Original subtitles

NO OTHER LAND IS MORE PRIMAL--

MORE ASTONISHING IN ITS RAINBOW OF LIFE--

MORE COMPELLING, WITH ITS

SEDUCTIVE STORIES OF HISTORY,

MYTH, AND HUMAN DRAMA.

HAWAII, AN EMERALD STRING OF

EIGHT MAJOR ISLANDS NEAR THE

EQUATOR, IN THE VAST PACIFIC OCEAN.

TO SEE IT BY AIR IS A STUNNING JOURNEY.

WE'LL TRAVEL ACROSS THE MAIN HAWAIIAN ISLANDS

FROM KILAUEA, A SMOLDERING GIANT

OF A VOLCANO--

THE MOST ACTIVE ON THE PLANET,

OUT PAST THE SHORES OF ONE OF

THE MOST NOTORIOUS LEPER

COLONIES, WHERE A BRAVE PRIEST

WAGED A SOLITARY WAR AGAINST THE

PLAGUE OF DEATH.

ON TO PEARL HARBOR, WHERE WAVES

OF JAPANESE BOMBERS TURNED A

PEACEFUL MORNING SKY INTO AN

INFERNO THAT CHANGED THE WORLD;

AND TO WAIKIKI AND BEYOND, WHERE

A LEGENDARY OLYMPIC ATHLETE

INTRODUCED THE WORLD TO THE

SPORT OF SURFING.

AERIAL HAWAII IS A JOURNEY

UNLIKE ANY OTHER ON THE FACE OF THE EARTH.

OUR JOURNEY OF THE

HAWAIIAN ISLANDS STARTS ON THE

BIG ISLAND OF HAWAII.

SO BIG, IT'S MORE THAN DOUBLE

THE SIZE OF ALL THE OTHER

HAWAIIAN ISLANDS COMBINED.

IT'S BELIEVED THAT THE FIRST

HUMANS MAY HAVE SET FOOT HERE

AROUND 500 A.D.

THEY LIKELY WERE FROM THE

MARQUESAS ISLANDS, 2,500 MILES

TO THE SOUTH.

WHY THESE POLYNESIAN SAILORS

SET OUT FOR THE UNKNOWN IS A MYSTERY.

THEY SAILED THE OPEN SEA UNTIL

FINALLY, THE HORIZON YIELDED

A GLORIOUS GIFT:

THE WARM, WELCOMING SAND OF HAWAII.

ON THE WESTERN SHORE OF THE

ISLAND, THE REMAINS OF A GREAT

STONE WALL STAND AS A MONUMENT

TO HAWAII'S ANCIENT CULTURE.

THIS IS PU'UHONUA-O-HONAUNAU,

A SACRED PLACE THAT ANCIENT

HAWAIIANS BELIEVED HELD SPECIAL POWERS.

BUILT IN THE 1500S, ITS WALL

STANDS 1,000 FEET LONG, TEN FEET

HIGH, 17 FEET THICK, NOT TO

REPEL ENEMIES, BUT TO PROVIDE SANCTUARY.

IF A LAW WAS BROKEN, THE PENALTY

WAS OFTEN DEATH.

FOR SEVERE CRIMES, THE ENTIRE

FAMILY OF THE ACCUSED WAS EXECUTED.

LAW BREAKERS WERE GIVEN ONE SHOT

AT A REPRIEVE: IF THEY COULD

ESCAPE AND REACH PU'UHONUA

BEFORE BEING CAPTURED, THEY WERE SAFE.

HERE, PRIESTS OFFERED REFUGE AND

FORGIVENESS.

WHATEVER THE CRIME, THE FUGITIVE

WAS THEN ALLOWED TO RETURN HOME,

WITHOUT FEAR OF RETRIBUTION.

FOR CENTURIES, HAWAIIANS WERE

UNKNOWN TO THE REST OF THE WORLD.

BUT IN 1778, CAPTAIN JAMES COOK,

ON EXPEDITION WITH TWO SHIPS OF

THE BRITISH ADMIRALTY, BECAME

THE FIRST EUROPEAN TO SET FOOT HERE.

THE ISLANDERS RECEIVED COOK

AND HIS MEN WARMLY--

BUT CONSEQUENCES WERE FATAL.

WITHIN A 100 YEARS OF COOK'S

ARRIVAL, AN ESTIMATED 90 PERCENT

OF THE INDIGENOUS POPULATION WAS WIPED OUT.

DEAD, FROM MEASLES AND OTHER

EUROPEAN DISEASES.

BUT FOR COOK, DEATH CAME MUCH MORE SWIFTLY.

A YEAR AFTER HIS ARRIVAL, HE ANCHORED HERE.

SOME NATIVES STOLE ONE OF COOK'S

BOATS; THE CAPTAIN AND A SMALL

LANDING PARTY CAME ASHORE TO RETRIEVE IT.

MORE THAN 200 WARRIORS ATTACKED.

COOK WAS STRUCK IN THE HEAD AND KILLED.

A WHITE OBELISK MARKS THE SPOT

WHERE HE FELL.

