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Monday, February 06, 2012 1:53 AM
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Kalepolepo Park and Ko'ie'ie Fishpond Click for moreĀ  Beaches
Ko’ie’ie Fishpond with Kaho’olawe in the distance. Click to enlarge
Ko'ie'ie Fishpond with Kaho'olawe in the distance
This is a small park that fronts the ancient Ko'ie'ie fishpond. The beach is actually the entrance to the fishpond. The water within the pond is fairly shallow, so this park is a good one for families with small children.

Kalepolepo Park is adjacent to the Humpback Whale Sanctuary on South Kihei Road.

The most interesting aspect of Kalepolepo park is the fishpond. Fishponds to the prehistoric Hawaiians were like the Corn Belt is to modern America -- the civilizations would not survive without them. Fishponds were common all over the Hawaiian islands until the arrival of Westerners. In Maui county, the island of Molokai has the largest number of fishpond remnants.

As best I know, the Ko'ie'ie fishpond is the only significant remnant in South Maui, or West Maui, for that matter. Over the last few years a great deal of effort went into restoring the fishpond walls.

The simplest way to get to Kalepolepo Park is to take the Waipuilani Street exit off of Pi'ilani Highway (highway 31). Alternatively you can just drive south from north Kihie on South Kihei Road until you arrive here.

The park is small but nice, and the fishpond is exquisite. The area does have some of the seaweed that is common along parts of the shore of north Kihei. You can see patches of the seaweed in the foreground of the fishpond photo that accompanies this article.
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Kalepolepo Park at sunset, Kihei, Maui. Click to enlarge
Kalepolepo Park at sunset, Kihei, Maui
Information sign about the old Kalepolepo Village. Click to enlarge
Information sign about the old Kalepolepo Village
Some historical information about Ko’ie’ie Fishpond. Click to enlarge
Some historical information about Ko'ie'ie Fishpond
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