Pu'upehe Platform
Encyclopedia
Puupehe Platform, also known Puu Pehe and in tourist literature as Sweetheart Rock, is a triangular sea stack
150 feet off the peninsula separating Mānele Bay and Hulopoe Bay on the island of Lānai
, Hawaii
.
Both its Hawaiian and its English name allude to a legend about Pehe, the beautiful daughter of a local chief, whose jealous husband, Makakehau ('Misty Eyes' clouded by her beauty), confined her to a nearby cave facing the open ocean. When a storm arose while he was away fetching fresh water for her, high seas flooded the cave and drowned her before he could return to rescue her. In his grief, he is said to have hauled her body to the top of the rock, where he entombed her before leaping to his own death. However, when the archaeologist Kenneth Emory
investigated the "tomb" in detail in 1921, he found no human bones, only those of sea birds, leading him to conclude that the carefully arranged stones were an altar built by either bird hunters or fishermen.
Since 1976, Puu Pehe has marked the boundary between two subzones of the 309-acre Mānele-Hulopoe Marine Life Conservation District designated by the State of Hawaii Division of Aquatic Resources. Subzone B includes Mānele Bay boat harbor, while Subzone A includes Hulopoe Bay, where no motorized vessels are permitted. Both zones contain clear waters and extensive coral reef
s that provide excellent snorkeling
and Scuba-diving opportunities.
The land surrounding the two bays contains many remnants of earlier Native Hawaiian village sites, whose inhabitants subsisted on dryland farming
and offshore fishing
. About 28 acres of former Kapihaā village on the rocky shores of Hulopoe Bay below the Mānele Bay Resort
golf clubhouse have been preserved and marked with interpretative signs along a trail. The remnants of the village include house platforms, garden terracing, stone tool work sites, a heiau
, and a fishing shrine (koa).
Stack (geology)
A stack is a geological landform consisting of a steep and often vertical column or columns of rock in the sea near a coast, isolated by erosion. Stacks are formed through processes of coastal geomorphology, which are entirely natural. Time, wind and water are the only factors involved in the...
150 feet off the peninsula separating Mānele Bay and Hulopoe Bay on the island of Lānai
Lanai
Lānai or Lanai is the sixth-largest of the Hawaiian Islands. It is also known as the Pineapple Island because of its past as an island-wide pineapple plantation. The only town is Lānai City, a small settlement....
, Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
.
Both its Hawaiian and its English name allude to a legend about Pehe, the beautiful daughter of a local chief, whose jealous husband, Makakehau ('Misty Eyes' clouded by her beauty), confined her to a nearby cave facing the open ocean. When a storm arose while he was away fetching fresh water for her, high seas flooded the cave and drowned her before he could return to rescue her. In his grief, he is said to have hauled her body to the top of the rock, where he entombed her before leaping to his own death. However, when the archaeologist Kenneth Emory
Kenneth Emory
Kenneth Pike Emory was an American anthropologist who played a key role in shaping modern anthropology in Oceania. In the tradition of A. L...
investigated the "tomb" in detail in 1921, he found no human bones, only those of sea birds, leading him to conclude that the carefully arranged stones were an altar built by either bird hunters or fishermen.
Since 1976, Puu Pehe has marked the boundary between two subzones of the 309-acre Mānele-Hulopoe Marine Life Conservation District designated by the State of Hawaii Division of Aquatic Resources. Subzone B includes Mānele Bay boat harbor, while Subzone A includes Hulopoe Bay, where no motorized vessels are permitted. Both zones contain clear waters and extensive coral reef
Coral reef
Coral reefs are underwater structures made from calcium carbonate secreted by corals. Coral reefs are colonies of tiny living animals found in marine waters that contain few nutrients. Most coral reefs are built from stony corals, which in turn consist of polyps that cluster in groups. The polyps...
s that provide excellent snorkeling
Snorkeling
Snorkeling is the practice of swimming on or through a body of water while equipped with a diving mask, a shaped tube called a snorkel, and usually swimfins. In cooler waters, a wetsuit may also be worn...
and Scuba-diving opportunities.
The land surrounding the two bays contains many remnants of earlier Native Hawaiian village sites, whose inhabitants subsisted on dryland farming
Dryland farming
Dryland farming is an agricultural technique for non-irrigated cultivation of drylands.-Locations:Dryland farming is used in the Great Plains, the Palouse plateau of Eastern Washington, and other arid regions of North America, the Middle East and in other grain growing regions such as the steppes...
and offshore fishing
Fishing
Fishing is the activity of trying to catch wild fish. Fish are normally caught in the wild. Techniques for catching fish include hand gathering, spearing, netting, angling and trapping....
. About 28 acres of former Kapihaā village on the rocky shores of Hulopoe Bay below the Mānele Bay Resort
Four Seasons Resort Lanai
Four Seasons Resort Lānai at Mānele Bay is a part of the Toronto-based Four Seasons chain of luxury hotels and resorts. Four Seasons Resort Lānai, one of only four Hawaiian Four Seasons resorts, offers a premier golf course designed by Jack Nicklaus...
golf clubhouse have been preserved and marked with interpretative signs along a trail. The remnants of the village include house platforms, garden terracing, stone tool work sites, a heiau
Heiau
A heiau is a Hawaiian temple. Many types of heiau existed, including heiau to treat the sick , offer first fruits, offer first catch, start rain, stop rain, increase the population, ensure health of the nation, achieve success in distant voyaging, reach peace, and achieve success in war . Only the...
, and a fishing shrine (koa).