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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Monday, March 19, 2001


Pristine Kaua'i camping site will reopen

By Jan TenBruggencate
Advertiser Kaua'i Bureau

MILOLI'I, Kaua'i — One of the prettiest beach parks in the state, remote Miloli'i in Kaua'i's Na Pali Coast State Park, has been closed to the public for more than a year for lack of restrooms.

Access to Miloli'i Beach is possible only by boat and only during the summer months. Treacherous surf conditions bar winter access.

Jan Tenbruggencate • The Honolulu Advertiser

The Division of State Parks is not accepting camping permit applications for this year, either, but that is expected to change by summer, said Kaua'i state parks chief Wayne Souza.

In normal years, the state issues 30 nightly camping permits for Miloli'i. Campers are evenly mixed between Kaua'i residents and tourists. "It's a toss-up between locals and kayakers," said Scott Ferguson, a member of the Na Pali Coast 'Ohana, a residents' group that advises the state and performs volunteer cleanups and other services along the 12 miles of coastal cliffs and valleys that form the rugged state park.

For many Island residents, Miloli'i is the preferred Na Pali camping site, simply because better-known Kalalau is often so crowded. The few tourists who reach it find a remote, rugged, haunting piece of Hawai'i.

The state announced its problem with waste disposal at the end of the summer 1999 camping season. The park was closed because the state could not afford $20,000 to $30,000 for a new composting toilet.

"It's about as bleak as it's ever been," said state parks official Dan Quinn at the time, referring to the budget crunch.

Complaints plentiful

It was one of the triggers for a swarm of complaints in recent years about state financing for Kaua'i parks. With parks like massive Na Pali, the Koke'e forest park, Waimea Canyon State Park and others, Kaua'i has a larger percentage of its natural wonders under state parks control than other islands do, but tight budgets are not allowing normal maintenance and replacement. Kaua'i visitor industry leaders and others say the situation damages the island's tourism potential.

"Every visitor to the island knows about Na Pali. We spend a lot of travel industry money selling the place. It's short-sighted to bring them over here and not have it ready for them to use when they get here," Ferguson said.

At Miloli'i, a crescent of white sand sits at the base of towering cliffs that reflect the sound of the surf. Just west of the beach, the Miloli'i Valley stream tumbles over boulders to the sea. The pools in the stream are filled with wild taro and the valley floor is crisscrossed with ancient rock walls.

There is no maintained trail into Miloli'i. Access is by boat. Kayaks and canoes can be hauled up on the shore. Motorized craft must anchor in risky circumstances in the narrow reef passage.

Miloli'i is abandoned in winter, when the surf makes landing any kind of boat a dangerous venture. As a result, the state never issues permits for winter camping there.

But last year, summer camping was also abandoned, for public health reasons: The pit toilets were full and it was not legal to dig new ones. Furthermore, budget cuts limited the state's ability to respond immediately.

"Pit toilets are no longer allowed. They are the most archaic means of waste disposal," said Dennis Tulang, manager of the state Department of Health's Wastewater Branch.

Volunteers offered financing

At other state parks where dependable running water isn't available, composting toilets — which mix human waste with sawdust, leaves or other organic materials — have been established. Down the coast from Miloli'i, Hanakapi'ai and Kalalau Valley and Nu'alolo Kai beach have several.

The Na Pali Coast 'Ohana members were sufficiently concerned when state officials said they lacked the money to install a new toilet that 'Ohana members offered to raise the money themselves.

Souza said the state has now allocated the needed resources and is committed to getting a composting toilet installed before summer, but he is not sure exactly when. The materials will have to be flown in by helicopter, probably in late spring, he said.

"We're not going to accept any camping permits until we get the toilet in," Souza said.