Captain Cook, Hawaii by Honaunau-Napoopoo. Hawaii Route 11, part of the Hawaii Belt Road, passes through the community, leading north to Kailua-Kona and south to Naalehu. Hawaii Route 160 diverges from Route 11 in Captain Cook, leading south by a winding road to Napoopoo on Kealakekua Bay. According to the United States Census Bureau, the Captain Cook CDP has a total area of , all of it land. Most of Captain Cook lies between the and elevation, which makes it ideal as a coffee-growing region. It sits on the top of an ancient fault which created the famous Kealakekua Bay. Prior to the
Kidnapping of Kalaniʻōpuʻu by Captain James Cook as a series of mistakes. The idea or suggestion that the Native Hawaiians considered Cook to be the God Lono himself is considered to be inaccurate and is attributed to William Bligh. It is possible that some Hawaiians may have used the name of Lono as a metaphor when describing Cook or other possible explanations other than Hawaiians mistaking the explorer for their own deity. On the following morning of 14 February 1779, Cook and his men launched from "Resolution" along with a company of armed marines. They went directly to the ruling chief's enclosure where Kalaniʻōpuʻu was still sleeping.