ACCORDING TO CREW MEMBERS, SOME

FRIENDLY HAWAIIANS LATER

RETURNED COOK'S BODY, OR WHAT

REMAINED OF IT; HANDS, SCALP,

A FEW BONES, AND THE SKULL,

WITHOUT ITS LOWER JAW;

ALL OF IT BURNED.

TRAVELING NORTH ALONG THE COAST,

MODERN HAWAII BECKONS.

AT FIRST GLANCE, THE BIG ISLAND

APPEARS TO TURN A COLD SHOULDER

TO BEACH LOVERS.

HAWAII HAS FEWER SAND BEACHES

PER MILE THAN OTHER ISLANDS IN THE CHAIN.

BUT THE BEACHES IT DOES HAVE

ARE AMONG THE BEST IN THE ENTIRE STATE.

SOME OF THE ISLAND'S MOST

OPULENT RESORTS HUG ITS WESTERN SHORE LINE.

LIKE THIS ONE-- THE MOANA KAI HOTEL.

BUILT IN 1965, SITUATED BETWEEN

TWO ANCIENT LAVA FLOWS,

MOANA KAI WAS THE FIRST RESORT HERE.

THE OWNER WAS LAWRENCE ROCKEFELLER, OF THE

ROCKEFELLER DYNASTY.

AS A VENTURE CAPITALIST, HE WAS

FAMOUS FOR PROVIDING EARLY

START-UP CAPITAL TO TWO LITTLE

COMPANIES NAMED INTEL AND APPLE.

BUT HE WAS ALSO A PIONEERING

CONSERVATIONIST, COMMITTED TO

BUILDING ECO-FRIENDLY HOTELS

THAT GAVE PEOPLE A RESPECTFUL

ACCESS TO NATURE.

IN HAWAII, THE MOANA KAI HOTEL

IS HIS LEGACY.

SOME ROOMS AND SUITES HERE COST

A $1,000 A NIGHT.

AT THE NORTH END OF THE ISLAND,

BEAUTY GIVES WAY TO MYSTERY.

WHAT APPEARS AS LITTLE MORE THAN

A ROUGH PILE OF STONES IS

ACTUALLY WHAT REMAINS OF THE

ANCIENT TEMPLE OF MO'OKINI HEIAU.

IT'S BELIEVED THE SITE WAS USED

FOR HUMAN SACRIFICE TO THE

HAWAIIAN WAR GOD, KU.

TENS OF THOUSANDS WERE SACRIFICED HERE--

THOUGH LITTLE BLOOD WAS ACTUALLY SPILLED.

BECAUSE A BLOODIED CORPSE DID

NOT LOOK GOOD ON THE STONE

ALTAR, MOST VICTIMS WERE EITHER

DROWNED, STRANGLED, OR POISONED.

VISITORS TO THE SITE OFTEN CLAIM THAT THERE IS AN EERIE QUIET,

A STRANGE CHILL IN THE AIR, AS IF

THE COUNTLESS DEAD STILL LINGER.

BUT THE MOST TANGIBLE TRACE OF WHAT HAPPENED HERE ARE THE

STONES OF THE TEMPLE ITSELF.

ACCORDING TO LEGEND, THE STONES WERE MOVED TO THIS SITE FROM A

VALLEY SOME 14 MILES AWAY.

FROM HAND TO HAND, THE ROCKS WERE PASSED ALONG A CHAIN OF

18,000 PEOPLE AND STACKED AT THE TEMPLE, ALL IN JUST ONE NIGHT.

AN EPIC FEAT, CONSIDERING THAT

THE STONE WALLS WERE NEARLY 30 FEET THICK.

HEADING SOUTH ALONG HAWAII'S

EAST COAST, A LUSH WONDERLAND AWAITS

THE WAIPIO VALLEY.

ONCE, THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE LIVED HERE, CULTIVATING BANANAS,

COCONUTS, AND A SPINACH-TASTING PLANT CALLED TARO.

BUT IN 1946, A TSUNAMI DEVASTATED THE VALLEY.

MOST OF THE SURVIVORS LEFT, AND THE WILD TOOK OVER.

THEN IN 1961, PRESIDENT JOHN F. KENNEDY STARTED THE PEACE CORPS.

AND THE WAIPIO VALLEY WAS CHOSEN

AS THE SITE OF ONE OF ITS FIRST TRAINING CAMPS.

A LIVING CLASSROOM, WHERE VOLUNTEERS PREPARED FOR THE

RIGORS OF LIFE IN UNDERDEVELOPED COUNTRIES.

TODAY, THE CAMP IS LONG GONE.

ONLY ABOUT 50 PEOPLE LIVE IN THE ENTIRE VALLEY, FARMERS MOSTLY.

THIS PART OF HAWAII HAS SLIPPED BACK IN TIME, BECOMING NEARLY AS

REMOTE AND UNTAMED AS WHEN IT WAS FIRST CARVED IN THE EARTH.

ITS SAND BEACH IS BLACK FROM WHERE ANCIENT VOLCANIC LAVA

FLOWED TO THE OCEAN, AND WAS CRUSHED BY THE SURF.

