- The Lighthouse and Beacon at Nawiliwili
Harbor
- Lihue, on the Island of Kauai, Hawaii
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I really didn't think we would have the opportunity to see any Lighthouses in
Hawaii, but on the second day of our cruise, as we were coming into port on the Island of
Kauai, I spotted this lighthouse. I don't know any thing about it, other than what I
was told by a crew member of the SS Independence. He said that it is very similar to
the Kilauea Lighthouse, that is located on the north side of the Island of Kauai. It
appeared to be fairly modern construction, with a powerful, rotating beacon on the top,
unenclosed in any type of lamphouse. This same crewmember also told me that all the
Lighthouses in Hawaii looked the same. I don't know for sure, yet. If you know
anything about this lighthouse or any others in Hawaii, let me know.
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- Just past the big lighthouse is this mini-lighthouse beacon made of
concrete. It looked like it stood about 15 to 20 feet tall. Before the trip
was over, we saw a few more of these.
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- Another view of the Lighthouse at Nawiliwili Harbor
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Kapoho Lighthouse- Cape Kumukahi, The Big Island of Hawaii
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We had spent most of the day at the Volcanoes National Park exploring the weird world
of volcanoes and lava flows, when we decided to head back to the ship. We needed to
be back at the rental car place by 5pm to turn in the car. We made much better time
on the way back than expected, (we were almost an hour ahead of schedule), so we took a
detour and headed down highway 132 looking for this lighthouse. It was the strangest
side trip of the entire vacation. Elizabeth had found this article in a little rag
of a paper called "Destination Hilo". It was called "What's outside
Hilo? Lots", complete with very vague directions to this lighthouse. So we
headed down this beach road that was very reminiscent of the Road to Hana we had driven
just a few days before. Full of hills and twists, it took us across a series of
relatively new lava flows, each marked with it's date. We went past moonscape like
areas of jagged volcanic rock with the ruins of houses left sticking out of the lava.
After a half hour drive we encountered a local surfer type that told us the
lighthouse was at the end of the road. He didn't tell us (and I didn't ask) that we
had another 20 miles or so to go. Finally, we reached a dirt road at the end of the
highway that obviously lead to the point of the cape. Through another area of wild
looking jagged rock landscape with absolutely no vegetation, and there it was, the
lighthouse you see above. Not much of a lighthouse by East Coast US standards.
But there is an interesting story that goes along with this lighthouse. The
legend is that Pele, the volcano God, spared this lighthouse in 1960, because the keeper
had treated him well. The lava flow split right before reaching this lighthouse.
It flowed around it on it's way to the sea. You can't see that in the photo above,
but it really did split.
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