Maui, Hawai'i

Wednesday 15 May

We’re flying over to Maui today, but our flight isn’t until lunchtime, so we can allow ourselves a lazy morning.  I’m up early and take my new running shoes out again, then we take a stroll into town to find some breakfast.  Once we’re packed up and ready to go we head to Kona airport, where you can combine waiting for your flight with sunbathing.

Our flight time today is a gob-smacking 17 minutes.  We’re barely up before we come back down again into Maui.

After the relative quiet of the Big Island, Maui feels like the big smoke.  There’s a queue for car hire and the highways are dual carriageway.  Counteracting all this are the wild chickens that are everywhere – yes, including at the airport/carhire.  We’re a little later than expected getting to our accommodation and we get there to find ourselves locked out.   It’s a minor inconvenience and soon we’re in.

We’ve booked a self-catering unit for the 5 nights we here – it feels like the ultimate luxury to be able to unpack, put washing on and fill up the fridge with groceries.

Still, I’m finding these everyday tasks a bit taxing, so the first chance I get I pop down to the beach for a swim and a cool down. Ah, that’s better.

We have a quiet night in trying to remember how to cook for ourselves and catching up on some Internet time.

Thursday 16 May

I’m up early for a quick, exploratory run into town.  Later, we take a more leisurely stroll in.  We’re staying in Lahaina – an old whaling port that has managed to convert into bustling tourist hub whilst still maintaining much of its historic charm.  It’s all low-rise, wood paneled buildings crammed right up against the seafront. 

There’s a giant banyan tree that takes up a whole block, and a lovely beach that’s been taken over by surf schools. 

We take a stroll through the shops, watch the novices take on the waves and then head back.

We’ve decided to check out the beaches that lie to the south of us today, so we pack up a picnic lunch and head as far south as we can get on the road.  We come to La Perouse Bay – a rather wild and windswept place.  The sea is much to rough for swimming, but it’s perfect for watching daredevil surfers take on scary looking waves.

We have our lunch and then head back up the coast to Makena State Park in search of a swim and some sun-bathed sand.  We find both at the aptly named Big Beach.  It’s a broad swathe of soft, caramel sand. 

I’d like to say it’s lapped by turquoise waves, but slammed would be more apt.  There’s a very shallow shore break here, and towering waves.  Still, it kinda looks fun, so we give it a go.  Getting out is not too bad: we take a break in the waves and swim furiously to get beyond where they’re breaking.  Here we can bob up and down in the silky swell.  It’s wonderful.  Getting back out is not so easy…  Nick manages it on his second attempt, but I can’t get beyond the fearsome drag that kicks in after the waves break.  To avoid the towering waves about to break on my head I swim back out again.  This keeps happening, much to the amusement of the gathering crowd on the beach.  I’m not in any danger (although my pride may be), but I am getting rather worried that an over-zealous lifeguard might jump in to pull me out.  Before that happens I manage to get close enough to shore for Nick to haul me in.  Exhausted but still giggling I collapse on the sand.

The drive home takes us past more beaches and plenty of condos/hotels.  By the time we get in it’s late afternoon – just about right for a few beers, some food and bed.

Friday 17 May

We’re up early today as we’re planning to spend the day at Haleakala National Park, home of Maui’s gigantic (but dormant) volcano.  It takes us a good 2 hours or so to drive up the road which rises from sea level to over 10 ,000 ft in 38 miles.  It’s a bright morning and the views are stupendous. 

By the time we reach the top the clouds are starting to build already and we don’t get a clear view of the crater (which apparently is large enough to hold Manhattan).  On the plus side, we have clear views over to the Big Island and can finally see it’s two volcanoes (which were cloaked in cloud the whole time we were there).

We set off hiking into the crater, but only hike 2 miles down.  It’s enough to reward us with moonscapes and some close up views of cinder cones.  It’s a bit harder work coming up, but it’s still only mid-morning once we reach the summit again.

We drive a little way down to another hiking trail.  This one is completely covered in cloud.  We follow it for a mile or so and whilst it’s a fairly easy walk through pretty vegetation, it’s chilly in the cloud and we can’t see much, so backtrack to the car.  We have an early lunch and then wind our way back down to sea level.