AND DEEP INSIDE THE VALLEY, ITS

CLIFFS TOWER SOME 2,000 FEET HIGH.

ONE OF THE HIGHEST FREEFALLING WATERFALLS IN THE WORLD IS HERE,

A SPECTACULAR 1,300-FOOT DROP.

INLAND FROM THE VALLEY IS THE SPRAWLING PARKER RANCH, THE SITE

OF A REMARKABLE AMERICAN SUCCESS STORY--

THE RAGS-TO-RICHES TALE OF A VAGABOND SAILOR WHO TURNED HIS

SKILL WITH A GUN INTO A DYNASTY.

AT THE TURN OF THE 19TH CENTURY,

HERDS OF LONG-HORNED CATTLE ROAMED THIS PART OF THE ISLAND.

THEY WERE WILD, DANGEROUS, FAR

FROM THE DOMESTICATED BREED OF TODAY.

WITHIN A DECADE, THERE WERE SO MANY THAT LOCALS FELT THREATENED.

TO CONTROL THE POPULATION, A LOCAL CHIEF HIRED A MAN NAMED

JOHN PARKER TO HUNT SOME OF THE CATTLE.

PARKER WAS A NEW ENGLAND SAILOR WHO HAD JUMPED SHIP ON THE

ISLAND, AND WAS KNOWN AS A GOOD SHOT WITH A MUSKET.

BECAUSE THE CATTLE LIVED IN CANYONS, THE BEST WAY TO HUNT

THEM WAS ON HORSEBACK.

PARKER FAVORED HORSES WITH A KEEN SENSE OF SMELL.

THE SOONER A HORSE COULD PERK ITS EARS AND ALERT HIM THAT HIS

PREY WAS NEAR BY, THE SOONER HE COULD GET OFF A GOOD SHOT.

BEFORE LONG, PARKER WAS SALTING THE BEEF FROM HIS KILLS, AND

SELLING IT TO THE WHALING VESSELS THAT CAME TO PORT.

IN NO TIME, SALT BEEF WAS A

BESTSELLER, BECOMING THE ISLAND'S CHIEF EXPORT.

WHEN PARKER MARRIED THE CHIEF'S GREAT-GRANDDAUGHTER, A DYNASTY WAS BORN.

HE DOMESTICATED HIS OWN HERD OF

CATTLE, AND ACQUIRED THIS LAND YOU SEE.

EVENTUALLY, THE PARKER RANCH GREW TO OVER 150,000 ACRES,

BECOMING ONE OF THE LARGEST CATTLE RANCHES IN THE NATION.

SOUTH FROM THE MAIN PART OF THE PARKER RANCH LOOMS THE MAMMOTH

MAUNA KEA VOLCANO.

FROM BASE TO SUMMIT, IT TOWERS MORE THAN FIVE AND ONE HALF

MILES, HIGHER THAN EVEN MOUNT EVEREST.

THE LAST TIME MAUNA KEA ERUPTED WAS SOME 3,500 YEARS AGO.

MAUNA KEA MEANS WHITE MOUNTAIN,

FOR THE SNOW THAT COVERS ITS PEAK.

IN THE 1960S, NASA SENT ITS

APOLLO ASTRONAUTS TO TRAIN ON MAUNA KEA.

IT SEEMS THAT THE TERRAIN HERE IS SIMILAR TO THAT ON THE MOON.

TODAY, SCIENTISTS STILL FLOCK HERE, THIS TIME ARMED WITH THE

MOST POWERFUL TELESCOPES IN THE WORLD.

THE THIN CLEAR AIR MAKES IT AN IDEAL PLACE TO STUDY THE HEAVENS.

IN RECENT YEARS, ASTRONOMERS USING THESE AND OTHER TELESCOPES

ATOP MAUNA KEA, HAVE MADE KEY DISCOVERIES ABOUT THE FORMATION

OF STARS, THE ORIGIN OF BLACK HOLES, AND THE WEB OF DARK

MATTER THAT STRETCHES ACROSS THE COSMOS.

MEANWHILE, A MERE 50 MILES AWAY IS MAUNA LOA, A GIANT OF A VOLCANO.

SINCE 1832, MAUNA LOA HAS ERUPTED 33 TIMES.

THE LAST ERUPTION WAS IN 1984.

THE MOSTLY UNPOLLUTED AIR ATOP MAUNA LOA IS NIRVANA FOR SCIENTISTS.

IN THIS CASE, THE SUBJECT IS CLIMATE RESEARCH.

IT STARTED IN 1958 WHEN AMERICAN

GEOCHEMIST DAVID KEELING SET UP

HIS INSTRUMENTS HERE.

HE WANTED TO FIND OUT IF INDUSTRIAL CARBON DIOXIDE WAS

HEATING THE SURFACE TEMPERATURE OF THE EARTH.

KEELING FOUND THAT CO2 LEVELS IN THE EARTH'S ATMOSPHERE WERE

INCREASING AT A RATE OF 3.3 BILLION TONS A YEAR.

