Our cruise started from Molokai, which required we fly from Honolulu where we had arrived the day before. We flew over on Mokulele Airlines, in a 9-passenger Cessna Grand Caravan. The flight was short, comfortable and had truly beautiful views. Once on Molokai, Uncruise Adventures picked us up at the airport and took us to Hotel Molokai to gather all the passengers before we went on our first expedition then boarded the ship.
Once everyone had arrived we headed to Molokai Plumerias. Plumeria flowers, while not native to Hawaii, have become the flower of choice for leis. For many years it was tradition for visitors to Hawaii to be given a lei upon arrival. When jets increased the number of visitors to millions that tradition moved to movies and television. Today if you want someone to get a lei you have to order it from a supplier. Molokai Plumerias is a plumeria farm and a family business. They grow plumeria trees and harvest the flowers to sell as loose flowers or plumeria leis. They ship all over the United States. They also sell cuttings so you can grow your own plumeria tree.
Our visit included a tour of the farm and a demonstration of how to make a lei, each of us left wearing a lei. A truly unique and interesting experience.
After our first night aboard the Safari Explorer, we headed to the end of the island to visit Halawa Valley. Much of what tourists see and do in Hawaii doesn’t show the real Hawaiian culture.
Visiting Halawa Valley offers a cultural experience offered by a native Hawaiian family living where their family has lived for generations. Pilipo is the patriarch of the family and is the last living Hawaiian descendant to be born and raised in Halawa who still resides there. One of his sons, Greg also lives in the valley and helps operate the cultural center. 
Several other family members including a cousin are guides for the hike up the valley to the Mo’oula Falls. This hike is 1.7 miles each way and includes two stream crossings, both of which are not deep, say 6 inches to one foot deep and fairly easy to cross. It is worth it when you reach the falls where water makes the last drop of about 250 feet into a beautiful pool. Legend says that a giant lizard lives in the pool and that you need to get his permission before swimming in the pool. To request permission drop a leaf in the pool, if it floats you are welcome to swim, if it sinks it is not a good day for a swim.
The guide dropped a leaf and it floated. Some of our group swam but we all ate lunch and enjoyed the view before heading back to the cultural center.
Instead of eating dinner on board we traveled to the Molokai Museum and Cultural Center. Located in a restored Sugar Mill built by R.W. Meyer in 1879. 
The dinner was made up of local dishes including Mango Chicken, Aki Poke (raw yellow fin tuna, seaweed and roasted candlenut), Limu (seaweed salad), Crab, Lomilomi Salmon, Chicken Long Rice, Squad Luau and Imu Kalua Puaa (pork cooked in an underground oven). By the way, this party wasn’t a Luau, as we learned that is what you eat at a party not the party. The traditional name of a Hawaiian feast is a pa’ina. Our entertainment included music and dance performed by local artists. 
Their instruments included a ukulele, gourd drums and rattles. We learned about the connection between music, dance or hulu and Hawaiian oral history included through chant (oli) or song (mele).
After we returned to the Safari Explorer and headed to bed the captain pulled up the anchor and set off for our next stop, Lana’i.