Kaua?i
Kauai ( Kauai German ) is one of the eight main islands of Hawaii and with an age of about six million years ago, the oldest island of the archipelago. Because of its lush vegetation it is also known as the Garden Island. Covering an area of nearly 1435 km ², it offers a variety of landscapes and houses about 64,000 inhabitants. The island's capital is Lihue with 6100 inhabitants. The highest point of the island is the Kawaikini with 1598 m.
The area around the 1569 m high Waialeale with an average of 11,684 mm annual rainfall of the wettest of the earth. More precipitation falls on average only in Mawsynram, Meghalaya in India ( 11,873 mm). Given the different periods for which this annual average has been determined in each case, there is a controversy about the wettest spot on earth, the Waialeale to, or Mawsynram Cherrapunji ( 11,430 mm) can emerge victorious depending on the choice of the parameters.
Tourism is in contrast to Hawaii ("Big Iceland " ), Maui and Oahu less pronounced. Tourist centers are the places Kauai Kapaa, Princeville and Poipu.
Geography
The jagged cliffs and lush in the north of Kauai ( Nā Pali Coast ) stand in stark contrast to the drier west side, which is characterized by the Waimea Canyon ( which is also called the Grand Canyon of the Pacific). The majority of the coast is lined with sandy beaches with coral reefs.
On Kauai is the Wailua River, the only navigable river in Hawaii.
The Kīlauea Point Lighthouse, a lighthouse built in 1913, is located on steep cliffs. Today it is part of a bird sanctuary in which albatrosses, boobies and frigate birds nest. In front of the lighthouse is the small island Mokuaeae.
Poipu on the sunny, arid south is the main tourist area with hotels and apartments. There is also Spouting Horn, a lava tube ending in the sea, which offers a geysirähnliches natural spectacle when there is sufficient swell.
Near Waimea, in the far west of the island, at the end of Hwy. 50 is the natural beach Polihale, a dry desert-like dunes. The Hanakapiai Beach in the northwest is also among the best on the island.
Climate
Kauai is, like all the inhabited islands of Hawaii, south of the Tropic of Cancer and is one of the tropics. Due to the relatively cool north-easterly trade winds, the maximum daily temperatures are relatively low but with 26 ° to 29 ° C for tropical conditions. Temperatures vary only slightly over the year. In particular, at the northeast slopes of the mountains can be found by the steady orographic rainfall tropical rainforest. In contrast, the south-west Kauai is relatively dry, sometimes occur steppe and even Wüstenklimate. On the rainiest are the winter months are the dry months of April to September.
History
The first people on Kauai ( and the other Hawaiian islands ) were settlers from the Marquesas Islands. Why it between the fourth or fifth century ( the exact date is not known) left their home is questionable. Possible reasons are overpopulation, or simply too enjoyable explorations.
It is believed that in the 11th century was followed by a second generation of settlers from Tahiti.
In January 1778 James Cook landed randomly on Kauai. Actually Cook was stranded on a journey of discovery as part of its third South Seas trip to Alaska when his ship on the southwest coast of Kauai. The natives of the island held Cook and his team for gods and gave them everything they needed. Before Cook left Kauai again and continued his journey in the Pacific, he also visited the small neighboring island of Niihau. In November of the same year, Cook returned to the Hawaiian Islands, but this time went on the island of Hawaii on land. Finally, where it came to a fight with the natives, was killed in the course of Cook.
When did King Kamehameha I the Great (1758-1819) in 1796, with around 10,000 warriors conquer Kauai, his fleet was lost in rough seas. It was not until 1810, subdued the king of Kauai the reign of Kamehameha I. Later came the missionaries who also built sugarcane plantations. Today the island has 62,000 inhabitants, which feed through cultivation of sugar cane, tropical fruits and increasingly from tourism.
North of Kekaha in the northwest of the island has the U.S. military one of the largest rocket test site. On the "Pacific Missile Range Facility ( PMRF ) " there are also tests for the missile defense program carried out, including the MIM -144 THAAD. Additionally, with the Barking Sands Pacific Missile Range Facility Airport an Air Force Base and to the northeast a small base of the Hawaii Air National Guard.
Transport
The airport of Kauai is located in the main town of Lihue on the east coast. From there, there is a scheduled air service to the neighboring islands of Oahu and Maui, as well as on the mainland of the United States and Canada. The airport is also connected to the small public bus network " Kauai Bus" with nine lines. Ferries to the neighboring islands are not against it.
Movies
On the island, the pilot episode of the television series Gilligan's Island was filmed. 1976 was the Nā Pali Coast as a backdrop for Dino de Laurentiis ' remake of King Kong, in the 90 years successful for Steven Spielberg's Jurassic Park movies and 2008 for the action comedy Tropic Thunder. The feature film Six Days, Seven Nights was also rotated to a large extent on Kauai. Even the Disney movie Lilo & Stitch plays on Kauai. The thriller A Perfect Getaway from the year 2009 is also located on the island. 2010, among others, the film Soul Surfer was filmed. In The Descendants - family and other matters (2011) country property on the island is an important issue.
Gallery
The Opaekaa Waterfall on Highway 580
The Kīlauea - Lighthouse
Nā Pali Coast in the north of the island