IT WAS A MILESTONE DISCOVERY,

THE FIRST MEASURABLE DATA TO ESTABLISH A CONNECTION BETWEEN

GLOBAL WARMING AND RISING CO2 LEVELS.

BY FAR THE MOST ACTIVE VOLCANO ON THE ISLAND, IN THE WHOLE

WORLD IN FACT, IS KILAUEA.

THE VOLCANO HAS SPEWED LAVA CONTINUOUSLY SINCE 1983,

UNLEASHING MOLTEN ROCK AT TEMPERATURES UP TO 2,000 DEGREES FAHRENHEIT.

AS THE LAVA FLOWS DOWN THE HILL

AND MEETS THE SEA, IT PRODUCES A CLOUD OF STEAM LIKE THIS ONE.

BUT DON'T GET TOO CLOSE, INHALING THE STEAM CAN SEAR YOUR

LUNGS AND KILL YOU IN MINUTES.

ONCE IT COOLS IN THE OCEAN, THE LAVA HARDENS AND FORMS A CRUST

THAT EXPANDS THE SURFACE OF HAWAII'S COASTLINE.

SINCE THE 1980S, LAVA HAS

EXPANDED THE ISLAND BY MORE THAN 500 ACRES.

CALLED LAVA EXTENSIONS, THESE TRACTS OF NEW LAND BELONG

TO THE STATE OF HAWAII.

THE RULING WAS HANDED DOWN BY THE STATE SUPREME COURT AFTER

SEVERAL LAND OWNERS CLAIMED THE

NEW SHORELINE PROPERTIES AS THEIR OWN.

BUT, AS THE VOLCANO CREATES, IT ALSO DESTROYS.

THE SMOKING LAVA WIPES OUT HIGHWAYS--

DEVASTATES WILDLIFE--

AND TURNS ENTIRE NEIGHBORHOODS INTO SMOLDERING DEAD ENDS.

STILL, LIFE ENDURES.

EVEN AS THE VOLCANO CONTINUES TO ERUPT, NEW HOMES ARE UNDER

CONSTRUCTION, RIGHT ON TOP OF THE OLD LAVA FLOWS.

HEADING WEST FROM HAWAII, THE NEXT ISLAND IN THE CHAIN: MAUI.

THE AVIATION HERO CHARLES LINDBERGH SAID OF MAUI,

"IF THERE IS A HEAVEN ON EARTH, IT'S HERE."

TODAY, THE PORT CITY OF LAHAINA,

ON MAUI'S WEST COAST, BUSTLES WITH A FLEET OF PLEASURE BOATS.

BUT IN THE 1800S, THIS WAS THE

CENTER OF THE PACIFIC WHALING INDUSTRY.

HUNDREDS OF WHALING VESSELS FILLED THE HARBOR--

AND THOUSANDS OF SAILORS PROWLED THE STREETS.

AMONG THEM WAS A YOUNG MAN NAMED

HERMAN MELVILLE,

WHOSE EXPERIENCES AT SEA LATER

INSPIRED HIM TO WRITE THE NOVEL

"MOBY DICK."

NOW THE WHALES HERE HAVE NOTHING TO FEAR BUT TOURISTS, WITH CAMERAS.

MAUI IS THE WHALE-WATCHING CAPITAL IN THIS PART OF THE PACIFIC.

EACH YEAR, MORE THAN 1,000 HUMPBACKED WHALES, LIKE THIS

MOTHER AND HER CALF, MIGRATE

HERE FROM THEIR ARCTIC FEEDING GROUNDS.

THE MOTHER WHALE KEEPS HER BABY CLOSE. THEY'LL SWIM TOGETHER

LIKE THIS FOR THE FIRST YEAR OF THE CALF'S LIFE, THE MOTHER

TEACHING VALUABLE SKILLS THAT WILL HELP HER BABY THRIVE AND GROW.

WHAT MAY LOOK LIKE PLAY TO US CAN BE THE MOTHER SHOWING HER

CALF HOW TO MANEUVER WHEN ATTACKED BY A PREDATORY SHARK.

ANOTHER REASON SO MANY PEOPLE FLOCK TO MAUI IS THE SHORELINE.

THERE ARE MORE THAN 80 BEACHES.

WHILE MOST LOOK LIKE THIS ONE,

OTHERS HAVE SAND OF BOLD, UNEXPECTED COLORS.

BLACK, GREEN, RED, ALL FROM ANCIENT LAVA FLOWS.

AT EVERY TURN, MAUI IS A ROMANTIC PARADISE, CONSIDERED

THE NUMBER ONE DESTINATION FOR WEDDINGS IN THE WORLD.

TRAVELING ON WEST MAUI, THE MOUNTAINS AND RUGGED COASTLINE

ARE A MAGNIFICENT WILDERNESS, SO WILD THAT PARTS OF IT HAVE YET

TO BE FULLY EXPLORED.

MUCH OF THIS PART OF THE ISLAND IS A RICH NATURE PRESERVE,

THE LARGEST IN THE STATE.

