Kahoolawe and Niihau

Kahoolawe and Niihau are islands you will see - and likely as not be unable to visit on any Hawaiian cruise.

Niihau, is the smallest of the inhabited Hawaiian Islands in Hawaii.

It is also known as the "Forbidden Isle" because the island is privately owned the Robinson family. It can be accessed by U.S. Navy personnel, government officials and expressly invited guests.

Tourists are able to visit the island through supervised supervised tours, including diving, hiking, and hunting safaris.

One surprising featrure of Niihau is that it's beaches provide the only shelss which are categorized as gems.  Niʻihau shells and the jewelry made from them are very popular and ogten are collectors' items, providing income for the small (160 pop.) local inhabitants who reside there.

Local people claim that the unusual characteristics of Niʻihau shells is due to the island's extremely low pollution levels.

You can nowadays visit Niihau, where "time has stood still". Accessible via Niihau Helicopters you can now escape for half a day to this island as a guest of the owners and spend some time on this beautiful and pristine island.

This generally arid island has become home to many free roaming animals on which the Polynesian Boar, Hybrid Sheep, Eland and Oryx have been flourishing on. So you can experience the thrill of a great hunt by going on a Hunting Safari.

Lacking the flowers the other islands are now famous for, Niihau Island has become famous for their beautiful leis crafted from the tiny shells which populate their beaches. Now you can own some of this beautiful jewelry made with Niihau Aloha.

Kahoolawe is somewhere that you will not be able to visit, mainly because of the unexploded ordnance which still litters the island.

During the 2nd World War, when the Hawaiian Islands were effectively under curfew following Pearl Harbour, Kahoolawe became a a place to train Americans headed to war across the Pacific.

The use of Kahoolawe as a training range was believed to be critical to saving the lives of many young Americans off to fight the Japanese.

In 1993, the Hawaii State Legislature established the Kahoʻolawe Island Reserve, consisting of "the entire island and its surrounding ocean waters in a two mile radius from the shore".

By State Law, Kahoʻolawe and its waters can only be used for Native Hawaiian cultural, spiritual and subsistence purposes; fishing; environmental restoration; historic preservation; and education.

Commercial uses are prohibited.