When my wife and I got married, we couldn’t decide on where to go for our honeymoon. At the same time money was tight for me, so I was hesitant of a lavish international trip. Instead, we opted for the generic honeymoon-in-Hawaii. At first I was a bit nervous that it wasn’t going to be all the it was hyped up to be. I hadn’t done much research on what to do.. figured we’d just go with the flow. Thankfully Oahu didn’t disappoint - we loved everything about it. The beaches, weather, adventure, hikes, culture - and most of all that we were still in the States. We promised ourselves that every 5 year anniversary we’d come back, but to a different island. After three years and a Costco Travel flash-sale, we couldn’t wait any longer. A 5-night, 6 day trip was booked.
For Maui, I came prepared. This was the first time I ever bought a book specific for a place I was going to visit (most stuff can be found online for free, right?). My wife heard of a book called ‘Maui Revealed’ which came highly recommended. I began skimming though it at Barnes and Nobles when I caught myself 20-pages deep. It was a gold mine. BEST $20 I ever spent.
Most of everything I am going to mention will be from that book. The authors accounted for everything - it provides the history of the Islands, weather on each side of the island, locations on where to stay, things to do, what to do when you get to where you want to go, where to park, what shops to visit/not visit, which hikes that are worth it and not, which waterfalls are actually good, beaches, food, activities and the best companies to go with (and why), stores to shop at - I mean EVERYTHING! SO I’m not going to steal their thunder and tell you what they had said, I’m just going to list out the things I picked out from the book that I decided to do. But trust me when I say Maui Revealed is well worth it (an no, I am in no way sponsored or have any connection with the ‘Maui Revealed’).
It was Labor Day weekend that we went to Hawaii. We arrived in the afternoon on Friday the 1st, of September, and departed on Wednesday, the 6th of September. The length of time was perfect; we saw everything we wanted, but left just a little out for us to maybe make a day trip from another island when we come back in the next 5 years (or 3). The Costco-Travel package we had came with the flight, put us at the Hyatt Regency Resort & Spa on the north west side of the island in Kaanapali, and included a full-size car. It was around midday when we landed. After a quick stop at Whale Lookout point - where I got yelled at for taking someones parking spot - we arrived at the Hyatt. The Hyatt lobby, and overall hotel layout was great. The lobby is open to the outdoors and allows a nice breeze to come in. The view from the room of the emerald blue ocean waters and sunsets was even better.
We dropped our stuff off and made our way up and around the north west peninsula of Maui. Our first stop was at the Dragon Tooth Trail which led to Makaluapuna Point. Awesome lava rock formations which sort of curve upwards due to the wind and waves that have shaped them. From there we drove over to Nakalele Blowhole and the Heart Shaped Rock. When driving up, look for “the Bellstone” on Google Maps near Anakaluahine Gulch; Just past it is a good size turnout for you to park. There are about 3-4 different signs from the parking lot all the way to the Nakalele Blowhole warning visitors to proceed at their own risk. I wouldn’t say it’s extremely dangerous, but I’m sure some idiot must have gotten too close (or tried to even look down the hole) and probably had a fatal accident. My recommendation: check it out for sure, but don’t get too close. Just know that if I can do it while carrying my 15 month-old daughter while in flip flops and not feel at all in danger, you can do it too. When and if you do get there, it may seem a bit lame as nothing dramatic is happening. It took me about 10 minutes of just waiting for a big enough wave to come and crash into the rocks underneath in order to get a half decent photo of water shooting up the Blowhole. Just on the other side of the Blowhole is the awesome Heart Shaped Rock. If you stand at a slanted angle just right, you’ll have a view of a nearly perfect heart shape carved out of the rock with the ocean and Maui landscape in the background.
