Julie asked that during our first visit to Maui over 30 years ago.
By that time, the "Polynesian Riviera" shown in this fascinating linked time capsule from 1964 had already attracted developers to line its beautiful three miles of beachfront with hotels, but the wide beach at Ka'anapali remained open to everyone, as promised.
As commercial developments go, Ka'anapali Beach has been a great one, opening a slice of paradise to generations of visitors who continue to thoroughly enjoy the experience, including Julie and me.
We were excited to have Maui as our first port upon awakening on the fifth morning of our cruise, though I must say the cruise days had been fantastic, a throwback to college days attending classes by day and going out to enjoy an active social life at night, managing to slip in a bit of work in between.
We were excited to have Maui as our first port upon awakening on the fifth morning of our cruise, though I must say the cruise days had been fantastic, a throwback to college days attending classes by day and going out to enjoy an active social life at night, managing to slip in a bit of work in between.
We've been to Maui eight times now, and each stay we've spent most of our time at Ka'anapali Beach.
Five of those times were on cruises when we chose to head directly to snorkel at Black Rock by the Sheraton and have lunch at Hula Grill, which for our taste is one of the best restaurants in the world.
True to form, after a great morning snorkel where we encountered a friendly green turtle and a slew of brightly colored fish at Black Rock, we split a Kapulu Joe BBQ pork sandwich at Hula Grill.
As we strolled back up the beach for more underwater adventures, who should we encounter but Mark Harris, our naturalist from Star Princess.
Having been raised in Iowa and lured to be a marine biologist by watching Flipper on TV as a boy, Mark brings a level-headed, middle American approach to Oceanography that's quite refreshing, obviously possessing deep love for the the natural world but also great empathy for human desire to experience nature firsthand.
While we don't like to bother performers or lecturers when they're off duty, Julie couldn't help but gush that we had seen the green turtle eating red algae at Black Rock.
In his onboard presentation about sea turtles, Mark had shared that green turtles naturally feed on sea grass. As human encroachment on their habitat in Ka'anapali Beach had destroyed this food source, marine biologists like himself had worried that could spell the end for green turtles there.
However, the turtles have adapted, changing their diet to include red algae in more polluted lagoons like Black Rock, where they still return By polluted, I don't mean the water has less than excellent crystal-clean, aqua-tinged visibility or that industrial sludge is oozing from corroded factory pipes there.
A lot of small things simply add up.
Sunscreen slathered on tourists gradually washes away.
Snorkelers stand on living coral to look around and find their bearings.
Food wrappers unintentionally blow away from family picnics.
For green turtles specifically, there apparently continue to be enough other positives about Black Rock to keep them coming back despite the lack of sea grass.
Incidentally, sea grass is plentiful around the Redondo Beach jetty, but the water temperature is simply too cold for green turtles, if they could survive the trans-Pacific swim for a good meal as easily as we can cruise the distance. While we have a very temperate climate in California, it doesn't stay as consistently around 80 degrees as Maui does.
In his onboard lecture, Mark explained that beach temperature is particularly important for incubation of turtle eggs, because the sex of the hatchling is determined by temperature, with more females at higher temperatures.
At 91.4 degrees Fahrenheit, 100% of baby turtles will be female, with obvious repercussions for future procreation.
However, we didn't talk to Mark about turtle sex on the beach.
Instead, Mark pointed out what we had already noticed, that Ka'anapali Beach has lost much of its sandy shore. I think he said 30%.
We've all heard horror stories of human-caused global warming causing sea levels to rise, endangering island nations and coastal cities.
While not a popular opinion with my children, I have often rebutted this by saying that is the nature of climate change and civilizations through the millennia, with the result sometimes being forced relocation of major population centers and occasional truly catastrophic natural events wiping out civilizations over night.
And on the other hand, Big Sky Town Center in Montana is now over a mile above sea level, but eons ago it was the ocean floor.
Theoretical considerations of how natural any of this change might be fall aside when it becomes a place you know and love, and it is downright alarming for the impacted populations and civic leaders, who do not know what to do about it but feel compelled to do something.
Mark did mention global warming raising sea levels is one concern, but he said at least as significant was the fact that both Maui and the Big Island of Hawaii have been gradually sinking as the massive shield volcanoes that formed them have subsided with age.
In addition, Europe and America are gradually moving further apart, with the result so far being that the Atlantic Ocean level has dropped about 10 feet during our lifetimes. This is caused by the natural movement of tectonic plates that has nothing to do with global warming. Common sense says that as the Atlantic widens, the Pacific on the other side of the American and Eurasian plates is being compressed, forcing sea levels to rise.
In Redondo Beach right after we moved there, a huge engineering project pumped sand offshore and onto our beach, actions that surprised me based on past experience with the California Coastal Commission that seems to stand against protecting beach communities from natural coastal change. Perhaps they're finally coming around to a more Dutch way of thinking.
We regularly witness smaller restoration projects using heavy earthmoving equipment to maintain our beach
To me, this is the most logical, justified and responsible action for governments to take to counteract climate change and other natural dangers.
In Maui, however, their efforts on this front have not proven to be sufficient so far.
Ka'anapali Beach has noticeably eroded since we began visiting Maui in the mid 1980's. That's particularly clear at still gorgeous Black Rock, where little sand remains for beach towels to spread out.
Make no mistake. Ka'anapali Beach is still one of the greatest places in the world, and Julie was already checking air fare to return as soon as we returned home.
In the long run, I think Maui will figure out how to save Ka'anapali Beach, because they understand what a rare jewel it is and have the support of not only the local residents and resorts but also the cruise industry and vacationers from throughout the world who would happily contribute to an effective policy to restore and protect this area for future generations.
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