RARE VEGETATION GROWS AT A RATE

OF ONLY ABOUT ONE FOOT EVERY

10,000 YEARS, NO WONDER PUBLIC ACCESS IS LIMITED.

ONE FOOTPRINT IN THE SOIL CAUSES

DAMAGE THAT CAN TAKE THOUSANDS OF YEARS FOR NATURE TO REPAIR.

THE HIGHEST PEAK IN THE MOUNTAIN

IS PU'U KUKUI, MEANING "HILL OF LIGHT."

ANCIENT HAWAIIANS BELIEVED THIS RAINFOREST WAS THE MEETING

PLACE BETWEEN HEAVEN AND EARTH.

IF THIS WAS THE REALM OF THE GODS, THEN IT WAS GOOD ENOUGH

FOR KINGS AS WELL.

ACCORDING TO LEGEND, AN 18TH CENTURY MAUI KING SOMETIMES

LIVED NEAR THE MOUNTAIN, ATOP HIS OWN GODLIKE REALM:

A SPECTACULAR ROCK FORMATION CALLED THE [INDISTINCT] HEAD.

EACH MORNING, THE KING WOULD DIVE FROM HERE, AND PLUNGE

HUNDREDS OF FEET INTO THE OCEAN.

800 YEARS AGO, THE PEOPLE OF

MAUI MADE THIS AREA A HOME FOR THEIR GODS.

THIS MASSIVE TEMPLE, PI'I-LANI HEIAU, IS BUILT OF

LAVA ROCK, SPREAD OVER NEARLY THREE ACRES.

BUT PERHAPS THE MOST FAMOUS HOME ON MAUI, FOR MORTALS AT LEAST, IS HERE.

A CHURCH ON THE SOUTH SIDE OF THE ISLAND WHERE THE GREATEST

AVIATOR IN THE HISTORY OF THE

WORLD IS BURIED, CHARLES LINDBERGH.

THE MAN FAMOUS FOR HIS 1927

NON-STOP SOLO FLIGHT FROM

NEW YORK TO PARIS LIVED IN MAUI

DURING THE LAST YEARS OF HIS LIFE.

IN 1974, HE WAS DIAGNOSED WITH

LUNG CANCER, AND INFORMED THAT

HE HAD PERHAPS A WEEK TO LIVE.

RATHER THAN RECEIVE TREATMENT STATESIDE THAT MIGHT PROLONG

HIS LIFE, LINDBERGH TOLD HIS DOCTOR THAT HE WISHED TO DIE AT HOME.

"I WOULD RATHER SPEND TWO DAYS

ON MAUI," HE SAID, "THAN SPEND

TWO MONTHS ALIVE IN NEW YORK."

INLAND FROM LINDBERGH'S GRAVE IS

HALEAKALA, THE WORLD'S LARGEST

DORMANT VOLCANO.

ITS NAME MEANS "HOUSE OF THE SUN," BECAUSE AT

DAWN, IT'S AS IF THE SUN RISES FROM THE CRATER ITSELF.

THE CRATER IS 21 MILES IN CIRCUMFERENCE, AND 3,000 FEET DEEP.

THE FEELING OF SOLITUDE AT THE SUMMIT IS IMMENSE.

AFTER HIS VISIT HERE, MARK TWAIN

WROTE, "I FELT LIKE THE LAST MAN ON EARTH.

NEGLECTED OF THE JUDGMENT AND

LEFT PINNACLED IN MID-HEAVEN, A

FORGOTTEN RELIC OF A VANISHED WORLD."

TRAVELING WEST FROM MAUI,

THE ISLAND OF LANA'I IS THE NEXT STOP.

LANA'I IS A PRIVATE ISLAND WITH

TWO EXCLUSIVE RESORTS.

SO EXCLUSIVE, THAT IN 1994, IT

WAS CHOSEN AS THE SITE OF ONE OF

THE MOST EXTRAVAGANTLY PRIVATE

WEDDINGS EVER.

EVERY HOTEL ROOM ON THE ISLAND

WAS RENTED AND KEPT EMPTY.

HELICOPTERS ON NEARBY ISLANDS

WERE PAID NOT TO FLY.

SECURITY WAS SO TIGHT THAT THE ONLY PEOPLE ALLOWED ON THE

ISLAND WERE THE 100 OR SO WEDDING GUESTS.

THE COST?

IT DIDN'T MATTER; THE GROOM WAS

THE RICHEST MAN IN THE WORLD, BILL GATES.

JUST A FEW MILES NORTH OF LANA'I

IS MOLOKA'I, A SMALL ISLAND OF STUNNING BEAUTY.

THE SEA CLIFFS ON ITS NORTH SHORE ARE THE HIGHEST IN

THE WORLD, RISING 2,000 TO 3,000 FEET ABOVE THE WAVES.

BUT BEHIND THE BEAUTY,

A FAR DIFFERENT STORY.

GRAVESTONES CROWD THE SHORELINE

OF WHAT ONCE WAS A NOTORIOUS LEPER COLONY.

