For now, I'll just put up links. Sooner or later, maybe, I'll design full pages. Time is of the essence, but it's also fleeting... I've got a lot of work to do to pay for this vacation.
West Side - Kihei, Wailea, Lahaina, et al- As I mentioned our hotel was on the west end of Maui, in the town of Kihei. Most of the resorts and tourist spots are located on this side, probably due to the relatively flat terrain and consistent climate. The east side of the island is rugged and wet. I'm glad, after getting a chance to see the east side in its current state, that the development hasn't really run amock over there.
Anyway, I don't have a ton of digital photos from the west side. We did a lot of snorkeling, and I didn't want to carry the camera in the water. Plus, there are warnings everywhere to tourists not to leave any valuables in your rental car, as these cars are targeted by smash-and-grab thieves. So I didn't take the camera if we weren't going to be carrying it. For the most part, I left the convertible parked with the top down to let folks know there was nothing there to steal. As far as I can tell, nobody bothered it.
Here are a couple of shots I did manage to get, though, while we were playing "tourist".
Lahaina - this is supposed to be the biggest banyan tree in the US. It was planted in 1873, and covers over 2/3 of an acre. Seems like I remember a similar claim to a banyan tree in Key West, but regardless... this was one BIG tree. Kat's standing beside one of the feeder trunks (an "adventitious root", technically).
The Road to Hana- After spending a couple of days on the arid west end of the island, we heard so much about the beautiful drive to Hana that we decided to go for it. We were well warned and prepared that the road is long and winding. It's a 52 mile drive and average drive time is 3 hours. There are something like 16 one-lane bridges, and 160+ curves, many of them hairpins. But it was every bit as awe inspiring as we'd heard, and there are several great places to stop and hike, take pictures, or even go to the beach along the way.
One of the first stops is a place called Twin Falls. However, waterflow this year was pretty low, and the falls were hardly more than a trickle. Still, it's a nice little hike into the jungle, and a great introduction to this side of the island.
The Great White Explorer standing below Twin Falls
The falls - Not a lot to it, but I can see where it could be beautiful with a good flow
There is tropical fruit growing wild all over the place. Mangos, papaya, breadfruit, and avocado were common. Coconuts and bananas can be found too, although I'm not sure if the bananas are native... I did find them growing in the forest. At the time I was there, (early October) the guavas are simply falling off the trees. Very tasty!
The Great White Guava hunter SCORES!
If you stopped to take photos at all the scenic spots, you'd never get to Hana. Some folks I spoke to back at the hotel recommended going and spending the night in Hana, so you have time to enjoy everything. It's a great idea, but not part of the plan for this week. So we stopped at some of the more picturesque spots, but a lot of what we saw is only recorded in our memories. Here's some more of what we did capture.
Roadside Waterfall with me and Kat (Self Portrait)
Scenery from the Road to Hana Kat doesn't look all that impressed here, but that's because she didn't want to be in the picture.
After Hana the road goes a bit further before becoming sort of treacherous. According to our map, driving beyond that point would violate my rental agreement. I decided not to push my luck. However, below Hana you enter the edge of the Haleakala National Park (a park pass is required... $10 per car). Just inside the park is Ohe'o Gulch or Kipahulu. It's often referred to in tourist brochures as "The Seven Sacred Pools", but there are several pools (over 20) and so far as any native Hawaiians know, there's nothing particularly sacred about any of them.
They're a beautiful place to relax after driving the Hana Highway, though, with cold, clear water and gorgeous waterfalls.
Ohe'o Gulch emptying into the Pacific
Kat at the edge of the lowest pool
One more shot of the pool and waterfall And no, I don't know the girl in the white bikini.
Horseback Riding on Haleakala- One of the excursions I dearly wanted to make was a horseback ride up Haleakala volcano and into the crater with an operation called Pony Express Tours . It's about a five hour ride, including a stop for lunch. I called to book on the first day we arrived, and was told that they were totally booked up for the week. They put me on the waiting list, but it didn't look hopeful. We looked at a couple of other horseback options, and made a couple more calls.
Finally, we booked a 2.5hr ride and lunch trail ride along the mountain side on a private ranch. As many tourist excursions do, this trip had a 48 hour cancellation policy. So, of course, the day before the ride Pony Express called me back and said they had to slots available. I couldn't cancel the shorter trip without losing my money, so I had to settle for what I could get.
Turns out, the ride was still very nice, and quite scenic. One day, I'll go back and ride the crater though.
Here are a few shots we took on the trail.
Kat, getting to know her mount
A little more scenery from the ranch
A little more scenery from the ranch
Flora and Fauna- Maui is covered in all kinds of beautiful flowers and plants. On a short walk through the jungle, you'll encounter plants and trees that many gardeners in other places covet and treasure. Hibiscus and bouganvillea, among others, grow like weeds. I suppose if I were a more dedicated photographer, I'd have captured a lot more of these specimens through the lens. But they became so commonplace, I didn't even think to take their pictures. Here's one beauty that was just growing along a trail.
Maui Flower I have no idea what it is.
There isn't a lot of terrestrial mega-fauna on the Hawaiian islands. The majority of native species are birds and reptiles. Introduced species such as mongoose, rats, sheep, goats, pigs, and axis deer do roam the islands, and they do some significant habitat damage... especially to the indigenous plants and animals. I guess there are people who would argue that this is merely evolution at work, but it still bugs me a lot. Anyway, I didn't get any photos of native Hawaiian wildlife, except for this little guy who would join us daily for breakfast.
I think that's about it for the Maui photos. All in all, it was a great trip and much better than I'd anticipated. I would like to plan a return some day, especially if I can spend more than a week. There are a lot of things I didn't get to this time that I'd still like to do, including sport fishing, SCUBA, that horseback ride to the crater, and some wild pig and sheep hunting over on the Big Island. I've also heard great things about the island of Kaui, and would love to explore that and some of the outer islands as well. With the exception of Pearl Harbor, I don't know that there's a lot on Oahu for my tastes, but there's only one way to find out for sure... Stay Tuned!
Now, on to the second leg of the trip... Baja! East Cape kayak fishing!
