Hawaii

Ocean-going canoes were double-hull, double-sail vessels weighing 6,000 to 10,000 pounds and measuring 60 to 100 feet long. A connecting platform between the hulls carried thirty or more persons who were protected by a curved canopy. Polynesians dugout the native koa trees to make canoes and sailed them without instruments or charts, guided by the stars, moon, sun, and bird flight patterns.

The second miracle of Hawaii is the magic of black. Parts of the Big Island, including the Kona coast, are covered with huge areas of black lava rock—the final resting place of molten lava rivulets from Mt. Hualalai’s volcanic eruptions about 200 years ago. The black fields grown cold are crumpled, creased, clumped and cavernous—some razor-edged, others porous clods. They frame parts of Kona Village Resort, a most remarkable experience in itself.

The village replicates an ancient property, Ka’upulehu, destroyed by an eruption in 1801. Lava covered the village, finally flowing into Kahuwai Bay. A century and a half later, modern voyagers Helen and Johnno Jackson sailed into Kahuwai Bay to anchor their schooner, mesmerized by the surrounding beauty. Within two years they leased land to reconstruct an authentic Hawaiian village, an ambitious effort that took almost seven years. The few roads that existed were crude paths and not far reaching, so building materials were shipped by water on barges. In the mid 1960s, shortly after 47 thatched-roofed hales (bungalows) and the dining room were completed, a private airstrip was built to move supplies, guests and employees. A major highway opened in 1975, finally connecting the 82-acre Kona Village and roads to a commercial airport. Visitors have been discovering this unique property ever since.

Kona Village is one of those rare places that deserves the word unique. Surrounded and interspersed with abundant flowering plants and tropical vegetation, the individual Polynesian cottages seem a natural part of the landscape. More than 100 hales have access to a beach differentiated by changing sands--one resembling cracked black pepper and sea salt, one pure black sandy lava, and a familiar white-beige sand. The thatched bungalows represent several islander home styles--Fijian, Tahitian and Samoan among them--and some are on stilts or beside the beach or ponds or the lava fields.

The thatched roof and siding are ornamental, covering the ample modern comforts inside: a refrigerator stocked with complimentary juices and soft drinks, a dressing room and bath with appropriate amenities, coffee maker, writing desk, lounging chairs and ceiling fans. There is also the rare luxury of total privacy, complete relaxation and soothing quietude--whether swinging in a hammock between native hala trees or splashing in the cooling water along the beach.

There are no modern inconveniences such as telephones, television and radios in the hales, but telephones are available at the registration hut. If communications occur, they are left on a clip board on the porch of the hale. Kona’s Trade Wind breezes negate the need for air conditioning. The sliding glass doors open almost the length of the wall, and ceiling fans circulate the constant sea breeze. Exotic tropical plants like plumeria, purple eranthemum, pandanus, royal poinsettia, double hibiscus, bougainvillea, and brassia (octopus plant) lavishly shade each little cottage. Some units have a Jacuzzi on the privately fenced patio, especially lovely to enjoy under a star-studded sky or at sunset.

Walk the beaches, enjoy two fresh-water swimming pools (one for families), a community whirlpool and Jacuzzi, the sporty sunfish sailboats, outrigger canoes, kayaking, snorkeling, glass-bottom boat excursions, tennis—even at night on one of the three lighted tennis courts--and a Fitness Center with locker rooms, saunas, workout equipment and therapeutic body message. The Center features an outside massage facility, constructed with a lulling waterfall, totally enclosed for privacy. Imagine having a rejuvenating massage while resting in the cool shade of a lava rock wall beside the soothing sounds of water splashing down the rocks of your own waterfall--now that’s truly relaxing. So is walking the sandy paths or floral pathways that meander among and around the property.

The resort’s exclusive Full American Plan includes three daily meals, all abundant and all delicious. Breakfast is buffet, only instead of self-service, the waiter takes your order and brings you as much and as many items as you like. I was joined briefly by one of the birds that fly in and out of the dining room daily. It was a manitos, the nickname for Hawaiian cardinals, a lovely, mostly black variety with white panels along the wings, a brilliant scarlet crown and golden beak. It perched on the back of the chair beside me, seeming to approve of my raspberry-blueberry pancakes. I certainly did. Luncheon is served on the terrace and dinner inside one of two restaurants. Chef Glenn Alos prepared three fishes—the freshest I’ve ever eaten--in three styles and I’ve never had better: grilled snapper, moist and succulent with a touch of red bell pepper; sauteed mahimahi, with a passion fruit and coconut sauce, tasteful without overwhelming sweetness; tuna baked in a crust with a touch of spiciness. They were deliciously accompanied by the Robert Pepi Two-Heart Canopy Sauvignon Blanc.

