KALAUPAPA, Molokai: It is something of a paradox that one of the most beautiful places in the Hawaiian islands is also its most infamous. There was a time when even whispered mention of Molokai's leper colony at Kalaupapa sent chills down the spine.

Being tracked by bounty hunters and shipped there in cages to be cast overboard along a rocky coast was considered a death sentence. In fact, when King Kamehameha V first chose the location in 1865, it was his intention that isolating afflicted lepers under such quarantine would eliminate the disease.

Now, after years of living in shadows, "The Colony" . . . as its 42 remaining patients and around 100 support residents describe the settlement . . . has emerged into world headlines.

Already established as a National Historic Park by the Department of the Interior in 1980, it received international attention when Pope John Paul II beatified heroic Belgian-born Catholic priest Father Damien De Veuster in Brussels. The next step is sainthood.

Damien's story is a famous one. The humble, self-sacrificing young priest who volunteered to serve banished, disfigured, mortally sick lepers dumped as prisoners along a rugged, isolated coast with no shelter, no food, no medical care . . . nothing. Many were too sick to care for themselves. He fought for their rights, tended their wounds, gave them hope . . . and contracted and died from leprosy himself in 1889, aged 49, after years of prolonged contact.

My first visit to Molokai was via helicoper from Maui. Intended as a flightseeing tour, it landed briefly on an isolated rocky beach, then flew over Kalaupapa where we observed a mule train descending the steep slope. At its base far below, the village spread out beyond rocky cliffs along a peninsula. Scenery was dramatic, the location deliberately isolated and inaccessible.

IT was one of those places I'd wanted to visit since I was a youngster in grammar school. As though it was yesterday, I still recall details of an unforgettable film and lecture in the school assembly about Father Damien's work with lepers, along with pictures and interviews with patients who lived at Kalaupapa. It inspired my lifelong continuing involvement with charities devoted to working with lepers.

A few years later I made a special detour to Molokai. Sixteen tourists included visitors from Italy, Ireland and England. A doctor once posted there had brought his young daughter to visit the location where he had worked with patients.

To begin with, Hansen's disease (leprosy's official and less frightening name) is now controlled and arrested by drugs. Fear once shrouding the site is gone, but its natural beauty remains.

"I was sent here to die 53 years ago," confided our guide. Now 66, he was a boy of 13 when he and his five-year-old brother were torn from their family by a bounty hunter and shipped to the dreaded place.

"We youngsters were the lucky ones, because sulfa drugs used during World War Two were found to arrest the disease. We were human guinea pigs. Some died from too strong a dose. But if it hadn't been for Father Damien, everyone would still be living like savages. We owe him a great debt."

Surprisingly, Kalaupapa is one of those rare other-world places easy to reach. Molokai's remote, foreign flavour is amazing considering it's only 18 air minutes from Honolulu. There's a choice of Hawaiian, Aloha, Island Air, Air Molokai and Pacific Wings to reach there.

There is also twice-daily 90-minute ferry service via Maui Princess from Lahaina, Maui. Both Budget and Dollar have airport rental booths. Kalaupapa's location was chosen with deadly intent. A long, flattish peninsula of lava flows out below some of the world's highest sea cliffs. Lush, green and sheer, an armed guard with orders "shoot to kill" used to sit "topside" to keep the quarantined from fleeing up the narrow trail.

During early days, access down was via mule and the National Park Service reworked the trail now used by mules, hikers and some who work at the colony. More than three miles long and hugging the cliffs, it descends 1,700 feet. Those with time can combine a couple methods of transportation.

We opted for Molokai Air Shuttle (808-567-6847) whose five-passenger planes are owned by Henry Younge, son of Air Molokai's founder. Henry was acclaimed in the Honolulu Advertiser when "he began flying on instruments at age ten because his feet hardly touched the rudders". Today his modern fleet makes the short trip from Molokai Airport to Kalaupapa's new $8.5-million runway for $49.95. It also flies from Honolulu.

To protect patients' privacy (the oldest came in 1919), the peninsula is a restricted area open only to those over 16 by prior arrangement. The four-hour, $30 bus tour by Damien Tours (808-567-6171) is very efficiently operated and staffed by members of the colony able to work. It is recommended that you make reservations at least three days to a week in advance because the demand is large and space limited.

Our guide asked that his name not be used in deference to his children and grandchildren. Married to another patient, their children were taken from the colony at birth and raised by grandparents.

