Princeville, Kaua’i – Princeville is the North Shore’s tourist hub, where swanky resorts and sprawling golf courses dominate the landscape. Indeed, the centerpiece of the Princeville peninsula is the Makai Golf Club. Designed by Robert Trent Jones Jr., the 18-hole course has earned all kinds of accolades, including a spot on Golf Digest‘s list of greatest public courses. Golfers enjoy no less than six oceanfront holes and gorgeous mountain views.
I’m not much of a golfer, but I signed up for the Sunset Golf Cart Tour to check out the spectacular vistas and the prolific bird life (and of course the sunset).
As it turns out, the Makai golf course is one of the hot spots for the nene, or Hawaiian goose. The nene was named as the state bird in 1957 to raise awareness about its near extinction. The population has since rebounded to nearly 4000 geese, 20% of whom live at Makai! We also spotted nene goslings, which was sweet.
Much to my delight, Makai is also a breeding site for the mōlī, or Laysan albatross. This large seabird has an impressive 6-foot wingspan! They fly down from Alaska to mate and nest on the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, as well as Kaua’i and Oahu. From November to July, they congregate at Makai and show off some elaborate greeting and mating dances.
Even non-golfers know that one under par on a golf hole is called a “birdie” and two under par is an “eagle”. Today I learned that the rare feat of scoring three under par on an individual hole is called an “albatross”. This makes Makai possibly the only course where it’s possible to score an albatross and see an albatross (the latter being much more likely).