Waves and Mountains

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Halfway through our trip, we moved to a resort in Wailea, on the southern coast. It was much flatter and drier on that side of the island, but the feral chickens remained (they seem to be everywhere, and I don’t hate it).

A rooster slowly circles us at Maui Brewing (photo/Jason Rafal)

One of the handsome feral colony cats (photo/Jason Rafal)

A magnificent art piece we found on the beach (photo/Jason Rafal)

We went on a snorkeling and scuba trip to Molokini Crater, which is one of the classic snorkeling spots off the coast. We also opted to try Snuba as a less-intense intro to see whether we’d ever be interested in scuba diving.

I’m a nose breather and get paranoid about running out of air, so it was difficult for me to adjust to the basic breathing mechanics of Snuba. Our instructor, who was exceedingly patient, finally told me to just stop thinking and stay underwater. I still wasn’t extremely comfortable after that, but I was able to enjoy the beautiful fish and have some fun. After a few minutes of Snuba, we did some normal snorkeling and saw a rare Hawaiian monk seal, which you’ll have to take my word for because we didn’t have a camera with that range underwater.

I was still trying to figure out what I was doing (photo/Jason Rafal)

Honestly the iPhone-in-a-bag thing worked better than expected (photo/Jason Rafal)

Learning the ropes (photo/Jason Rafal)

When it started to look like the weather might get less favorable in the next couple of days, we decided to go up to Haleakala National Park for sunset. The classic trip is going up for sunrise, but that required either obtaining a rare permit or joining a group tour bus, and we didn’t feel like we wanted it that bad. We thought we had more time, but there was a long line to get into the park, so we got to the visitor center right before sunset and had to jog up to the summit. Jogging at 10,000 feet is no joke. We made it up to the top the minute the sun started to touch the horizon and watched with a few dozen people while it went down and the entire sky began to glow with bands of color. We both agreed that it was worth the drive, and also that we’d come up during the day and hike around next time. I’d also love to go up for stargazing - the incredibly clear 360 degree views would be incredible.

The Haleakala Observatory on our run up to the summit (photo/Jason Rafal)

The cloud-covered Haleakala crater with the shadow of the summit behind (photo/Jason Rafal)

Instagram version - all alone at the top (photo/Jason Rafal)

Reality - jostling for space at the summit (photo/Jason Rafal)

A man watches the sunset fade from the roof of his car (photo/Jason Rafal)

After a full day of relaxing (kind of crazy for us), we checked out on Monday and went on a drive around West Maui before our red eye flight. We started out by driving to Lahaina, which is a very pretty and very touristy beach town that was the capital of the Hawaiian kingdom in the early 1800s. Apparently the town was a center of prostitution as the sailors came into port until the newly converted queen made it illegal.

Our next stop was Honolua Bay, which is amazing in a few ways. To get there, you have to walk through a forest of huge trees that’s apparently also full of unmarked graves. The path itself is on private land, but all beaches in Hawaii are public so there has to be some sort of access. The beach is rocky but fairly protected, and there were several people snorkeling. The beach also provides a good view of the surfers at the edge of the bay, so we watched them for a while.

Massive trees covered in vines (photo/Jason Rafal)

A very handsome rooster (photo/Jason Rafal)

A heron flies over the ocean (photo/Jason Rafal)

Watching surfers from Honolua Bay (photo/Jason Rafal)

The next stop was Nakalele Blowhole, which we had seen from above on our helicopter tour. It’s a blowhole on the coast surrounded by volcanic rock, and it reminds me of the geysers in Yellowstone. It’s surprisingly large at times, and the spray kept creating rainbows as it dissipated. My favorite part was actually the coral-like volcanic rocks, which were often smooth on one side and sharp and spiky on the other.

The Nakalele Blowhole, which we also saw from the helicopter (photo/Jason Rafal)

After the blowhole, our audio guide firmly recommended that we turn around and drive back the way we came, and I made the call to keep going around the north shore of the island. This turned out to be a highly questionable decision, as it took us on an often one-lane mountain pass. Trying to pass other people was dangerous at the best of times and impossible at the worst. At one point we had to inch past a rental mustang that had tried to get around someone and had gotten stuck halfway off the side of the cliff (we saw the driver down the road on the phone, and then a tow truck with a very grumpy driver coming up the road a few minutes later). I was continuously thankful that Jason is such a good driver as we inched around blind corners and I scouted for oncoming cars as we drove along the hillside. You can tell we were stressed because we have zero pictures. For what it’s worth, it was incredibly remote and gorgeous, but I don’t think Jason would want to drive it again.

