5 Things You Don't Know about Hawaii

By Jeanette Foster

Rising up some 2,000 miles from the nearest continent, the string of tropical isles that make up Hawaii beckon to visitors around the globe. If it has been a while since you had the opportunity to sit on a white sand beach and watch the waves roll in, or if you are still dreaming about a vacation to paradise, Hawaii has more than ever to offer visitors. Here are some insider secrets that may surprise even the most dedicated return visitors.

Photo caption: Beautiful, secluded Kee Beach was featured in The Thornbirds.

Larry Ellison, CEO of Oracle Corporation, recent purchased 90% of the island of Lanai, previously owned by Castle & Cooke owner David Murdock, for $500 million. Ellison would like to see the island become a model for sustainability, including: running the entire island on solar-photovoltaic and solar-thermal energy, sustaining organic farms, and increasing the number of electric cars. The island, population 7,000 residents, has only one town, Lanai City, two resorts, the Four Seasons Resort Lanai at Manele Bay (1 Manele Bay Rd., Lanai City, Lanai; tel. 800/321-4666; www.fourseasons.com/lanai) and the Four Seasons Resort Lanai The Lodge at Koele (1 Keomaku Hwy., Lanai City, Lanai) and one small hotel, Hotel Lanai (828 Lanai Ave., Lanai City, Lanai; tel. 800/795-7211; www.hotellanai.com) a handful of restaurants, a couple of world-class beaches and hundreds of miles of remote trails for walking, horseback riding, and 4-wheel drive, off road traveling.

Photo caption: Vintage Hawaiian surroundings with modern amenities make the plantation-era Hotel Lanai a favorite destination.

Hawaii petroglyphs, stick figures carved into lava rock, are the great enigma of the Pacific -- no one knows who made them or why. Petroglyphs can be found at 135 different sites on six islands, but the best are found at the Puako Petroglyph Archaeological District (www.puako.org/culture.html), near the Mauna Lani Resort, on the Big Island of Hawaii, where a 1.5-mile loop trail goes past some 3,000 individual carving. Go in the early morning or late afternoon, when the sun is at an angle and you can view the carvings clearly.

Photo caption: Petroglyphs at the Puako Petroglyph Archaeological District on the Big Island of Hawaii.

The most popular is the Maui Film Festival (tel. 808/572-3456; www.mauifilmfestival.com), which takes place the Wednesday before Father's Day in June and runs for 5-nights under the stars at the "Celestial Cinema" an outdoor theatre on the lawn at the Wailea Golf Course. Mid-October brings the Hawaii International Film Festival (tel. 808/792-1577; www.hiff.org), a 10 day event in Honolulu, which features some 200 films from Pacific and Asian nations. And the little-known Waimea Ocean Film Festival (tel. 808/854-6095; www.waimeaoceanfilm.org) on the Big Island of Hawaii, is an 8-day festival in early January, showing 30-40 films in the town of Waimea and the resorts on the Kohala coast.

Photo caption: The Hawaii International Film Festival in Honolulu, Hawaii.

When you step off the plane on the island of Molokai (www.gohawaii.com/molokai) and it's a Tuesday or Thursday afternoon, a group of students from Molokai High School will greet you with traditional Hawaiian songs and dance. "I want people to see there's a really vibrant population on Molokai that cares about our traditions and to maintain the tradition of welcome," said Molokai High School teacher Manuwai Peters.

Photo caption: Girls performing a traditional Hawaiian hula.

After 13-months in renovations, the Princeville Golf Course (tel. 808/826-5001; www.princeville.com/golf/prince-golf-course) on Kauai's north shore, ranked number one in the state by Golf Digest, reopened March 1, 2012. Renovations include reshaping putting greens, remodeling bunkers, widening fairways and adding new tees.

Photo caption: Princeville Golf Course on Kauai.