The Hidden Side of Lanai: Why Hawaii Is More Than a Getaway

For many travelers, Hawaii is about beaches and hotels, but behind the beauty lies a way of life rooted in community, culture, and aloha ʻaina (love for the land).
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If you’ve ever wondered what everyday life on Lanai is really like and how those lessons can make your Hawaii trip more meaningful, this episode is for you. Hear from cultural practitioner Anela Evans as she shares childhood memories, cultural insights, and why simple shifts, like using the true names of places, can transform your visit.
In this episode of our travel podcast, we go beyond the price tag of Lanai to reveal the hidden side of the island and the powerful lessons it holds for travelers who want more than just a getaway.
👉 In this episode, you will:

• Hear what it was like growing up on Hawaii’s “private island” of Lanai.
• Learn how the story of Kaho‘olawe continues to shape Hawaii’s care for the land today.
• Discover why true place names like Lanai and Puʻupehe matter and how they deepen your connection to the islands.

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Scroll up ⬆️ and hit play now to discover the hidden side of Lanai and how its lessons can make your Hawaii trip more authentic and unforgettable.
🤓Chapters:

• 1:51 Growing Up on Lanai
• 3:11 The History and Restoration of Kaho'olawe
• 7:46 The Importance of Aloha 'Aina
• 9:18 Sharing Hawaiian Culture with Guests
• 11:12 The Future of Tourism in Hawaii
• 15:55 Hunting and Sustainability on Lanai

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This Hawaii podcast is for travelers looking to plan a trip to Hawaii. Discover travel tips, itineraries, and traveling tips & hacks with guides to help you explore Hawaii. Whether you’re planning a Hawaii vacation to the islands, dreaming of a Hawaiian getaway, or visiting Honolulu, Maui, Kauai, Oahu, or Big Island we’ll help you travel with aloha.

Edge of the Ocean, Stick Figure (w/ permission)
Ukulele and Chill, Coby G (w/ permission)
Talk Story, Hawaiian Style Band (w/ permission)

Chapters

• 1:51 Growing Up on Lanai
• 3:11 The History and Restoration of Kaho'olawe
• 7:46 The Importance of Aloha 'Aina
• 9:41 Sharing Hawaiian Culture with Guests
• 11:35 The Future of Tourism in Hawaii
• 16:18 Hunting and Sustainability on Lanai

Transcript

The Hidden Side of Lanai: Why Hawaii Is More Than a Getaway

[00:00:00] Bryan Murphy: In this episode, you'll discover the hidden side of the island of Lanai. We go way beyond the luxury price tag of the island, and we go to where community culture and connection to the land shape everyday life.

[00:00:17] Bryan Murphy: Welcome to Hawaii's Best. The podcast helping you plan an unforgettable Hawaii vacation with practical tips and insights. Thanks for tuning in today. I'm Bryan Murphy, certified Hawaii destination expert and host of Hawaii's Best, and today I'm joined by Anela Evans, who is a culture practitioner at the Four Seasons on Lanai.

[00:00:37] Bryan Murphy: In this episode, you'll discover what it's like to grow up on the Pineapple Island, which is Lena. We'll talk about the powerful lessons of the island of. Caho, a lave that continues to shape how Hawaiians care for the land and why using true names like Lena or PPE can change how you experience the islands on a different level.

[00:00:57] Bryan Murphy: Now, quick housekeeping note, just before we jump in, just for this season, this kind of shoulder season in Hawaii, we'll be going back to once a week episodes so you can now catch new episodes every Wednesday. Instead of the previous Tuesday and Thursday during this kind of Hawaii shoulder season, this fall lull, if you will, back to today's episode.

[00:01:18] Bryan Murphy: Planning a trip to Hawaii can be exciting. It is exciting, but it, it's easy to get caught up in all of it. And by the end of today's episode, you'll know how to. The mistake of treating Hawaii like just another vacation spot, and instead walk away with a trip that feels more connected, more authentic, and far more meaningful.

[00:01:38] Bryan Murphy: So let's go ahead and let's talk story with Anela from the island of Lanai.

[00:01:51] Bryan Murphy: What was it like growing up on Lana E?

