another vehicle approaching you with no place to go!

Exploring the Kalaupapa Leper Colony

One of the main reasons Nikki and I found ourselves on Molokai was to hike the tallest sea cliffs in the world and visit the Kalaupapa Leper Colony.

When we arrived at the start of our tour, this really old man pulled up in an even older yellow school bus: our chariot for the day. Carpe diem. I totally recommend this tour if you’re in the area! And you don’t have to hike down…you can take a donkey ride or a helicopter!

Just a little nervous. Wouldn’t you be?

Our tour guide turned out to be pretty funny and awesome, but we weren’t all that convinced that he should be driving a school bus. He took us through the colony, to the local church, cemetery, and a few other points of interest, including a spot where they filmed part of Jurassic Park.

*shudder*

I may or may not have been absolutely terrified while we were at this location. I was pretty sure some dinosaurs were lurking in the bushes, just waiting to pounce.

The fear is real, my friends.

Behind me in the shots above is a little cove where the captains used to literally throw the lepers out of their boats and force them to swim to shore.

On a happier note, one of our favorite places was the church in the center of the colony, run by a Scottish priest. Seriously, he’s so rad. Father Patrick.

As I was walking amongst the pews, I noticed a little something that made my heart sink. Then I turned around and saw them all over: little handmade signs telling tourists to not touch the items patrons keep at the church.

Breaks my heart that it’s even a concern.

You might notice that I don’t have a lot of pictures of the houses, hospitals, people of the leper colony. We were specifically told not to take pictures of the people who live here and I respect their privacy.

So in lieu of that, here are some more pictures from our visit to Kalaupapa’s Leper Colony and the gorgeous island that few tourists actually get to see.

Post-A-Nut

This was one of the coolest things we did on Molokai: mailed a coconut to our families. Did you know that you can mail almost anything with the right amount of postage? I had no idea! I love sending my family unique things from my travels.

Finding the post office was a trip, with a few wrong turns and a handful of dirt roads. When we finally found it, we walked in and saw the markers strewn all over a few tables. We learned that you can pick your coconut from a pile that they provided (and dried), decorate it, address it, and then just pay for the postage.

Isn’t that just the coolest? Where else can you do something like this?

I don’t remember how much it cost, but I do remember thinking it was cheaper than a t-shirt to ship to California.

This was seriously the most unique souvenir that I bought for my family, and the best part was that I didn’t even have to pack it!

Molokai Plumeria Farm

Did you know that you could make your own leis at the Molokai Plumeria Farm?

Nikki and I rolled up in our pickup to a small farm on the island, covered in beautifully blossomed trees, eager to make some leis for ourselves. The family that runs the farm was so inviting and friendly!

It was such a treat to walk amid the flowers and just smell the plumeria, a scent that I had only recently come to tolerate.

When you check in, the family gives you a basket and instructs you how to pluck the flowers and how many you’ll need. Every now and then you’d happen upon a pink flower tree and just die with excitement!

Once your basket is full enough, you’re given a string with an epidural-sized needle to thread the flowers in the pattern of your choosing.

After hiking down sea cliffs, sitting underneath beautiful trees surrounded by plumeria flowers in the shade was absolute heaven.

Handling the flowers was a trip – they look totally fake because almost every single one was perfect, waxy, and strong.

Our leis lasted a few days while we were exploring Molokai. Our pickup truck definitely smelled better once we had our leis! Best $20ish ever spent, in my opinion.

In a nutshell, I loved my time exploring Molokai. It is such a beautiful island, full of interesting and unique treasures, such as the Halawa Valley…