Maui
If you have any doubt that Maui is one of the top vacation destinations in the world, you have only to walk past all of the high rise hotels on the beach in Kaanapali. Each hotel has an elaborate swimming pool surrounded by hundreds of lounge chairs and each advertises its own luau and offers beach chairs, sand toys, and beach massages. Add to this the thousands of people enjoying the sun and it's a bit overwhelming, looking a lot like a tropical version of the Las Vegas strip.
Of course, Maui is also the island of 10,000 condominiums, and since we were there for the National Park, we opted for one of these on the Wailea coast and made a good choice. Ours provided a restful retreat set in a tropical garden with a beach pavilion next to the swimming pool and gated access to the beach itself. The first evening we discovered we had a stunning view of the sun setting behind the island of Lana'i and from then on, saluting the sunset from our deck became a near-daily ritual.
Sunset View from the deck of our rented condo.In addition to the National Park, we had to visit the Iao Valley which Mark Twain called the 'Yosemite of the Pacific' and ride the LKP steam railroad, the famous Sugar Cane Train. We also made the journey to Hana on the road best known for sharp curves, one-lane bridges, black sand beaches and beautiful waterfalls. Along the way at Puaa Kaa Wayside Park there is a waterfall into a pool where you could stand just about waist deep. This must be well-known because while we were there, young women were lined up to have their boyfriends take glamour shots of them standing in front of the waterfall in their bikinis. That was quite entertaining actually.
Lana'i (rhymes with Hawai'i)
We had planned to make a snorkeling trip to Molokini, the famous crescent island at the top of a submerged volcano, but we had the opportunity to sail to the island of Lana'i and snorkel in Hulopoe Bay, so we quickly opted for that instead.
I soon discovered that the world had changed and I had missed it. All the time we were in Maui, I kept hearing how the commercial sugar and pineapple industries were fading away. I saw the lone remaining sugar processing plant and the Maui Gold pineapple fields that only gave a hint of what they had been, but I still kept thinking to myself that Dole had a private island around here somewhere that was nothing but a pineapple plantation.
Well, that island was Lana'i and that was 25 years ago. Today the only pineapples grown on the island are for the two resorts that have become the major employer there.
We saw the massive Four Seasons Resort at Manele Bay as we sailed into the harbor at Manele Bay. It turns out that the resort actually fronts the Hulopoe Bay marine refuge where we spent the morning swimming over the coral reef and sharing the bay with a pod of spinner dolphins. They showed us why they are called that by putting on a tremendous display of corkscrew leaps out of the water all morning long.
Later, we toured the island and saw where the pineapple plantation used to be and then drove up in elevation to the Four Seasons Resort Lodge at Koele. As we drove around and through the golf course there, I had hoped we could see their signature 17th hole. This is described as a 390-yard, par 4 and the tee shot is from the top of a sheer cliff 200 feet above the green. Unfortunately, it wasn't visible from the road and with $240 green fees (almost triple the price of any ski lift ticket I know of), I don't think I will be seeing it.
Still, we had a great time on our visit. The Trilogy sailing crew provided chicken barbecue in their own pavilion on the island and our sunset cruise back to Maui found dolphins riding our wake, flying fish crossing in front of our bow and unbelievable views of the mountains of West Maui. We stopped just outside the harbor to watch the sun set and one of the crew brought out his ukulele and played for us until twilight (songs available on iTunes).
Returning from Lana'i
Returning from Lana'iHaleakala NP
The Alpine Zone
Sunrise on Haleakala is a cliché, but that didn't stop us from getting up at 2:00 in the morning to make the trip from sea level to 10,000 feet to experience it. We broke through the clouds about two-thirds of the way up and saw the stars in the black sky. After we reached the top and the first light appeared, the stars disappeared and we could see the observatories on a hill just outside the park boundaries. Then we began to see the ocean of clouds below us stretching all the way to the horizon in every direction. The weather was absolutely perfect and when the sun rose, it was everything that we expected and a pretty impressive sunrise.
Sunrise BeginsThe Tropical Zone
If you take the Hana Road only to Hana you'll miss the best part. A little farther down the narrowing road brings you to the tropical portion of Haleakala NP and the Seven Sacred Pools. The area there is called Oheo Gulch by both the Park Service and native Hawaiians because there are actually 20 pools and there is nothing sacred about any of them to Hawaiians or anyone else. They are quite beautiful though and really quite dramatic, starting at the base of a 400' water fall and cascading down from pool to pool, going under the road bridge and continuing down to the black sand ocean beach. Many of the pools are large enough to swim in and some are deep enough to dive into.
NCL
While we were driving beside the Kahuli Bay, I noticed a large cruise ship moored at the dock and closer inspection found it to be the Pride of America of the Norwegian Cruise Lines. I checked up on this and it turns out this is part of a seven day cruise that starts and finishes in Honolulu and visits all of the major islands, stopping at Hilo and Kona on the big island and overnighting on Maui and Kauai. This itinerary is perfect for visiting all of the National Parks in Hawaii and still allows time with the overnight stops (unlike Alaska) to actually enjoy all that the islands have to offer. I want a do-over!
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To see additional photos, go to:
Maui 2010 Photos
Maui 2010 Photos