[00:01:54] Anela Evans: I had the best childhood that any child could ask for. You know, we had free roam of the outdoors. We were constantly immersed in activities such as horseback riding. We'd go to the beach and just play in the surf all day. I grew up going places with my dad, and it was the best we didn't have to worry about.

[00:02:20] Anela Evans: Anything that someone in the big city might need to worry about. And even today, kids that are six, seven years old still walk home from school. Everybody knows everybody. So you know, everybody sort of has each other's back. I feel like I'm very blessed to have the childhood that I had. It taught me a lot, and I think it's one of the reasons why I am the way I'm today.

[00:02:42] Anela Evans: No other word to describe it, but blessed.

[00:02:45] Bryan Murphy: That's awesome.

[00:02:46] Anela Evans: Typical day now would include waking up, going for a walk. I always try to take things off for a walk in the mornings, and then I go to work. I work at the Four Seasons as the cultural practitioner there. It's very stress free, very laid back and relaxed, and that's

[00:03:05] Bryan Murphy: the way I like it.

[00:03:05] Bryan Murphy: Yeah. How long have you worked at the Four Seasons?

[00:03:09] Anela Evans: I've been there a little less than a year. I finished my master's degree in 2011, and then shortly after I moved to Maui where I was working for the Island Reserve Commission, I had the opportunity to work there because during my undergraduate and my graduate degree at University of Hawaii East, I had a professor.

[00:03:30] Anela Evans: Who sort of took me under her wing and mentored me, and part of the experience in her class is service learning. And one of the opportunities that was presented to the students is the opportunity to go to KO lave and participate in conservation efforts to restore the island. For listeners that are not aware, KA lave was bombed for a period of 50 years by United States.

[00:03:58] Anela Evans: Military. Um, it was sequestered on December 8th, 1941, the day after Pearl Harbor was bombed to be used as a weapons training range. Bombing was ceased in 1992. Oh,

[00:04:12] Bryan Murphy: wow.

[00:04:13] Anela Evans: Yeah. So even during the occupations when, you know, people were fighting to stop the bombing and occupying Kako Lave, they were still actively bombing.

[00:04:24] Anela Evans: The island. So occupations began in 1976, and it took 15 years for the military to finally stop completely after 1992. There was a period of 10 years in which. They cleaned up the island. Then the island was returned to the state of Hawaii to be held in trust for a federally recognized native Hawaiian government or governing entity.

[00:04:49] Anela Evans: However, during that period of cleanup, they didn't clean up everything and the original sort of. Document that allowed for the military to take over use of the island was that when a time came that they no longer needed it, that they would return it in a state suitable for human habitation.

[00:05:10] Anela Evans: Unfortunately, that wasn't the case. And the protest Ohana as well as the state of Pini both engaged in conservation efforts to restore the island. Everything from planting native plants to building infrastructure. Mm-hmm. That will support conservation effort. Things like that is what I was fortunate to have the opportunity to do.

[00:05:37] Bryan Murphy: What was the state of the land? Maybe you can kind of

[00:05:39] Anela Evans: very desolate, very highly eroded, severe loss of Native forest in the 1890s. Kakoa who was at that time, the King of Hawaii, visited Cove to sort of go on a quote unquote pilgrimage at a certain place on the island because the waters of that bay were so revered and esteemed, as you know, sacred or very sacred.

[00:06:07] Anela Evans: Mm-hmm. So Kala. Had his party that traveled with him, his court. Mm-hmm. And there was an article that was published in a Hawaiian language newspaper that talks about what they saw when they visited Kavid, you know? And it talks about these beautiful, lush forests full of native greenery. We have that to compare to what we see today.

[00:06:29] Anela Evans: And the fact of the matter is that erosion did not begin with the bombing actually started with the introduction of grazing animals.

[00:06:38] Bryan Murphy: Hmm.

[00:06:39] Anela Evans: So there are no grazing animals or land mammals with the exception of OA peta, which is a native bat. So when they brought in grazing animals such as sheep, goats, deer.

[00:06:54] Anela Evans: Animals like that, you know, they caused severe devastation to the landscape. They ate everything. They really enjoyed eating native plants. They still do today. The erosion and the loss of Native Forest and Kahu Labbe began. The introduction of those types of animals and it just, you know, escalated with the bombing.

