bebalm

Anyone been to Molokai to visit the Leper Colony? Have read a couple of books about the history of the community and would love to see it. However, riding into a canyon on a mule/donkey makes me a bit nervous. How treacherous is it? Is there a better way to get there?

jetset1

years ago, my dad, sister and I rode the mules down the cliff into the area..
gorgeous trip, but the trail is steep,(I grew up with horses on a ranch) and could be daunting to some not used to it.

my mother opted to fly in and meet us there.. once there, we had a van tour and lunch as provided in the pkg.. good luck and happy travels.

offlady

I've done both the mule ride and flown in. The mule ride isn't as dangerous as it may appear as the animals are smart, well trained and very experienced. The plane ride made me more nervous as the runway isn't very long. However, the plane would be quicker and you won't get a saddle sore!

sunbum1944

I flew in - it was years ago it was a small plane doing a "milk run" to the other islands.
One of my friends happened to know a family who lived in the colony and they invited us to come and stay so we stayed there for a weekend. It was very interesting- she drove us around to all the sites and told us the history of the island and the disease -
we stayed in the "kokua" cabins -
at that time there were only a few active cases in the colony but quite a few residents still lived there.

Great experience!

gyppielou

I highly recommend the trip - either by air or by mule. I wouldn't want to hike those mule dung trails!

Studying the history and visiting the colony was one of the most spiritual highs in this wahine's life.

Molokai is going through some very dark days indeed and could surely use your tourist dollars.

Molokai Ranch has shut down a good portion of the island in a standoff regarding building luxury homes. Ironically, since water on the dry side of the island was a major concern, the owners of Molokai Ranch - in Singapore have decided to turn the water and plumbing off to a large part of the island.

http://starbulletin.com/2008/06/05/news/story04.html

The future of the colony cannot be predicted. Once the last patient passes, there will be a turf war to what is one of the most pristine pieces of real estate in all of hawaii.

Here is my trip report from awhile back. Under a surname while my name was temporarily unavailble at Fodors.

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...1&tid=34933546

There's never been a better time and need to visit this island, especially if you are called to visit the history of the leper crisis.