We have time for another stop off on the way back: ‘Iao Valley Sate Park.  The short drive and scenic walk allow us to experience some of the lushness of West Maui’s mountains.  The main sight here is the ‘Iao needle – a green finger of rock steeped in Hawai’in mythology and history.

It doesn’t take long to get back and, despite the rain in the mountains, it’s sunny and warm on the beaches.  We take a stroll over to Baby Beach to enjoy the sunshine.

We’re treating ourselves to a night out tonight, so as the sun is setting we walk into town and find a convenient balcony bar for a few beers.  Then we get lucky with an ocean-side table at Cheeseburgers in Paradise for (you guessed it) cheeseburgers.

Saturday 18 May

Today is our day to explore the beaches north of us and we start off by heading about as far up as we can go.  This brings us out at Honolua Bay – one of Maui’s prime snorkeling spots.

It’s a beautiful, sheltered bay reached by a five minute walk through lush, jungle-like vegetation.  Wild chickens roam the rocky beach.  The water is wonderfully calm and we don’t waste anytime jumping in.  The coral is lovely and there are fish a plenty.  The highlight for me is when a turtle manages to sneak up on Nick, frightening the life out of him – I nearly drown myself in a fit of hysterics.  We swim out and around the point into the next bay, finding another couple of turtles and a reef shark along the way. 

We make our way back to shore and pull ourselves out with tired arms. It’s lunchtime and we’re starving, so we head towards the glitzy side of Maui – Ka’anapali.  Along the way we encounter another oddity of Maui’s weather: within a few miles we hit torrential rain although we’ve stayed dry all morning.  Another few miles takes us back out into sunshine again.

There is a beautiful, long beach here backed by Maui’s finest hotels with manicured lawns, crisp golf courses and beachside bars.  There’s a gentle walking path that winds us past all the hotels and we soak up the luxury, stopping in a cheesy café for toasted sandwiches.  We have a poke around the shops and then stretch our towels out on the soft, cushiony grass and enjoy the beach.  I could get used to this…

Sunday 19 May

We’ve got another big driving day ahead of us today, so we’re up early again.  This time we’re tackling the near legendary Road to Hana – a winding seaside road that clings to cliffs, swoops along bays and climbs through jungle, taking in 54 one-lane bridges and numerous waterfalls along the way.

It’s a beautiful drive, the only downside being it’s popularity: we’re in a train of hire cars and tour buses, all eager to snap our pics.  We stop for a quick nature walk through thick forest.  Then we strike it lucky: a tip in the guidebook leads us to a completely deserted swimming hole hidden from the road.  We have a beautiful swim in our own private waterfall before heading on. 

A little mid-morning cake stop gives us the energy to keep going and just before we reach Hana we stop at Wai’anapanapa State Park: home to a beautiful black sand beach, an impressive lava tube and some caves harbouring spring-fed pools.

We reach Hana and stop at the beach to eat our sandwiches.  It’s warm, but heavy and humid and it isn’t long before the rain comes in.  We’ve still got a long way to go, so get going. The road winds us along the coast and past a few more waterfalls, before depositing us at ‘Ohe’o Gulch.  Here we tackle a 4 mile round trip hike to some waterfalls.  It’s a glorious walk that takes us through lush jungle into a deep, dark bamboo forest (which seems a little out of place in Hawai’i). 

Our reward is the fantastic Waimoku Falls.  We drink in the scene and then retrace our steps.

All that hard work has left us hot and sweaty, so we stop off for a swim in the swimming holes – a cascade of waterfalls and pools dropping down to the sea.

Refreshed, we get back in the car and tackle the drive back.  It’s a little more than we’d anticipated – for the first 20 or so miles we’re on an almost single lane track clinging to the cliffs.  It’s wonderfully dramatic, but slow and rough, especially as the tarmac keeps giving way to gravel.  Still, it’s fantastic to find such a large slice of rural Hawai’i in glitzy Maui.  We pass through lush jungle, lava-strewn coast, fertile valleys with cattle grazing and into dry goat country.  I’m intrigued by the Jacaranda trees – I can’t help but associate them with Pretoria, which seems about as far removed from Maui as you can get.  We’re deposited back into civilization just in time to top up our gasping fuel tank. 

Janet adds: tomorrow we’re off to Kaua’i – woo hoo!  I can’t get enough of Hawai’i.