Last Night in Maui

Our flight out of Kahului, Maui was on Sunday the 26th at 12:40pm.  So Saturday night, after we got home from the Road to Hana trip, we splurged on a fancy seafood dinner at Nick's Fish Market.  We were recommended to go to Mama's Fish House in Paia, which looks delicious and festive, but after the long day, we decided to go somewhere closer to our hotel.  So we decided on Nick's Fish Market located at the Fairmont Kea Lani in Wailea.  Before our dinner reservation we had an hour to kill, to we went to Makena Beach, just a little further south, to explore.

Path thru lava flow

Makena Beach consists of 2 beaches, Big Makena Beach and Little Makena Beach.  The 2 beaches are separated by large hill created by a lava flow in the earthquake of 1790.  Little Makena Beach is only accessible by climbing up and over a path in the lava flow.  This is probably a good thing considering clothing is optional on Little Makena.  Makena Beach is one of the larger beaches in Maui with soft golden sand.  It is a good place to snorkel and was originally our planned snorkel spot, but the southern swell that day had changed our plans. (Not complaining much because I did get some awesome photos of a sea turtle at Black Rock Beach).  We decided to climb up the lava flow and wander out to the edge to catch a better view of Molokini Crater.  I must say... we need to come back one day and snorkel at Molokini Crater.  The crescent shape of the sunken crater is suppose to be an excellent backdrop protecting the reef from rough ocean waters.

Matt admiring Molokini Crater

Ahi Tiger Eye Sushi

Wandering around Makena Beach, we had worked up our appetites and were excited when it came time for our dinner reservations at Nick's Fish Market.  We ordered Ahi Tiger Eye Sushi for our appetizer.  Matt had the special of the day, Pacific Snapper, and I ordered the Grilled Hawaiian Opah.  They were so attentive and the food was delicious.  Vanilla Bean Creme Brulee and Sour Creme Ice Cream for dessert.  They even had a photographer to photograph each table and she used our camera to photograph us too! huzzah!

Pacific Snapper

Grilled Hawaiian Opah

Our time spent in Maui was such a pleasant experience that it was sad that we only had a few days to spend.  But at the same time, we were excited for the lush scenic views that Kauai promised.  Think the Road to Hana, but the whole island is green like that!  Can't wait!

The Road to Hana

Roads winding around Honomanu Bay
 

The Road to Hana, otherwise known as Divorce Highway, is 52 miles of winding road and one way bridges.  They say it has 620 curves and 59 bridges, 46 of those are one lane. Because of the all the twists and turns and precautions, there can be a lot of angst and frustration in a couple's car if they choose to navigate the roads on their own.  Thankfully, we were forewarned of this and it was highly suggested to us to take a tour instead.  Three good reasons (for us at least) to take the tour... 1) we can both enjoy the beautiful scenery as we weave in and out of the hills and valleys along Maui's eastern coastline, 2) with the tour, they take us one complete circle around the volcano instead of having to turn around and do the whole winding turns and single-lane bridges again, and 3) prevents Linda for screaming in fear and trying to grab the steering wheel away from Matt because he'll probably take the corners a little too fast.  Yes, number 3 says it all... for both of our sanities!

Rainbow Eucalyptus Tree

So early Saturday morning, we got ready and sat in the lobby waiting for our tour bus to pick us up, Discover Hawaii Tours.  First off, I'd like to say there's multiple tour groups that do the Road to Hana, such as the Polynesian Adventure Tours.  But I like that our group was smaller.. probably because it's not as well advertised as Polynesian Adventures... or we were just lucky.  Everytime I saw the other tour group's bus drive by, it was packed with people.  Our little group this time was a total of 9 people.  Easy to manage and not too many opinions. 

Pouhokamoa Falls & Pool

Anyhow, we enjoyed the personality of our tour guide/driver, Dennis.  He was funny and personable, which made the long winding road a blast.  And yes, he was informative as well.Things to look forward to on the Road to Hana are lush green rainforests.  The southeastern side of Maui receive more rain than the rest of Maui.  The limited road space and single bridges help to maintain the quaint and quiet lifestyle of Hana and spotted villages along the way.  Hana is the way undeveloped Hawaii should be, where Hawaiian traditions are more integrated in theses villages and  have the opportunity to enjoy nature as we should.  However, you do have some summer homes of the rich and famous like Oprah, Willie Nelson and Kris Kristofferson.

Wailua Falls (Maui)

Look forward to lush valley, black and red sand beaches, beautiful cliffs (some very scary too!) and majestic waterfalls along the road.

