Maps of Hawaii

After starting with the California Island and Coastal Maps, heading to Hawaii was the next thing to do. With the surrounding rich, warm waters, and with the unbelievable scenery and beauty of the Hawaiian Islands, Franko’s methods of map making were just begging to be tested. The computer was put to work, generating wonderful hues of green, showing the mountainous islands in shaded relief. Doing justice to the beauty of the Hawaiian Islands was a tall order. After creating the islands, it was time to make the ocean contours. With a huge help from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography library director I found the needed NOAA charts, and thus the background for the map was created. Next came the “research” part, which include extensive collecting of materials and information from all kinds of resources. The fun part, of course, was the proofing and information gathering first hand, with travels to Oahu and Kauai first, and then to Maui and the Big Island. The tough part was trying to spell things right. Hawaiian spelling is not easy even for locals, but for a Californian it was a daunting task. Since Franko is such an avid ocean nut, with a love of the ocean environment and all of the reef creatures, a collection of fish and other animals was put on the face of the maps. Hawaii itself is representative of the beautiful tropical Pacific Ocean, and to depict the islands without fish, such as the favorite Humuhumunukunukuapua’a (the unofficial State Fish of Hawaii), would not be right. It turns out that snorkeling is the number one activity of visitors to Maui. For yours truly, it is the number one activity for all of the islands. Since I am an avid scuba diver too, it was natural to put the numerous popular scuba diving sites in addition to the favorite snorkeling sites on all of the islands. This is not to take away from the quality of the maps of the islands, but they add a lot of interest. After finishing and printing Franko’s Map of Oahu, The Gathering Place, and Kauai, The Garden Isle, more trips to Hawaii got the marketing of the new product started. Then, Franko’s Map of Maui, The Valley Isle, and Hawaii, The Big Island were finished, with more island visits to get them into stores. It is a tough job, but somebody has to do it!

With four beautiful Franko’s Maps of the Hawaiian Islands finished, it was time to diverge away from the snorkeling and diving theme and get to the heart of Oahu’s soul - it’s world-class surfing scene. Thus, the fish were deleted! Surfing sites, photos and descriptions replaced everything else, and North and South Shore details were created for side 2. Thus, Franko’s O’ahu Surfing Map was created. It came out absolutely fantastic!

Unexpectedly, a sixth Hawaiian map appears to be in demand. It seems that about half of all that happens in Hawaiian happens right in Waikiki. Franko’s Map of O’ahu, The Gathering Place, already has a nice detail of Waikiki on side 2, but there is so much there that it merits having a map of its own. Side 2 consists of Franko’s Map of O’ahu again, but rather than having dive and surfing spots all over it, room is left for descriptions of Franko’s favorite things to do on O’ahu (in addition to the diving and snorkeling)