Another 10 minutes or so of driving, we parked at a small turnout just past “the Bellstone” (it’s on Google Maps) to the Olivine Pools. That ‘Maui Revealed’ book highly recommended this spot. We walked down the trail and turned the corner, and right below was the natural pools with the ocean crashing behind them. Unfortunately we had left all of our swimming clothes back at the hotel, so after capturing a few photos, we decided to head back. If you were craving a snack, go to Simply Sweets Bakery. On our way back we stopped at Aloha Mixed Plate for some dinner. Good food, good sized plates, and a good view. It was about 8 PM by the time we head back to the hotel to sleep. We had an early morning the next day.
Sunrise at Haleakala
You can’t just go. You have to secure one of the limited number of tickets from the National Park Service. Luckily, my wife has skills in waiting online with 3 laptops (from her University days) until the the website opened and released the 40 additional tickets allowed. With the confirmation email on my phone, we were set. Google Maps told me it would take about 2 hours, whereas according to the National Park Service’s website, they said it would take about 3 and a half hours from Lahaina (just south of Kaanapali where the Hyatt is). Unsure of what to make of it, I settled for a departure time of 2:30AM with a sunrise time of 6:02 AM. Sure enough, Google was right. It was by 4:30AM when we arrived at the summit of Haleakala. It was about 38 degrees fahrenheit at the top.. freezing. Although we had thick jackets with us, we decided it was better worth our time to take a 45 minute nap in the car with the heater.
Watching the sunrise at Haleakala is something magical. At 10,000+ feet high, and the clouds that roll in and cover Haleakala in the mornings, its like watching the sun pop up out of the clouds. I set my tripod up just behind the swarm of people that stood outside of the Summit Building to watch the show. The lack of sleep, frigid temperature and dealing with the annoying crowds was worth it. As soon as the sun popped out, the warmth overtook the chills. The sky went from a dark, lavender tone to a golden blue. It was unreal!
We soaked in as much as we could, then made our way to Kalahaku Overlook and Leleiwi Overlook hikes. Both give you a slightly different view of crater. It looks as though you are on Mars.. but on Earth. Just look at these pictures:
By now we were hungry so we made our way over to Grandma’s Coffeehouse. Coffee: great. Waffle: great. Omelette: over seasoned a bit salty. With plenty of day light left, we made our back over to Iao Valley and checked out the Iao Valley Monument. It looked like we were driving through the set of Jurassic Park. Large, lush green hills on either side, a stream cutting through the middle, and beautiful birds chirping away.
Next was Front Street in Lahaina. Good luck trying to find street parking on this restaurant and shop packed street. We ate Hawaiian shaved ice from Ululani’s Hawaiian Shave Ice as we strolled through the Banyan Tree park, the Old Fort, and the many shops along the street. As we finished our souvenir shopping, we caught a glimpse of one of the most beautiful sunsets I had ever seen. The sky transitioned from a bright light blue, to a deep blue, then to a red-peach-lavender with the golden sun rays bouncing off of the puffy clouds. We swung down to Leoda’s Kitchen and Pie Shop for some pastrami sandwiches and banana cream pie. A must get if you go. We went to bed early again, not only from exhaustion, but because we had yet another early morning the next day.
Snorkeling at Molokini Crater
Costco also offered a snorkeling excursion which we happy opted for. After having gone through it, and having read Maui Revealed, I wish they had offered more than one vendor to choose from. Nevertheless, it was a first for all three of us, and turned out to be an epic event. It was 7:30AM when we arrived at the designated meeting spot in Maalaea Harbor. We found signs for the Pride of Maui and filled in line to fill out the required waiver forms and instructions. Once on the boat, a half-decent continental breakfast spread was laid out for everyone. It took about an hour to finally arrive at the first of two snorkeling locations at Molokini Crater. We put our daughter in her infant life vest, put our snorkeling gear on and flippers, and queued up to jump in. The employees of the Pride of Maui were amazing; they jumped in the water, took my daughter from me as I situated myself into the warm waters. I got my bearings right, took hold of my daughter, and floated around black, yellow, and orange colored fish. My daughter loved it. She kicked the water and sang all the songs she knew. Since my iPhone was already waterproof, we had purchased a two-pack lanyard holder for our phones to take pictures and record videos. Everything was great. We eventually made our way back on the boat and dried off before we made our way around the crater then back to another snorkeling spot on the other end of the crater. By 12:00PM everyone was back on the boat and barbecued burgers with potato salad and chips with drinks were served for lunch on the hour trek back to the harbor.
