Moloka'i is about 20 minutes by air from Oahu and Maui.
But what a difference 20 minutes makes. On Moloka'i--the fifth-largest and
least developed of the Hawaiian Islands--there are no high-rises. Hotels
and condominiums blend with the rural countryside. There are no shopping
centers, movie theaters or fast food chains. And with no traffic, there's
no need for a traffic signal.
Peaceful and uncommercialized, the island rewards visitors with scenic
wonders. The world's highest sea cliffs rise to meet the clouds along the
north coast. Here you'll travel by mule down a winding trail to Kalaupapa,
site of a leper colony once ministered to by Father Damien. There's
Papohaku, Hawaii's largest white sand beach, which stretches three miles
along the western coast. You'll also discover waterfalls that cascade from
nearly 2,000 feet to the sea, and rain forests with plants and birds found
nowhere else on earth.
What you won't find is a crowd. Molokai's population numbers fewer than
7,000, with the highest percentage of people of native Hawaiian ancestry of
any of the major islands.