[00:07:13] Anela Evans: You know, throughout the course of my time when I volunteered there, I've seen a lot of change and there has been a lot of good effort put in. Mm-hmm. By the protect cave ohana and the state of Hawaii. It's still in a state of desolation pretty much. There are still areas that are completely bare red, dirt hard pan.

[00:07:33] Anela Evans: Sort of type of surface that are prevalent in those areas. So essentially all of the top soil washed away and it washed away into the ocean, right? Yeah. Right. So the ocean surrounding Kaho lobby is impacted as well. But what the island serves as is for many people that have visited there and myself included, is a inspiration and a lesson for us.

[00:08:02] Anela Evans: In Aloha, ina and Aloha Ina is essentially can be interpreted into English as love for the land. Right? Right. But the way I see it, aina is encompassing of the entire natural environment, right? Mm-hmm. And in our Hawaiian creation stories and genealogies, we come from the land. So a a is encompassing of us as well.

[00:08:25] Anela Evans: Mm-hmm. Right? So it promotes a sense of holistic wellbeing and. I guess

[00:08:31] Bryan Murphy: there's no separation.

[00:08:33] Anela Evans: Exactly. There's no separation. You know, for Kanaka humans to thrive, aina has to thrive. Mm-hmm. And vice versa. It's a very prevalent lesson in that and throughout all of Hawaii, you know, there are very amazing examples of Ahaa and places where those lessons can be learned and can be brought to the forefront.

[00:08:56] Anela Evans: That is the underlying theme and governing. Factor of a Hawaiian lifestyle. Essentially, it's the core of our culture and it's definitely one thing that I like to share with people that visit, or even children that I have opportunity to work with. So it is. Very impactful.

[00:09:18] Bryan Murphy: Yeah. Maybe speaking to that a little bit, I mean, I, I can imagine at the Four Seasons on Lanai, you have a family or people there maybe for a week, two weeks.

[00:09:29] Bryan Murphy: What are you hoping to leave your guests with?

[00:09:33] Anela Evans: I think that at the Four Seasons on Lena e and even in Four Seasons culture around the world, we. Do our best and sometimes go above and beyond to extend our value of Aloha and our other Hawaiian values towards our guests, as well as towards our other team members.

[00:09:55] Anela Evans: And that's an extension of the community that we live in from the Nni. We really try to help each other. We help our neighbors, and we are one big family. We work with the people that we live with, right? We work with the people that we see in our community, that we see in the stores, that we see at the post office.

[00:10:14] Anela Evans: Um, our kids go to school with those people's children. So, you know, essentially it is one big family and we do our best to extend that feeling towards our guests, and that is a true sense of aloha and what Hawaii is really about. You know, we help each other. We extend our aloha towards our guests, you know, by sharing our cultural practices, by sharing our stories.

[00:10:40] Anela Evans: Mm-hmm. Our traditions by. Educating our guests that no, the name of our island is not Lanai, it's Lana. Right? And the name of this rock, the name of this island is not sweetheart rock. It's, and this is why, you know? So allowing them to try to get a better sense of place, I think is sort of what our goal is, especially our.

[00:11:04] Anela Evans: The team that I work with, my department at the Four Seasons. Mm-hmm. So yeah, I think that is the best way to sum it up. Yeah.

[00:11:12] Bryan Murphy: A broader question would be, from your perspective, what does the future of tourism and. Respect for the Hawaiian culture, where do you see a coexist or a relationship? How would you define that?

[00:11:27] Anela Evans: I'd like to see more culturally sensitive and authentic experiences for our guests. I want people to walk away with. A more true sense of what Hawaii is, beyond what is offered, you know, in the more heavily trafficked places that visitors go, you know? Mm-hmm. There's so much more that Hawaii has to offer and.

[00:11:54] Anela Evans: I think that we, as you know, indigenous people of this land need to get the opportunity to contribute to the conversation of where the visitor industry and where the economy in Hawaii is going. Mm-hmm. You know, within the next 20 or so years in general. I think that nowadays we are at an advantage because there's a lot more consciousness about.

