Maui Beaches and Snorkeling (Part 3)

After coming back down to sea level, we found the campground that we were planning to stay at. They don't take reservations, so we weren't sure how busy they would be. It turned out to be a fine place to stay. The sites were a little small and the outdoor showers were closed in by bamboo that did not really provide privacy and didn't have doors on them...

There were all kinds of critters around the campsite as well. Danielle and Ruth found a whole bunch of cockroaches near the port-a-potties on the first night. This is one of 2 scorpions that we saw. This one was under our tent when we were taking it down.

On Saturday morning, we decided to explore the south shore of Maui. We looked through our guidebook and found a couple of beaches that looked promising and headed out. Our first stop was Kalepolepo which was a little off the beaten path, but well worth it! There was this crazy thing going on where there was enough time between waves for a wave going out was able to form. At some point that wave would run into the wave coming in. The wave would double in size and come crashing to shore! It was a lot of fun!

Playing in the sand at Kalepolepo Beach

Body surfing!

We were really keeping a close eye on the girls here! They really love the waves though!

When it was close to lunch time we headed to Big Beach and the waves were really coming in! We found a slightly protected spot to swim with the girls and had a great swim and walk on the beach. After a while, I wanted to go to Kihei to check out an education center run by NOAA that has recently opened. Turned out they were closed at 3 o'clock on a Saturday afternoon, which was pretty disappointing. So, we decided to head south again to a black sand beach that we read about. The roads must have changed quite a bit since the guidebook description was written, so we ended up walking quite a way. It was another beautiful beach and the sand was a neat mix of red, black, yellow, and white grains (we've got some for you Petra!!).

Big Beach! It stretched for three-quarters of a mile or so.

At the end of Big Beach, a nice somewhat protected area with fun swimming!

Black sand

The view from the Black Sand beach back over to West Maui.


Sunday was a trip that we were really looking forward to! We were doing a full day snorkel trip to Molokini Crater off of Maui and to a bay off of Lana'i. We went with the Pacific Whale Foundation. The captain and crew did a great job! The water was crystal clear. We saw a ton of fish, beautiful coral and even got to see all 3 dolphin species when we were traveling from Molokini to Lana'i (spotted, bottlenose, and spinner). The food was good and the drinks on the return from Lana'i to Maui really capped off the day! We had a couple of hours to kill, so we headed to the town of Pa'ia. We walked the beach, then did a little window shopping (Danielle found a very cute hat, that I'll have to get a picture of), and finally got a nice dinner from a little hole in the wall place. The trip back to O'ahu on the superferry was much less rocky and we even managed to catch a couple of minutes of sleep.


Starting the day!

Our first stop...Molokini Crater! Clear water, red pencil urchins, lots of species of fish!

I think that this is a bottlenose.

And a spinner riding our bow!

Watching for dolphins and hanging out! Between Molokini and Lana'i.

A last look at Lana'i before heading back after a long, fun filled day!

But not before a virgin pina colado for the kids!

and something a little stronger for the adults!