C Image courtesy of Hawaii Tourism Authority (HTA) / Peter Garzke TM A message from Ron Hansen, CEO of Mokulele Airlines E komo mai! The entire Mokulele team wishes you and your family the very best throughout this holiday season and as we begin a new year. We’re glad you’ve chosen to travel with us today! Thanks to the support of our valued passengers like you, we have a lot of exiting news to share. First of all, we’re adding two new aircraft to our fleet, which will enable us to expand our service. We’ve also finished the first phase of our renovations to our commuter terminal in Kahului, and we’re very excited to announce the launch of our new Mokulele Adventure Tours. You can read more about these scenic, time-saving day trips to some of Hawaii’s most popular destinations on page 14. And finally, we’re pleased to say we’re a proud sponsor of the 2015 Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualālai. This popular stop on the PGA tour will take place at the Hualālai Golf Course on the Big Island on January 21-25. In this issue of Island Hopper, we cover the magnificent humpback whales that return to our waters every year. You’ll read about Whale Trust Maui and the event they’re hosting to raise funds for important research about these amazing animals. You’ll also learn the story of Maui’s Kong family who, for more than 40 years, has been extending true Hawaiian hospitality to the guests who stay in their vacation cottages. And if your travels are taking you to Moloka‘i, we encourage you to visit the “Reflections of Kalaupapa” photo exhibit that we feature on page 10. Enjoy your flight! We look forward to serving your travel needs many times in the coming year. Mahalo. Sincerely, Ron Hansen Ron Hansen, President & CEO Mokulele Airlines MOKULELEAIRLINES.COM C www.MokuleleAirlines.com What’s Inside? Whale 6 Tales Maui nonprofit gears up for its annual fundraiser to benefit whale research A Reflection 10 of Kalaupapa Traveling photo exhibit makes its way to Moloka‘i Mokulele 14 Introduces New Adventure Tours Scenic day trips make it easy for visitors to see top attractions on other islands Nona Lani 20 Cottages Maui’s Kong family has been welcoming guests into their ‘ohana for more than 40 years Issue 13 I 1 TM CORPORATE President/CEO Mokulele Airlines RON HANSEN Publisher/Executive VP/COO DAVE BERRY Editorial Director THOMAS GAUL Creative Director TOBY THOMPSON Editor-in-Chief KAREN BROST ACCOUNT MANAGERS Corporate Account Managers GAIL GLUSHENKO JOCELYN PALAFOX Island Hopper Sales Manager LEILA ALBINO TECHNOLOGY Web Development DAN TRUJILLO Editorial Inquiries: [email protected] Advertising Inquiries: [email protected] Island Hopper Magazine Corporate Office 8241 E. Evans, Ste. 102 . Scottsdale, Arizona 85260 Toll Free: 800-439-6955 . 480-393-3013 . Fax: 480-393-3017 Office: OʻAHU Honolulu MOLOKAʻI Barbers Point Hoʻolehua Kalaupapa Kalaeloa JRF Kapalua MAUI Kahului Hana Lanaʻi City LANAʻI HAWAI I (THE BIG ISLAND)ʻ Waimea-Kohala Kona MOKULELEAIRLINES.COM Mele Kalikimaka me ka Hau’oli Makahiki Hou Aloha, and welcome aboard your Mokulele flight! On behalf of all of us at Mokulele Airlines, we would like to extend a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all of you! Thank you for flying with us and providing outstanding support throughout 2014. It was a great year for us as we added our newest destination, Kalaeloa on O‘ahu. With this addition, we currently offer well over 100 flights daily to nine different locations. This December and January, we’ve got a few upcoming sporting events that you may want to check out. On December 7th, O‘ahu is host to the Xterra Trail Run World Championships. For the long distance runners, the Honolulu Marathon is on December 14th and the Maui Oceanfront Marathon is January 18th. As the new year kicks off, so does the PGA. There are three golf tournaments in January on the islands: The Hyundai Tournament of Champions on Maui, The Sony Open on O‘ahu, and The Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualālai on the Big Island. All of us at Mokulele Airlines would like to thank you for choosing us for your travel needs. We hope you enjoy your flight with us, whether you’re on business, leisure or vacation. Our growth is only made possible with the continued support of our valued passengers who have helped us become Hawaii’s number one Island Hopper! Make your next reservation online at www.mokuleleairlines.com and let us show you Hawaii’s greatest views! 