LEPROSY IS A CHRONIC INFECTIOUS

DISEASE THAT DISFIGURES THE SKIN.

IN THE 1800S, PEOPLE WITH THE

DISEASE WERE EXILED HERE BY THE GOVERNMENT.

THE LIVING CONDITIONS WERE SAVAGE.

AS ONE OBSERVER PUT IT, "PREPARE

FOR MOLOKA'I AS FOR THE GRAVE."

BUT ONE MAN SET OUT TO CHANGE THAT.

FOR 16 YEARS, A BELGIAN

MISSIONARY NAMED FATHER DAMIEN

CARED FOR THE SICK HERE.

HE CLEANED THEIR WOUNDS,

BUILT DECENT HOUSING, AND BURIED

THOUSANDS AS THEY SUCCUMBED TO

THEIR DISEASE.

FATHER DAMIEN EVENTUALLY

CONTRACTED LEPROSY HIMSELF.

HE DIED IN THE COLONY IN 1889,

AND IS BURIED ON THE GROUNDS OF

THIS CHURCH.

A CENTURY LATER, THE CATHOLIC CHURCH BEATIFIED HIM, ONE STEP

FROM SAINTHOOD.

THE GRAVES ON MOLOKA'I BEAR

WITNESS TO HIS EXTRAORDINARY LIFE.

PUSHING WEST, THE ISLAND OF O'AHU.

IT MATERIALIZES OUT OF THE PACIFIC, A LUSH GREEN VISION,

JUST 44 MILES LONG AND 30 MILES WIDE.

BUT THEN, A STARTLING CONTRAST:

HONOLULU, THE STATE CAPITAL,

AND LARGEST CITY IN HAWAII.

DOWNTOWN HONOLULU IS CONSIDERED

ONE OF AMERICA'S PRETTIEST AND

MOST COMPACT CITIES.

MOST OF ITS FINANCIAL, BUSINESS

DISTRICT, AND RESIDENTIAL HIGH

RISES ARE ELEGANTLY SITUATED

WITHIN JUST 12 SQUARE BLOCKS.

BECAUSE IT'S SO ISOLATED, HAWAII

IS A SLAVE TO ITS ENERGY NEEDS.

IT GETS ABOUT 90 PERCENT OF

ITS ENERGY FROM IMPORTED OIL--

BUT CHANGE IS IN THE WIND.

THE STATE HAS COMMITTED TO GOING GREEN, PRODUCING 70 PERCENT OF

THE ENERGY IT NEEDS BY THE YEAR 2030.

THIS WINDMILL FARM, FOR

INSTANCE, IS TURNING WIND GUSTS

INTO ELECTRICITY.

A SINGLE WIND TURBINE CAN

GENERATE ENOUGH POWER TO PROVIDE

ELECTRICITY FOR HUNDREDS OF HOMES.

ON O'AHU, RESEARCH IS UNDERWAY

TO MAKE RENEWABLE ENERGY USING

HAWAII'S OWN NATURAL RESOURCES--

SUCH AS PUMPING COOL OCEAN WATER

TO SUPPLY THE AIR CONDITIONING

FOR DOWNTOWN HONOLULU--

AND CONVERTING ALGAE INTO

BIODIESEL FUEL FOR CARS AND TRUCKS.

HAWAII HAS BECOME A LIVING

LABORATORY FOR SUSTAINABLE ENERGY.

WHILE TOURISM MAY BE O'AHU'S

NUMBER ONE CASH CROP, THESE

SPRAWLING PLANTATIONS MAKE A

CASE FOR PINEAPPLE AS A CLOSE SECOND.

AROUND 1900, A MAN NAMED

JAMES DOLE CAME TO HAWAII,

DETERMINED TO START A NEW BUSINESS.

INTRIGUED BY THE LOCAL POPULARITY OF PINEAPPLES, DOLE

PURCHASED 60 ACRES HERE ON O'AHU AND BEGAN GROWING THE FRUIT.

IN NO TIME, THIS CROP YIELD

MULTIPLIED, DEMAND GREW,

AND AN EMPIRE WAS BORN.

AT ITS HEIGHT, THE DOLE EMPIRE

PRODUCED ABOUT 250 MILLION

PINEAPPLES A YEAR.

WHEN IT COMES TO O'AHU, NO

DESTINATION ATTRACTS QUITE LIKE

A GIANT WALL OF WATER.

TWO OF THE BEST SURFING SPOTS

ON THE PLANET ARE HERE,

WAIKIKI AND THE NORTH SHORE, HOME OF THE FAMOUS BONSAI PIPELINE.

THE HAWAIIAN SPORT OF SURFING IS

AT LEAST 1,000 YEARS OLD,

AND O'AHU IS AT ITS HEART AND SOUL.

WHEN CAPTAIN COOK'S EXPEDITION FIRST REACHED HAWAII IN 1778, AN

OFFICER DESCRIBED THE AMAZING

SIGHT OF MEN ON SURFBOARDS.

"THE BOLDNESS WITH WHICH WE SAW

THEM PERFORM THESE DIFFICULT AND

DANGEROUS MANEUVERS WAS

ALTOGETHER ASTONISHING AND IS

SCARCE TO BE BELIEVED."