[00:12:19] Anela Evans: I guess indigenous peoples and their life and our lifestyles as well as consciousness about caring for the environment. Right, right. Which is essentially what indigenous cultures are rooted in, right? Is is our relationship to the environment. I think that we're in an advantage for that, and I think that Hawaii and Hawaiians can or have a lot to offer.

[00:12:42] Anela Evans: When it comes to facilitating experiences that allow people to learn those things and to get a sense of care for, you know, the environment and opening their eyes to other ways of life. So, you know, what I hope for is that we will sort of have a shift in the visitor industry in Hawaii where people are not coming here to look for.

[00:13:09] Anela Evans: Just a fantasize Hawaiian getaway. Mm-hmm. That was sort of created and plays on, you know, the spectacle of the other. Right. Right. Rather, people come here and try to immerse themselves in the authenticness of the culture and really ask themselves, how can Hawaii impact me? Mm-hmm. Rather than leaving here.

[00:13:34] Anela Evans: Impacting our reefs or our islands. And I think that the way that can happen is, you know, people open their minds to different sort of teachings and mindsets that we have here, or that we may be able to help them see.

[00:13:50] Bryan Murphy: You hit it on the head. I was thinking mindset came to my mind too, and it's all about having that mindset and having that respect.

[00:13:59] Bryan Murphy: Mm-hmm. When visiting. And that goes so far because the love of the Hawaiian people, you could just give and give and give. And if you posture yourself with that mindset to receive, oh man, you're gonna receive very well. You're gonna be left with kind of this hole in your heart of the love for the land and the people.

[00:14:23] Anela Evans: Exactly. And going beyond that, taking it home with you and really thinking about how you can tie the things that you learned when visiting Hawaii into your daily lives. This is just an example. We say hi to everybody. It doesn't matter if we know them or not. If we pass somebody in the store, we say hi.

[00:14:44] Anela Evans: It's so sad to me that people don't even like acknowledge each other. You know, they just walk right past each other and I mean, kindness is huge. You can make or break somebody's day by just being kind and. A sense of aloha. And that also comes along with gratitude, right? Being thankful and having that attitude of cup is always half full, not half empty.

[00:15:08] Anela Evans: Even if you're stuck in traffic, it could be worse. I think just having a, a sense of aloha, that word just encompasses so much, you know, it's so much more than its literal interpretation of love, and I think that helping and facilitating people's learning of that is. Hopefully going to make an impact on the world.

[00:15:30] Bryan Murphy: Mm-hmm. Switching gears a little bit, when I read your article in Hoe on a Flight to Maui, on Hawaiian, I was probably, I was sitting next to my wife and her grandpa is. He's a stud. He's like almost 90. Grew up in New Mexico. He's a hunter, he's an outdoors guy. You know, he's amazing. And he hunts deer, and I was so surprised that on Lehi, I didn't realize this, that there's a deer.

[00:16:05] Bryan Murphy: Infestation. Mm-hmm. And that you actually hunt deer.

[00:16:10] Anela Evans: Yeah. Well, you know, there is a, a pretty prominent community of hunters and deer. Were actually introduced to Hawaii in the 18 hundreds, and then later brought to Lana in the 1920s, and from an original herd of 12 that were brought over to Lana, the population.

[00:16:31] Anela Evans: Now is well over 10,000.

[00:16:33] Bryan Murphy: Oh my goodness.

[00:16:34] Anela Evans: You know, they have caused severe impact to the ecosystem, but they are a. Very popular source of entertainment, I guess you would call it. Um, and sustainability, right? The cost of living in Hawaii is high. Mm-hmm. And on nai, it's higher. So it's a very. Helpful way in which we, you know, supplement our diets and people feed their families.

[00:17:02] Anela Evans: So when I was growing up, I didn't really have the opportunity to hunt. My dad was a lot older and he and my brother hunted when I was little and all my uncles and, you know, everybody went. And my mom even went with them. But I was left at my babysitter's house and I just remember sitting by the window all day, you know, watching for them to come home, right?

[00:17:26] Anela Evans: Yeah. Because I wanted to see what my dad harvested or what my brother harvested. So I didn't really have the opportunity to start hunting. So I moved back home. But it is something that I love to do. Like I stated in the article, it's an opportunity for me to. Unplug and just have the opportunity to get out onto the island and see what the environment wants to reveal to me.

