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!

Haleakala (Maui Part 2)

For our first night in Haleakala National Park, we camped in a Park Service campsite called Hosmer Grove. It was at elevation 7,000 feet and quite a bit colder than we've experienced in quite a while! Even the nights at elevation in Kaua'i weren't this cold! We saw a group of 6 i'iwi, which is an endangered forest bird.
Fleece pajamas, hats, and gloves!!

We woke up really early to make the half hour drive to the summit of Haleakala to watch the sunrise over the crater. Then we had to drive back down, pick up our gear, and get our permit to spend the night in the crater.
Brrrr.....

But the sunrise was definitely worth the cold, early rise!


We hit the trail by about 10 a.m. and started down the Sliding Sands trail. We had 7.5 miles ahead of us to our campsite. The trail was like hiking on the thicker sand of a beach. Gabbi and Jacqui did great! They each carried a backpack with their clothes. We passed a group that was taking a horse tour into the crater. Then they passed us while we ate lunch when we were getting close to the bottom. Getting ready for sliding sands!

Some parts of the hike really felt like we were on the moon.

The silversword plants were absolutely beautiful! They had an almost iridescent shine and the ones that were in bloom smelled wonderful. It produces its huge flowering spike only once after growing for about 20 years. They are endemic to Hawai'i and are only present at high altitudes.

Maybe they wouldn't mind if we just borrowed one....

Very interesting lava formations.


When we got to the campsite, we set up camp then went down to the water source (a spigot) to filter water. A couple of very friendly nene (hawaiian goose) visited us and drank from our pot.
There's always time and energy for gymnastics!

The quiet and stillness of being in the crater, was like no other experience we've had in Hawai'i yet. Part of the crater was considered a cloud forest and the clouds were level with the inside of the crater, so for a while, we were totally in the clouds.


The view of the stars from in the crater was absolutely breathtaking. I really wish that I had a tripod to attempt a reasonable picture, but it wouldn't have done it justice. I had a hard time picking out the constellations that I did know because all of the stars were so bright! On Friday (Danielle's birthday!), we took our time getting started and were treated to African dance in the crater. The hike out was about 4 miles and almost all uphill. We made it and I caught a ride to pick up our car. I was actually pretty surprised that even though I was in the Park at a designated hiker pick-up/hitch-hiking spot, the first 13 cars that I saw went right by. But, a friendly couple from Oregon finally picked me up and I completed the trip for the car!

We are so done with this hike!

After a stop at the Visitor Center for the girls to pick up their Junior Ranger badges, we started back down toward sea level.

Poems

Gabbi has been working on writing poems. Here are some examples!!

The Beach
one day I walked the beach
and saw the sunset.
I fell into the ocean
and I had my little pet.
we crawled back to the sand
all soaking wet.

The Fine
Once upon a time
I had to pay a fine.
It wasn't money I had to pay
It was a poem I had to say.
The poem it was so funny,
It made hop like a bunny.

The next poem was inspired by Shel Silverstein's book "Runny Babbit"
(see if you can figure it out, she had a lot of fun writing it.)

Runny's Tiggly Wooth
Runny Babbit had a tiggly wooth.
He was scery vared.
Fallowing was his swear
And it hade mim sceally rared.

Maui Part 1 - Superferry and winding roads

We took a 5 day trip to Maui last week (Oct 1 - 5). We decided to give the superferry a try. It started last December (amid controversy) and runs from Honolulu to Kahului, Maui. It was shut down for a few months because of environmental and cultural concerns. It started with trips to Maui and Kaua'i, but has suspended trips to Kaua'i until the community (on Kaua'i) agrees to welcome the ferry.

The boat was scheduled to leave at 6:30 Wednesday morning and since we were bringing our car, we needed to arrive an hour and a half early. The boarding process was very smooth and the ferry left about a half hour early. We had nice views of Honolulu, Diamond Head, and Makapu'u Point on the way. After we passed Makapu'u, the seas picked up a bit (much to the chagrin of Danielle and Jacqui). The Alaka'i channel that separates O'ahu from Moloka'i can be one of the roughest in the world as the trade winds funnel waves between the islands. It was definitely rocking...

The view of Diamond Head from the ocean.

Sunrise over the Pacific.
So far, so good! (Rough seas await...)

Once we got to the leeward side of Moloka'i, the ride calmed considerably. We had nice views of the south side of Moloka'i and the north sides of Lana'i and Maui. Three and a half hours later, we pulled into the port in Kahului.

Getting some fresh air once we made it around Moloka'i.


East Moloka'i

During the ride, we decided to head about 12 miles west to check out the "Olivine Pools" that we read about in "Maui Revealed". The ride there was pretty incredible. The winding road reminded us of the ride to Yosemite, except that it was raely wide enough for 2 cars. We had to back up twice to let others pass. We definitely were not disappointed when we got there. The north coast is quite rocky and the waves (yes, the same ones that we had encountered on the other side of Moloka'i) were pounding the lava shores. There were some protected pools that actually had some fish in them that the girls just had to swim in. They didn't have their suits with them, so undies had to do... Ruth jumped in with her clothes on with them and I just couldn't resist the opportunity to strip down to my boxers and take a dip!


The view back along the north coast.


The path to the Olivine Pools had some great rock formations.

The surf was not inviting, but was really cool to watch!


Just 20 feet back from the surf in the previous picture...

Hey, those people actually brought bathing suits!

If it wasn't for those feet, I'd think I saw a mermaid!

Say cheese.

The rocks were a really neat mix of lava and minerals.

After a quick roadside stand stop for "The best banana bread in the world" (it was really good, and unbelievably moist). We geared up for the drive from sea-level to 7,000 feet for camping!

Maunawili Falls

Danielle, Gabbi, Jacqui and Ruth hiked Maunawili Falls earlier this week. It's a popular hike here in Kailua along a muddy path to a beautiful waterfall with a nice pool below for swimming!