SOME EARLY SURFERS USED THE

THICK PALM-LIKE LEAVES OF THE

BANANA PLANT TO RIDE THE WAVES.

THE STORY OF MODERN SURFING

BEGINS WITH A MAN NAMED

THE DUKE, DUKE KAHANAMOKU.

HE WAS A GOLD MEDAL SWIMMER AT

THE 1912 SUMMER OLYMPICS.

BUT PERHAPS HIS GREATEST LOVE WAS SURFING, AND HIS SKILL WITH

HIS BOARD CAUGHT ON.

ONE OF HIS MOST FAMOUS EXPLOITS

IS THE DAY HE RODE A 30-FOOT

MONSTER WAVE OFF THE COAST OF HONOLULU FOR ALMOST TWO MILES.

IT'S SAID THAT IN O'AHU, EVERY SURFER ON EVERY WAVE RIDES WITH

THE SPIRIT OF THE DUKE.

HIGH ABOVE THE WAVES ON O'AHU'S SOUTHERN SHORE LOOMS THE EXTINCT

ANCIENT VOLCANO: DIAMOND HEAD.

BRITISH SAILORS GAVE THE CRATER ITS NAME WHEN THEY MISTOOK THE

CRYSTALS TWINKLING IN ITS LAVA ROCK FOR DIAMONDS.

BUT THERE'S NO MISTAKING THE GLORIOUS VIEW FROM ITS 760-FOOT SUMMIT.

WAIKIKI AND THE ENTIRE SOUTHERN SIDE OF THE ISLAND ARE AT YOUR FEET.

BECAUSE OF THIS COMMANDING VIEW OF THE PACIFIC, THE U.S.

MILITARY BOUGHT DIAMOND HEAD IN 1904, NOT LONG AFTER HAWAII WAS ANNEXED.

THE ONCE-DEADLY VOLCANO BECAME A HOME TO A MILITARY OBSERVATION

TOWER, AND A FOUR-LEVEL

UNDERGROUND COMMAND POST INSIDE

THE MOUTH OF THE CRATER.

DECEMBER 7, 1941.

SEVERAL MILES UP THE COAST FROM WAIKIKI, JAPANESE AIRCRAFT

SWOOPED IN FOR THE KILL.

TORPEDO BOMBERS HIT FIRST

TARGETING THE BATTLESHIPS ANCHORED IN THE HARBOR.

A SECOND WAVE OF DIVE BOMBERS ATTACKED U.S. AIR BASES ACROSS O'AHU.

HUNDREDS OF AMERICAN AIRCRAFT WERE DESTROYED OR DAMAGED

BEFORE PILOTS COULD EVEN GET THEM OFF THE GROUND.

INCREDIBLY, THE DAMAGE TO AMERICA'S PACIFIC FLEET COULD

HAVE BEEN FAR WORSE.

A THIRD WAVE OF JAPANESE AIR ATTACKS HAD BEEN PLANNED.

THE TARGET?

THE FLEET'S ENORMOUS FUEL STORAGE.

FORTUNATELY, THE JAPANESE BELIEVED ENOUGH DAMAGE HAD BEEN

DONE, AND THE ATTACK WAS CALLED OFF.

BECAUSE THE FUEL WAS SAVED,

THE U.S. FLEET WAS EVENTUALLY ABLE TO MOBILIZE AND TAKE THE

WAR TO THE JAPANESE.

DURING THE TWO-HOUR ATTACK ON

PEARL HARBOR, 21 VESSELS WERE DESTROYED.

WORST HIT WAS THE USS ARIZONA.

TODAY, THIS MEMORIAL PERCHES

ABOVE THE SHIP'S WATERY GRAVE.

NEARLY 1,200 YOUNG MEN DIED ABOARD THE ARIZONA WHEN A BOMB

MADE A DIRECT HIT, IGNITING THE SHIP'S FORWARD MAGAZINE.

THE SHIP SANK IN NINE MINUTES.

TODAY, THE USS ARIZONA MEMORIAL IS THE NUMBER ONE DESTINATION

FOR TOURISTS VISITING O'AHU.

THE LAST OF THE EIGHT MAJOR HAWAIIAN ISLANDS IS ALSO THE

OLDEST, KAUA'I.

THE ISLAND WAS BORN OF A VOLCANO

THAT RUPTURED FROM THE OCEAN FLOOR--

ONLY TO BURN OUT AND BECOME

EXTINCT ABOUT FIVE MILLION YEARS AGO.

THE SAME ERUPTION THAT RAISED KAUA'I FROM THE ICY DEPTHS OF

THE PACIFIC ALSO CARVED THIS

INTO ITS HEART.

WAIMEA CANYON IS CALLED THE GRAND CANYON OF THE PACIFIC.

IN POLYNESIAN MYTHOLOGY, THE CANYON AND OTHER WONDERS ON THE

ISLAND OWE THEIR CREATION TO THE

HAWAIIAN FIRE GODDESS, PELE.