2 I MOKULELEAIRLINES.COM Wm Buz Moffett, R(B) MAUI NONPROFIT GEARS UP FOR ITS ANNUAL FUNDRAISER TO BENEFIT WHALE RESEARCH BY KAREN BROST ach fall, as many as 12,000 humpback whales make the 3,000-mile journey from E their feeding grounds off the west coast of North America and head to Hawai‘i to mate, give birth and nurse their young. These magnificent mammals are not only massive — weighing in at up to 40 tons each — but they’re pretty mysterious, as well. “There’s so much we don’t know about these amazing animals,” explains Meagan Jones, Ph.D., executive director of Whale Trust Maui, a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting, conducting and sharing humpback whale research. “We’ve never seen them give birth. We’ve never seen them mate. We don’t even know why they need to migrate to Hawai‘i.” Curious humpback whale off the coast of Maui, Hawaiʻi. Photo Credit: Flip Nicklin/Minden Pictures Photo obtained under NMFS Permit #753 6 I MOKULELEAIRLINES.COM Humpback whale resting underwater off Maui, Hawaiʻi. Photo Credit: Flip Nicklin/Minden Pictures - Photo obtained under NMFS Permit #753 She says that a big part of her organization’s research involves trying to discover why whales sing. “It’s such a complex communication system, and we don’t know what it means.” It was once believed that the songs were part of the whales’ courting ritual, but Meagan says that recent research has found that it’s only the males who sing and that they attract other males with their songs. “That has changed the focus of our research.” Naturally, scientific research requires funding, so each year, Whale Trust Maui hosts a four-day educational and fundraising event titled Whale Tales to support the mission of Whale Trust Maui and give the public an opportunity to interact with world-renowned experts on whale research. The 9th annual Whale Tales event will take place on February 13-16, 2015 and will highlight the role Issue 13 I 7 Humpback whale breaching off the coast of Maui, Hawaiʻi. Photo Credit: Flip Nicklin/Minden Pictures - Photo obtained under research permit #13846 that technology, such as satellite tracking, plays in advancing whale research. All profits generated by the event will go toward whale research in Hawai‘i. Since its inception, Whale Tales has raised over $360,000 for this cause. Whale Tales will kick off on Friday with a reception in Lahaina followed by a video presentation under the stars by National Geographic photographer Flip Nicklin and cinematographer Jason Sturgis. On Saturday and Sunday there will be free presentations at The Maui Theatre, and a new IMAX movie titled Humpback Whales 3D will also make its Hawai‘i debut that weekend. “The footage I’ve seen is absolutely spectacular,” Meagan says. “A lot of the film is about what’s happening here in Maui.” Guided whale watching excursions will also be offered throughout the four-day event. “A lot of the local whale watch companies here donate their boats for the weekend,” Meagan explains. ”We really like to get people out there so they can experience the whales. Each of the tours has one of the presenters on board, so people have a way to engage with one of the experts in a very personal kind of way.” On Friday morning, there will be a special photo expedition led by National Geographic photographers, and Monday‘s VIP whale watch excursion will include pupus and cocktails and all of the Whale Tales presenters will be on hand to answer questions. The humpback population is continuing to grow, so there’s a concern in the scientific community that these magnificent mammals will be taken off of the endangered species list despite the fact that there is still so much to be learned about them. According to Whale Trust Maui, further studies of humpback whale behaviors are needed so that effective conservation efforts can be put in place. Meagan says that so much of what was once believed to be true about humpback whales has changed over the years, and that’s what keeps the research that her organization conducts so exciting — and so important. To learn more about Whale Trust Maui or to make plans to attend Whale Tales 2015, visit www.whaletrust.org. 8 I MOKULELEAIRLINES.COM Humpback whale mother with yearling filmed by researcher Jason Sturgis, Maui, Hawaiʻi. Photo Credit: Flip Nicklin/Minden Pictures - Photo obtained under NMFS Permit #753 TRAVELING PHOTO EXHIBIT MAKES ITS WAY TO MOLOKA‘I BY KAREN BROST Photo Credit: HTA Dana Edmunds ocated on a remote peninsula on the northern coast of Moloka‘i, the settlement at Kalaupapa has a long and storied history as the site where L patients with leprosy (now known as Hansen’s Disease) were once banished. Between 1866 and 1949, an estimated 8,000 individuals were forcibly sent here, 90 percent of whom were Native Hawaiian or part Hawaiian. Isolation laws regarding leprosy in Hawai‘i were not abolished until 1969 —antibiotics that could cure Hansen’s Disease and allow patients to live a more normal life were introduced at Kalaupapa in 1946.