[00:17:54] Bryan Murphy: Are there still new explorations and new discoveries from your perspective? Oh

[00:17:59] Anela Evans: yeah. Prior to working to the Four Seasons, I was working for Ulama, Lana E, which is the land owner. Mm-hmm. Um, so Lena E is privately owned, right? 90, 98% of it. And I was working in culture and historic preservation. And our task in that particular department was to care for the cultural and historical sites on the island.

[00:18:20] Anela Evans: There were many, many times where, you know, we find artifacts and evidence of native Hawaiian life. It gives us clues into. What our ancestors did there and what those particular areas were used for, what the significance of them were back in the times when we didn't have the modern technologies and things that we have now.

[00:18:40] Anela Evans: So it, it's amazing to see those things and then see how nothing was. Placed or done in certain places without proper or without what they deemed to be proper ceremony protocol, things like that, right? A priest or kahuna had to choose that area and he chose it based on signs that were given to him from the natural environment.

[00:19:04] Anela Evans: So when finding things, just trying to figure out what their thoughts were, what the observations were at that time, and looking at places, the orientation of things, you really learn a lot. And that's the best textbook.

[00:19:18] Bryan Murphy: Absolutely. This is probably a a big question, but if someone's coming to the islands for the first time or coming back year after year, what are some of the things that you'd want them to know?

[00:19:30] Bryan Murphy: And I know we've talked a lot about those things, but maybe if we had to boil it down to like one or two things just prior to someone boarding the plane, what would you want them to know?

[00:19:41] Anela Evans: I would want them to, well, I'd ask them to come to Hawaii with an open mind and with the mindset that is willing to learn.

[00:19:52] Anela Evans: New ideas, new concepts, new values, and really allowing oneself to be receptive mm-hmm. To what life here is all about. And I definitely ask that people try to leave as little as a footprint as possible. Mm-hmm. And if you did indeed learn from Hawaii, then to take it home with you and share with others.

[00:20:20] Anela Evans: What you've learned.

[00:20:21] Bryan Murphy: I love that. Is there anything else that we didn't cover about Lena that you wanted to make sure the listeners know?

[00:20:28] Anela Evans: Just that Lena has a very unique and rich cultural history and you know, without the work of the Lena Eco Heritage Center, which actually my mom was a founding member.

[00:20:41] Anela Evans: Cool. A lot of it would not be. Prevalent now. So we're very blessed to be moving forward and standing upon. The shoulders of those that came before us and did all of that hard work. Mm-hmm.

[00:20:55] Bryan Murphy: And

[00:20:56] Anela Evans: getting all those or traditions written down and making sure that these traditions were preserved. Mm-hmm. And who understood the importance of it when others were telling us that it was not too significant Right.

[00:21:08] Anela Evans: Know. So to me, there's no greater treasure than the knowledge of our ancestors. And we're very fortunate to still have some of that knowledge that. We can utilize today to hopefully guide us forward, you know, as a people and as a human race. Right,

[00:21:28] Bryan Murphy: right. Well that is, I love that. That's so special and very important.

[00:21:33] Bryan Murphy: And now I just wanna say thank you so much for your time today and for coming on Hawaii's best.

[00:21:39] Anela Evans: Thank you so much, Bryan, for reaching out to me. I wish you all the best and I can't wait to hear more from you.

[00:21:47] Bryan Murphy: I just wanna mahalo anelle again for coming on, and if there's one big takeaway, it's that Hawaii isn't just about resorts or activities.

[00:21:55] Bryan Murphy: It's about slowing down, respecting the land and being open to the culture that makes the island so special. Thanks again for joining me on this special episode of Hawaii's Best, and if you found today's episode helpful, the best way you can support the show is by simply hitting the follow button on Apple or Spotify.

[00:22:12] Bryan Murphy: And until next time, as always, live with Aloha

[00:22:19] Bryan Murphy: Mala for listening to this episode of Hawaii's Best. To stay up to date on future episodes, hit follow on your podcast app. Hawaii's Best is a production of Shore Break media group with editing by easy podcast solutions and music courtesy of our friends stick figure.