ACCORDING TO LEGEND, PELE TRAVELED TO KAUA'I AND DUG INTO

THE EARTH, SEARCHING FOR A FIRE PIT IN WHICH TO LIVE.

IT'S SAID THAT PELE TORE OPEN

THE EARTH AT WAIMEA CANYON BUT FOUND ONLY WATER.

EVENTUALLY, SHE FLED KAUA'I AND CONTINUED HER SEARCH FOR A HOME

ON THE OTHER ISLANDS IN THE CHAIN.

BUT PERHAPS THERE'S MORE TO THE MYTH THAN MEETS THE EYE.

RESEARCHERS HAVE NOTED THAT THE SUPPOSED MOVEMENT OF THE FIRE

GODDESS FROM ISLAND TO ISLAND

JUST SO HAPPENS TO COINCIDE WITH THE GEOLOGICAL RECORD OF

VOLCANIC ACTIVITY IN HAWAII.

LAST STOP ON KAUA'I IS ONE OF

THE WETTEST ENVIRONMENTS IN THE WORLD MOUNT WAI'ALE'ALE.

AVERAGE RAINFALL HERE?

440 INCHES A YEAR.

SO MUCH WATER FLOWS THROUGH THE MOUNTAIN THAT WATERFALLS ABOUND.

THIS 280-FOOT FALLS WAS

FAMOUSLY USED IN THE FILM "JURASSIC PARK."

IT APPEARS WHEN A HELICOPTER CARRYING SCIENTISTS FIRST LANDS

ON THE ISLAND.

LOCALS NOW JUST SIMPLY CALL IT JURASSIC FALLS.

IT WAS DURING THE MAKING OF THAT FILM THAT A FIERCE HURRICANE

SLAMMED INTO THE ISLAND.

PRODUCTION HALTED AS THE STORM UNLEASHED ITS FURY.

THE CAST AND CREW HUDDLED IN SAFETY--

BUT ACCORDING TO ONE REPORT, DIRECTOR STEVEN SPIELBERG

COULDN'T RESIST THE OPPORTUNITY TO CAPTURE SOME OF THE REAL

STORM FOR THE ONE PORTRAYED IN THE FILM.

IT'S SAID THAT SPIELBERG TOOK A CAMERA OPERATOR WITH HIM UP ON A

ROOF WHERE THEY FILMED THE WIND-DRIVEN WAVES CRASHING OVER

A BREAKWATER.

THAT FOOTAGE APPEARS IN THE MOVIE.

HAWAII BY AIR A STUNNING JOURNEY, UNLIKE ANY

ON THE FACE OF THE EARTH.

A DAZZLING TRIP THROUGH TIME,

IMAGINATION, AND A RAINBOW OF LIFE.

♪ OOOOO OOOOOO OHOOHOHOO ♪

♪ OOOOO OHOOOHOO OOOOHOO ♪

♪ OOOOO OHOOHOOO OOHOOOO ♪

♪ OOHOOO OOHOOOHO OOOOHO ♪

♪ SOMEWHERE OVER THE RAINBOW ♪

♪ WAY UP HIGH ♪

♪ AND THE DREAMS THAT YOU DREAMED OF ♪

♪ ONCE IN A LULLABY II II III ♪

♪ SOMEWHERE OVER THE RAINBOW ♪

♪ BLUE BIRDS FLY ♪

♪ AND THE DREAMS THAT YOU DREAMED OF ♪

♪ DREAMS REALLY DO COME TRUE ♪

♪ OHH OHHH ♪

♪ SOME DAY I'LL WISH UPON A STAR ♪

♪ WAKE UP WHERE THE CLOUDS ARE

FAR BEHIND ME EE EE EEH ♪

♪ WHERE TROUBLE MELTS LIKE LEMON DROPS ♪

♪ HIGH ABOVE THE CHIMNEY TOPS ♪

♪ THAT'S WHERE YOU'LL FIND ME OH ♪

♪ SOMEWHERE OVER THE RAINBOW ♪

♪ BLUEBIRDS FLY ♪

♪ AND THE DREAMS THAT YOU DARE TO ♪

♪ WHY OH WHY CAN'T I? I II ♪

♪ SOME DAY I'LL WISH UPON A STAR ♪

♪ WAKE UP WHERE THE CLOUDS

ARE FAR BEHIND ME ♪

♪ WHERE TROUBLE MELTS LIKE LEMON DROPS ♪

♪ HIGH ABOVE THE CHIMNEY TOP ♪

♪ THAT'S WHERE YOU'LL FIND ME ♪

♪ OH SOMEWHERE OVER THE RAINBOW ♪

♪ WAY UP HIGH ♪

♪ AND THE DREAM THAT YOU DARE TO ♪

♪ WHY OH WHY CAN'T I? I HIII ♪

♪ OOOOO OOOOOO OOOOOO ♪

♪ OOOOO OOOOOO OOOOOO ♪

♪ OOOOO OOOOOO OOOOOO ♪ ♪ OOOOO OOOOOO OOOOOO ♪