Seven Sacred Pools (Oheo Gulch)

Lilioki'ki Fruit

Every now and then we stopped of along the road to take in the scenery and take pictures... the Rainbow eucalyptus trees, wander around in state parks and of course some you can't miss waterfalls!  We also stopped off at a roadside store where we got to taste some fresh banana bread and Liliko'ko (passion fruit) fruit! yum yum!  We never felt rushed and I enjoyed Dennis's stories. Near the end... after all the twists and turns, we also stopped off at Tedeschi Winery for a wine tasting. Let me tell you, Pineapple wine is yummy delicious!
I highly recommend taking the tour (unless you plan on staying overnight in Hana).  Maybe one day we'll return and take on the road ourselves... there's so much to see.

Lava arch @ Waianapanapa State Park

Southwestern side of Haleakala

Antiques a Kaupo Store

Snorkeling with Sea Creatures in Maui

On our third day in Maui we decide to try our luck snorkeling in the search of sea turtles.  There is suppose to be a beautiful beach in the south called Big Makena and Little Makena that has good surfs and snorkeling when the water is calmer.  So we made our way to Snorkel Bob's first thing in the morning (8:30 am when they opened) to rent our snorkel gear.  We spent the extra $3/person to get better fitting and more comfortable gear.  It worked out well.  They also gave us some fish identifying cards and list of popular snorkeling sites.  Makena was listed, but the attendant informed us of a big southern swell that makes both the water dangerous and murky.  Instead we drove to the west side again (40 mins) to Black Rock beach, a near guaranteed sea turtle sighting.
The beach was soft and not too packed.  Armed with two water cameras, a 35mm and my olympus digital with a water casing, into the water we went.  We swam towards Black Rock where there were kids jumping into the water from the rocks.  Lots of fishes and the water was very blue.  We were greeted with Yellow Tangs, Moorish Idols, just to name a few.  Almost 3 hours later, in the shallower end, a big Green Sea Turtle (Honu) came swimming by.  Snap, Snap, Snap went the camera, as I swam along side it and tried to get pictures at multiple angles.  It made our day and was well worth the 40 min drive to the snorkel spot!

All tired out, swimming back to the quieter part of the beach where we left our towels, seemed like forever.  It was just after noon now.  We headed over to Hula Grill (in Whaler's Village) for a bite to eat.  The food was delicious... fried calamari steak with sweet chili sauce.... seafood asian pear salad... and a mango bbq pulled pork sandwich.  Very Ono (delicious)!
As if we didn't have enough snorkeling, we stopped off at mile marker 14 (Rt. 30) on the way home near a place called Olowalu.  Another popular snorkeling site.  We saw some Threadfin Butterflyfish, Pinktail Durgon and even a Manybar Goatfish!  While we did see plenty of fish, the southern swell did affect this spot a little, so pictures are a little murky than normal.
Finally... home we go, topping the day off with a short (very short) bike ride down the street to Wailea.  I guess the snorkeling must have taken a lot out of me.  But on the bike ride back to the hotel, we treated ourselves to some frozen yogurt and ice cream.  Mine, a strawberry mango frozen yogurt and matt's, a chocolate Kona coffee ice cream.  YUM!!

Old Lahaina & Luau

   After our trek up to Haleakala Summit to watch the sunrise, we took a good 2-3 hour nap.  A nap much needed after a 3am alarm blaring, making sure we were awake enough.  We had decided that evening we were going to enjoy dinner and a luau in old historical Lahaina.  If you want to go to a specific Luau, book early!  We were deciding between Old Lahaina Luau and the Feast of Lele, but Old Lahaina Luau was booked all three nights we were in town.  And we were on the waiting list for Feast of Lele too! (one small group before us).  Anyways, we got it for Thursday night.  It was about a 40 minute drive from Kihei, right up the western coast.  The view was beautiful, laced with a few scenic lookouts and snorkeling spots.  We stopped a few times to take pictures ;)

   When we arrived a Lahaina, we were greeted with a bustling touristy town, but full of history.  It was once the capital of the Kingdom of Hawaii and then later on a big global whaling industry.  Full of little shops to look at, the pier--once for whalers, now for the snorkeling tours and a giant Banyan Tree.  It's said to be the largest Banyan tree outside of India... and it's very difficult to get a whole shot of the tree.  All those roots/trunk behind the bench on the left are actually part of the same gigantic tree.  Impressive!  We continued to checked out the shops and got myself these board shorts that a pattern appears when it gets wet at Crazy Shirt.  Very cool!  There's a lot of local artists that you can admire in their galleries too.  If you're lucky, the artist is there and you can chat them up... and ask where they went to snorkel with the sea turtles to get his inspiration.