Visitors now make next year’s reservations as they depart. Indeed, the most common comments I heard were "See you next year" and "We’ll be back."

Also on the Kona-Kohala Coast is a different, but equally as compelling resort, the Mauna Lani Bay Hotel and Bungalows. This dramatic palace of natural wonders has an open-to-the sky atrium with gardens of exotic plants growing the length of the hotel, from the cascading waters at the entrance to the spa near the beach.

The magnificent spectacle of a manicured jungle spread before you is quite a sight upon arrival. A host offers greetings, presents a flower lei and escorts the guest to a seating area to enjoy a refreshing orange-guava drink. Sliding glass doors along the corridors open whole walls of the resort to the fresh, fragrant air. A resident told me that Hawaii has light showers frequently, but a rainbow always follows the rain.

The large rooms-suites are comfortably decorated in sand tones with wooden floors and natural area rugs and huge bath and dressing areas in cooling black marble. Terraces off the living area offer guests an ongoing view of the ocean and sunsets.

On the grounds there are the historic and sacred fish ponds that date back to Hawaiian royalty. Cuisines of the Sun, a program celebrating fine wine and food, served fish one evening from the Royal Waipuhi Pond. Formerly, only the king dined so splendidly. But the entire resort seems planned for royalty—just the way guests feel.

There’s beauty everywhere. It is truly majestic. Sunsets are incomparable, especially when the wind blows enough to sway the palm trees against the golden rose and peach sky, azure blue waters and black rocks. The lava fields continue at Mauna Lani Bay, where nature’s own sculptures capture interest at the water’s edge or crop up at places along the golf course. There are two championship golf courses carved from a 16th century lava flow. Tennis Magazine has named the Tennis Garden at Mauna Lani Bay Hotel and Bungalows one of the Top 50 Greatest U.S. Tennis Resorts since 1983. Ten courts are Plexipave with varying speeds.

There’s a lap-pool at the health club in the Fitness Center and all sorts of state-of-the-art exercise equipment. The hotel has a heated swimming pool and the poolside Ocean Grill serves the best French fries I’ve ever had. For more water sports, head to the beach: scuba diving, sailing, snorkeling, windsurfing, deep-sea fishing, glassbottom boat tours and surfing. The catamaran Winono gently sails guests to the spot of the migrating whales. Every year these fascinating behemoths of the ocean return to their birthing grounds. Or, if an overhead view is preferred, take a helicopter.

A trail from the Mauna Lani leads to the Puako Petroglyph (stone drawings) Park. These stone drawings record the history of the native peoples and remarkably have been preserved through the centuries.

Sleep in a canopied lounge chair beside the ocean, in the lanai off your room, or in one of the 350 beautifully appointed, newly refurbished rooms—each 550 square feet in size with cooling marble floors for the entry and bath and teakwood for the bedroom and sitting area. Slippers and robe placement are part of the turn-down service.

If you can wait until August, attend the "Cuisines of the Sun" at the Mauna Lani Bay Hotel with a stopover at Kona Village. The 1997 event had a theme of spices, nicest when internationally acclaimed chefs orchestrate pairing wines and foods. The 1997 feast began with "Supping in a Spice Market." Like bazaar-hopping along a spice trail, chefs tossed freshly picked spices that perfumed the diners’ paths to Charlie Trotter’s Thai-Spiced Lobster with Beggar’s Purse; Alan Wong’s Ginger-crusted Onaga and Raji Jallepalli’s Shrimp with Cumin-Scented Tomato Coulis. All the aromatic dishes were blessed by Weingut Franz Kunstler’s fine Rieslings and Weinhaus Heger’s Pinots Blanc, Noir and Gris, and the wines of Au Bon Climat and Billecart-Salmon. This is a hint, but there’s so much more!

Plans are underway for the 1998 Cuisines. For information on Kona Village (800-367-5290), the Mauna Lani Bay (800-367-2323) or the Cuisines of the Sun, contact Diana Moody, Sheila Donnelly & Associates, 10513 Northvale Rd., Los Angeles CA 90064 tel. 310/838-9220.