|
People
There
are 1.2 million people of mixed races living in the Hawai'ian archipelago
including Hawai'ian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Chinese, Caucasian,
Filipino and Samoan. Hawai'i's
religions are as diverse as its cultural heritage. The official language
is English, but most Hawai'ian resorts have multi-lingual staff.
History
The
first inhabitants were Polynesians who arrived between 750 and 1,000 AD
with plants and animals, probably from Tahiti. Captain James Cook was the
first European. He landed in 1778 to find a structured society with chiefs
ruling each island.
In
1920, Hawai'i became a major tourist destination with the first non-stop
flight from the US mainland. In 1959 it became an American state and
Honolulu is now the eleventh largest city in the USA.
For
more information on Hawaiian History, go to: History of Hawaii
Nature
Home
to more than 10,000 plant and animal species found nowhere else on earth,
the islands are famous for palms, cactus, coconut palms, kamani, ohia,
kukul and hau trees, glorious tropical flowers (5,000 types of hibiscus),
along with vari-coloured fruits, coffee and macadamia nuts. The
humpback whale is an annual visitor and there is an exotic collection of
birdlife.
Sights
On
Oahu island, you can visit Pearl Harbour and the statue of King Kamehameha
the Great, and swim famous Waikiki beach.
Maui's
main attraction is Haleakala, a 10,023 foot dormant volcano.
On
Hawai'i, the big island, there's the thirty-acre Queen Lili'uokatani
Gardens, Rainbow Falls, and Parker Ranch on 225,000 acres, the second
largest working cattle ranch in the USA. There is also a space centre
named after Hawai'i's first astronaut, Ellison S. Onizuka.
|
|
Kaua'i
has a wildlife refuge and magnificent Tropical Botanical Gardens.
Moloka'i
island's Ranch Wildlife park is worth a visit and Lana'i island's best
dive spot, Cathedrals, has dramatic coral formations consisting of
pinnacles and caverns rising from the seventy-foot depth to the surface.
Transport
Domestic
Airlines such as Hawai'ian, Aloha and small local commuter airlines help
you get around all the islands.
On the ground there are limousines,
taxis,
rental cars, sightseeing coaches and on Oahu a good public bus service.
There are a few cruise & ferry services between the islands.
For more general information on Hawaii,
go to:
|
