“It’s such a beautiful legend,” says Margo Mau Bunnell, sales and operations manager for Waikoloa Land Company. “Waikoloa Beach Resort is a place where people come to relax, renew their appreciation of family, and enjoy the Hawaiian culture. Our naupaka flower logo perfectly illustrates these values.”
Other versions of the legend tell that Naupaka’s sister was Pele, the Fire Goddess, and that Pele killed both Kaui (at the beach) and Naupaka (in the mountains) to prevent them from being together.
But whatever version of the legend you read, the enduring hope is that the two star-crossed lovers — and the two opposite blooms of the flower — will one day be reunited and thus become whole.
“As a symbol for Waikoloa, the naupaka legend and the idea of becoming whole through eternal belief in the positive is very strong,” says Bunnell. “We strive to deliver experiences to our guests that not only make their vacations more enjoyable and memorable, but that will have positive impacts on their lives long after they leave. That is what the naupaka legend and the flower symbolize.”