Maunaloa

Small Hawaiian Community

Description

On the western edge of Moloka'i, flanking the mountains, Maunaloa was once the epitome of a small, Hawaiian plantation village. The Moloka'i Ranch sprawled nearby with acres of pineapples and cattle, and the modest homes of farmers and "paniolo" (Hawaiian cowboys) gazed across the sea to Waikiki. In the 1990s, however, most of those old homes were bulldozed in favor of the new business in town: tourism. Today visitors from all over visit Moloka'i Ranch for camping, outdoor activities, rodeos, and the "Paniolo Round-Up" where city slickers can get a taste of ranch life. A few small businesses still survive on Main Street, however, including the Big Wind Kite Factory and a town market. The woods above Maunaloa are also of some renown, said by some to be where the goddess Laka learned the hula.