LANAI, HI

Lana'i is the sixth largest of Hawaii's islands, which is to say, it is the smallest of the accessible islands. It has a population of around 3,000 people. Every Hawaiian island has a nickname; Lanai's used to be 'The Pineapple Isle' because 16,000 acres (more than 90 percent of its land) were used to grow pineapples. Recently, brochures and maps began to refer to the island as 'The Private Isle', because of its secluded, quiet nature. The Expeditions Lanai ferry brings day-trippers from Maui regularly, and tourists pay top dollar to stay in the two major resorts, but aside from those developments, the island remains fairly cut off from civilization.

Publicity brochures might lead one to believe that the island is nothing except a giant developed resort district. That couldn't be further from the truth. It is still 98 percent privately owned, and though the owner has allowed two hotels to be built on the island, the majority of it remains untouched. Much of Lana'i is like a blank slate. It isn't covered in black lava rock like the Big Island or covered in greenery like Kaua'i. It's just an empty... more