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Follow in our footsteps: If you have a story about Hawaii, an anecdote about growing up in the
islands, a memory of a visit to the islands that surprised and delighted you, a recommended activity, an
island personality, or even a poem about Hawaii, send it in an e-mail to OleHawaii@cs.com so we can
include it here!
Follow in our footsteps: If you have a story about Hawaii, an anecdote about growing up in the
islands, a memory of a visit to the islands that surprised and delighted you, a recommended activity, an
island personality, or even a poem about Hawaii, send it in an e-mail to OleHawaii@cs.com so we can
include it here!
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Edited by Eileen and Richard "Ole" Olson
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Way out west, there's a beach, Polihale.
Of them all, it's the grand finale.
But the sun will command
Your respect, 'cause the sand
Burns your feet like a hot tamale.
Kirk Miller (3-time guest: May '98; Oct '01; and May '06)
News Flash: Polihale Beach is now open again! Thanks to all the volunteers,
and especially to Bruce Pleas for organizing the repair and reopening.
Polihale is the most unusual beach on the west side of Kauai. At 17 miles, it is perhaps the longest
beach in the State. But it has always been hidden, and therefore usually as empty as a graveyard,
reached only by driving through a sugar cane field. Little known by tourists, kayakers who have
done the Na Pali coast may be familiar with it as their hellishly hot landing spot at the end of a long,
memorable paddle. It is on the dead lee side of the island. With no wind to stir the air, the white sand
becomes white hot as the sun heats it during the day. It can literally raise blisters on unprotected
feet! But once you have seen it at sunrise or sunset, you will always want to return, for it is one of
the most spiritual places in Hawaii. The Ancient Hawaiians believed it was the jumping off place for
the souls of the dead leaving earth and headed for the afterlife. It is said that those who broke a
"kapu," or forbidden practice, would be pushed off the high cliff at the Na Pali end of the beach to
their death on the sand far below. Hence the name, "Poli Hale," or "House of Bones."
Unfortunately, the State Department of Natural Resources has closed the beach recently. A
heavy rainstorm last mid-December eroded huge ruts in the dirt road and, more importantly,
degraded the footings under a bridge originally designed to allow passage of the sugar cane trucks
harvesting the fields. With the State facing a billion dollar budget shortfall, the Department of
Natural Resources is unlikely to have the funds to repair the road or bridge anytime soon.
On March 11 my friend Bruce Pleas and other members of the community met with Gary Hooser,
our Hawaii State Senator, at the entrance to Polihale to discuss ways to get the road reopened. Ron
Agor, the architect who designed part of Ole Kamaole's Beach House and State Republican
chairman, volunteered his expertise to determine what needs to be done to repair the bridge.
Community members volunteered their time, money, labor, and equipment. The Department of
Natural Resources is cooperating. It looks like Polihale may be open again by summer! For the
Garden Island News story, go to :
http://www.kauaiworld.com/articles/2009/03/12/news/kauai_news/doc49b8b94a2e300706522722.txt
Spring, 2009