In a travel career covering the world and involving interviews with headline celebrities, none impressed me more than this man who recalled his isolated, confined life with remarkable acceptance and humour. Because he'd been given the new drugs early enough, there was only very mild deformity visible in his hands.

"Over 8,000 people were taken from their families and brought here. There were 600 patients when I came in 1942," he explained as we drove some of the 22 miles around the settlement. "Electricity arrived in the Twenties and since 1969 we have been free to travel.

"We want to share this with you because we are passing on and the government has talked about relocating us to Honolulu. We are getting older and will need hospitals. I will rest in peace knowing the National Park is here preserving history."

The youngest woman patient is now 64, the youngest man 65. On my first visit to the colony several years ago, there were 68 patients - 26 of those have since died. In not too many years, this tour will be a much less interesting one guided by park rangers, not patients who actually lived and suffered here. For those interested, I urge you not to wait too long. It is a very special thought-provoking experience.

THE tour stops at the grave of Mother Marianne Cope, who selflessly nursed lepers for 35 years, and visits the church and settlement where Damien said mass and the grave site where he asked, on his deathbed, to be buried.

His body was reclaimed by Belgium with considerable controversy in 1936 and transferred back there against protests of colony residents.

There is understandable disappointment that only his right hand (reminiscent of dissecting saints in the Middle Ages or selling mummy's hands as souvenirs in Egypt at the turn of the century), has been returned after the beatification. The tour also incudes glimpses of ancient archaeological ruins, a dazzlingly scenic picnic stop (bring a lunch, no food is available) and finally a museum visit. There photos of some surprising earlier visitors line walls . . . Shirley Temple in 1949, Trapp Family Singers in 1952, Red Skelton in 1955. There was also a Chicago fireman who arranged for a retired Chicago fire truck to be shipped there.

Writer Robert Louis Stevenson was so taken with Kalaupapa during an 1889 visit, he considered retiring there, but died soon after on Somoa.

You may wonder how bulky items like cars, trucks and so on are delivered to such a site walled in by cliffs. In summer when seas are more tranquil, a barge arrives from Honolulu with such items, including thousands of pounds of rice, drums of gasoline and other necessities too difficult to fly in on small planes.

While exploring the island by car, we drove to the high point where the mule trail begins. An interesting display there explains the history and extent to which leprosy exists in the modern world. It was believed to have spread to Hawaii from China, with the first case discovered in 1848, striking terror among the population.

Considering the availability of drugs to arrest the disease, it's very depressing the extent to which it continues to spread. On my first trip to Katmandu, Nepal more than 20 years ago, I hardly noticed its presence. On my most recent return, young teenagers with crippling disfigurement of hands and feet were very visible.

Doesn't it seem reasonable that some of the costly visa fees charged visiting tourists could go or care in stopping the disease rather than enhancing the style in which the royals live?

We don't mean to give the impression there's nothing else to see or do on Molokai. It's the one island where life continues unchanged . . .no high rises or glitz. It has a wonderful "old Hawaii" flavour and is popular with outdoor adventurers and eco-minded travellers . . . although locals do lament the number of new houses going up along its formerly quiet shoreline.

There's a wealth of uncrowded country lanes, remote beaches, even the opportunity to play golf along its coast. In fact, part of my favourite resort there, Castle Resorts' Kaluakoi Villas, has recently reopened after restoration and nine holes of its redeveloped golf course are set to open this month.

Originally built as a Sheraton, its largest ocean front villa cottages are exceptionally spacious with picture-window views of the ocean, living room, dining and kitchen area, bedroom and dressing room.

WE arrived there without reservations and space was available . . . but I'd be wary of doing that now since the island's increasingly popular. Prices are around $175 and up, but do ask a lot of questions since it seems to open and close. (880-367-5004). www.castleresorts.com

If you can't make it to Molokai but are in Honolulu, consider visiting the Father Damien Museum in a small building at 130 Ohua Ave. behind St. Augustine Church on Kalakaua Ave. Personal possessions of the saintly Belgian priest reflect a simple lifestyle.

Historic pictures of Damien, the settlement at Molokai and interesting documents of his endless travails protecting lepers from local government are on display here.

A film covers his life and the leper colony on Molokai. The two-room museum has no attendant and on our two visits we've encountered no other visitors. It is well worth the time.

Travel factfile: For further information see www.molokai-hawaii.com or call Molokai Visitors Association, 1-880-800-6367, which will happily send you information on accommodations and attractions. www.muleride.com had information on availability of the mule trip.