Hawaiian course with Roast Pork & Poi

   Finally, it was about check-in time for the Feast of Lele.  The luau is located right on the beach and a gorgeous view of the sunset.  The tables are a slight series of tiered steps that help you see past so of the previous tables, so I would say that most seating is pretty good.  As you enter, you are greeted with Orchid Leis (yes Matt, they are real) and either a Mai Tai or a non-alcoholic guava-something punch.  Both were delicious!  The menu... plentiful! so I highly suggest you pace yourself and possibly not eat all of it because there's likely to be another course after.  The luau is setup into 4 parts, one for each area--Hawaii, New Zealand, Tahiti and Samoa.  Each culture is experience through 3 food dishes and dance show.  And dessert to follow!  Unlimited drink specials... so after I polished off my Mai Tai, I went for the Hawaiian Punch (midori, amaretto, southern comfort and malibu?)... either way, it was delicious and filled with my favorite liqueurs. Lastly, the classic Blue Hawaiian.  Matt even got a Lava Flow, which is a pina colada overflowing with strawberries!  Just like a delicious smoothie... very dangerous ;)
All it in all, it was a very pleasant experience.  There was some down time if you were down taste testing your food and the show for that island was done as well... so we could walk around a little and take pictures before the next course came out.  When we had booked the Luau they asked is we were celebrating a special occasion (our honeymoon) so our dessert came out in a special display with congratulations and aloha written in chocolate.  Yum!

Sunrise at Haleakala National Park

   Haleakala National Park is on the southeastern part of Maui.  Sunrise at Haleakala was at 5:35am.  Considering the 6 hour time difference between Maui and New Jersey, we decided it would be easiest on our first day before we adjusted to the time change.  So we left at 3:30 am for about a 1.5 hr drive from Kihei.  Once we started the climb to the summit, it was a dark and winding road.  I must say, I was screaming at Matt to slow down!  lol... we made it safely up just shortly after 5pm.
Cold and windy, temperatures had dropped to about 40F at the summit. We had on long sleeved thin sweatshirts and windbreakers on and we were still cold!  So I wrapped myself up in a beach towel... but I highly suggest some gloves... our fingers were pretty numb out there trying to take pictures.

 

   After the sun was fully up, we wandered around a little taking scenic photos and pictures of the plant life.  It's also like a desert up here around the volcano!  But definitely still so breathtaking.  We were even fortunate to see a Silversword plant. A rare endangered plant found only on the

Silversword of Haleakala (Maui)

island of Maui, and nevertheless, at an elevation of 6,900 to 9,800 ft.  Too bad it wasn't flowering then.

   The wait.. the cold... the early rise... completely worth it.  The view was magnificent!  Between the glow of the sun over the horizon and some smaller peaks and the rolling fluffy clouds below us, it was breathtaking.  We took many many pictures and walked around the area after the sun was up.  There's a couple of lookout points prior to the summit observatory that you can see the sunrise from.  About 7am we began our descend.  It was back to the hotel for a morning a nap before we head out to Lahaina and the Feast of Lele.

Arriving in Maui

Flying in from Newark, NJ took a total of 12 hrs in the air.  We had a brief layover in LA where we found the airport to be partly under construction.  However, we grabbed our lunch and hopped back onto the plane.  We arrived early evening on Wednesday, June 22nd and picked up our wheels... a 2 door Nissan Altima.  Luckily, I brought my GPS  and we cruised down the highway towards our hotel in Kihei.  First view of Maui was definitely tropical with beautiful blue waters, but not as "green and lush" as you typically think Hawaii is.  Kihei is a small city with a mix of locals and tourists.  Kihei is considered to be in the southern part of Maui, where most tourists tend to stay more on the western side.  We stayed at the Maui Coast Hotel which is right across the street from Kamaole Beach I.  Many of the beaches in the south were all within 10 minutes away.  I had picked this location because I knew I wanted to see the sunrise at Haleakala Crater on the eastside... driving from the westside may have been too tiring that early in the morning.  However, you're more likely to get southern swells and rough waters in the south.  Good for surfing and boarding... but not always snorkeling. (but there are suppose to be some good snorkeling spots in the south too).  Anyways... 6 hr time difference from NJ... so we took an early night with the plan to wake up early for the sunrise.