Camping in Lanai

by User Submitted
May 21st, 2009

Camping on Lanai's shores gets you back to nature

After a week studying ancient hula, a favourite pastime of mine, I rediscovered the old Hawaii again, by travelling by the "walk on" ferry from Lahaina, (Maui) to Lanai, her neighbouring island. Where I travelled by sailboat over there 20 years ago, and slept on the beach under the palms, I wanted to see if it was still as magical as my memories painted it.

This time I packed my tent and some food, and took along a group of local friends to spend a few days there in the new campground adjoining the Four Seasons Hotel (fourseasons.com) at Manele Bay. When we arrived (after a short 15-minute walk) the beach area was ringed with locals gathered for a fishing contest, sponsored by the local Lanai police, and we pitched our tents under the trees further back on the grass.

As the sunniest time of day approached, this was an oasis to escape to, with hundreds of tame multicoloured birds singing and fluttering around, looking for tidbits to munch on. The snorkelling was excellent as well off the beach, with huge schools of fish to swim with, and one morning we got up early and were treated to a water ballet by a pod of many spinner dolphins in the bay.

Special treats were also provided by visiting the bar in the hotel, where traditional Hawaiian music was played in the early evening nightly, and the drinks were heavenly fruit concoctions. We partook in a garden tour also, given by the head gardener (once a week on Monday morning) which was lovely, and he explained that the hotel supplies the local birds with 50 pounds of seed daily to encourage them to stick around. It was very difficult to leave the island again and I plan to revisit the first chance I get. Though it's a bit of "roughing it" to satisfy my aging adventurous gypsy soul, it's a safe and beautiful alternative to the regular tourist way