It was about 2:00PM by the time we made our way back to the hotel for some R&R. In the late afternoon we went down to the amazing pool at Hyatt where my daughter continued singing her songs as we enjoyed some pool time. We picked up some sushi from Japango and ate it in our room as we Netflix’d it up.
Road to Hana
At 7:00AM we made our way to one of the best breakfast buffets I ever had in a hotel. There were 4 different types of omelettes, fruits galore, smoked salmon, 10 different assortments of toast, granola and yogurt, muffins and cupcakes, pastries, etc. By 8:00 AM we were in the car and en route to Hana. This is yet another reason why I would highly recommend Maui Revealed. With over 20 different waterfalls to visit on the way to and past Hana, the Authors of Maui Revealed did an excellent job of detailing which waterfalls are worth the hikes, where to park, and how to best access the unofficial hikes. We skipped Twin Falls and instead took their recommendation of hiking through a dense bamboo forrest to Na'ili'ili-haele Stream & Waterfall. Be sure to tred carefully across the stream; I stupidly took my slippers off and slipped on the age-covered rocks! No worries though, as it was only maybe a few inches of water I fell in. From there we made a quick bathroom break at Kaumahina State Wayside, got a freshly cut coconut from Garden of Eden Arboretum with the wild peacocks, then stretched our legs at the Keanae Lookout. Next was the locals favorite hangout at Ching's Pond, where I saw 10 year old kids jump 30 high into a narrow but gorgeous pond. Back on the road, we stopped and hiked to Upper Waikani Falls, West Wailua Iki Falls, Pua'a Ka'a Falls, Hanawi Falls, and saw Makapipi Falls from the side of the road. Each waterfall had their own charm, depth of fresh water to swim in and ferociousness. At Waianapanapa State Park, also known as Black Sand Beach, we wet our toes in the black lava san beach. Theres a pretty cool little cave to the side which you can squeeze through which had an opening with ocean water crashing in. We tried to make it to Braddah Hutts - Island Style Barbeque, which unfortunately was closed by the time we arrived. Instead we got some delicious fish tacos from the food truck right next door. Back in the car, we drove past Paihi Falls and Wailua Falls before we made it to Seven Sacred Pools at Ohe’o. These pools are also apart of the Haleakala National Park. My annual National Park pass came in clutch yet again. This is where I would recommend taking a proper bathroom stop. They are very clean with proper soap and hand towels. The pools themselves were closed due to a fatal accident which happened a few months before we visited, so instead we took our pictures and hopped back in the car to home. On the backside of Maui its mostly dirt road, and its here where I wish I had opted for a cool 4x4 Jeep. The Camry we had made it without any problems, but a Jeep would have made it a bit more adventurous. It was about 8:30PM when we finally made it back to the Hotel.
As you can imagine, by now we needed a chill day. We made sure to enjoy the breakfast buffet again, then took a trip to the local Costco to pick up the world-famous Hawaiian chocolate-covered macadamia nuts. 24 boxes please (two 12-packs). Back at the hotel, we took a pleasant stroll along Kaanapali Beach, got some Starbucks, went back into the Hyatt Pool, wet out feet at Kaanapali Beach, ordered some room service and enjoyed yet another amazing sunset. With everything packed, we fell asleep.
One last all-out feast at the buffet before we made our way to the airport. Dropped off the car and checked in at the airport on the totally awesome Hawaiian Airlines. Be sure to fly Hawaiian. They served an awesome meal both en route to and on the way back from the Island, had 3 different drink-services with snacks and all. See you again in 5 years (or maybe 3) lovely Hawaii!
Maui, Hawaii [2017] Photos
0 Comments
|
AuthorThis is the world through my lens. Categories
All
Archives
November 2017
|