Once we got down to Kahului, we went to a beach and spent an hour sitting, drinking a beer, and watched the kite surfers as the sun dropped low in the sky. It was an excellent way to end the trip.

Sitting and watching the kitesurfers (photo/Jason Rafal)

Things I would never be able to do (photo/Jason Rafal)

The last sunset of the trip (photo/Jason Rafal)

If you’ve read this far, here are some restaurant recommendations from our trip:

  • Paia Fish Market: there are a few locations, but we went to the one in Paia. It features customizable entrees and quality fish.

  • Mama’s Fish House: this is definitely a more upscale choice, but the ambience, drinks, and food were all very enjoyable, and the restaurant has a beautiful location on the beach.

  • Baked on Maui: this is a great breakfast and lunch place near the start of the Road to Hana.

  • Monkeypod Kitchen: there are a couple of locations. The food is really solid and the drinks are amazing - it’s always on the top of the list for best Mai Tai in Hawaii.

  • Kihei Caffe: another good breakfast and lunch place with a great loco moco

  • Cuatro: a BYOB latin fusion restaurant with two seatings per day. The food is excellent and it has an unassuming vibe.

  • Drift Coffee: the best coffee we had on the island.

  • Star Noodle: a picturesque restaurant on the water with a variety of soup and dry noodle dishes.

Basically, go to Maui. It’s amazing.

Far Above Jurassic Park

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During our trip to Maui we took a helicopter ride, and this beautiful collection of photos seemed to deserve their own blog post.

It was a struggle to find a company that would have doors off and also allow Jason to bring a real camera, and we ended up booking a private tour with Go Fly Maui, a small company that’s mostly a helicopter pilot training school but also does some private photography flights. The co-owner and our pilot, Nick, recommended a flight path and then we set off over western Maui. 

The map Nick used to suggest routes (photo/Jason Rafal)

Waves from above (photo/Jason Rafal)

Doors-off helicopter flights aren’t for everyone - I think I would have been pretty nervous if I hadn’t been up in both a helicopter and an open-cockpit biplane before. It helped knowing that our pilot was good enough to both teach other people and put up with crazy professional photographers. Nick was also fun to hang out with and pointed out all the points of interest.

Flying along the west Maui coast (photo/Jason Rafal)

We started off by flying along the northern coast of Maui, where we saw jagged cliffs, surfers, and beautiful beaches.

West Maui coast (photo/Jason Rafal)

West Maui coast (photo/Jason Rafal)

Kahakuloa Head (photo/Jason Rafal)

The Nakalele blowhole from above (photo/Jason Rafal)

Surfers in the water near Lipoa Point (photo/Jason Rafal)

After we hit the northernmost edge of the island, we headed up into the mountains. The mountains of west Maui are largely inaccessible except by helicopter or backcountry expedition, and I was excited to get to see the area. It’s a ton of absurdly lush jungle with absurdly tall waterfalls and, predictably, looks a lot like Jurassic Park. There’s a drought right now, but the majority of the waterfalls still had water tumbling down hundreds of feet of cliffs. The scale was impossible for my mind to comprehend - I kept trying to look at trees to figure out relative sizing, but it only got me so far. I have rarely felt so small. 

The awe-inspiring, 1,100-foot Honokohau Falls (photo/Jason Rafal)

Foreground trees for scale (photo/Jason Rafal)

So many waterfalls (photo/Jason Rafal)

Looking down (photo/Jason Rafal)

I tried to just let Nick worry about what all of these meant (photo/Jason Rafal)

The Wall of Tears (photo/Jason Rafal)

The Needle (photo/Jason Rafal)

Looking south (photo/Jason Rafal)

West Maui Forest Reserve with Pacific Ocean behind (photo/Jason Rafal)

Looking east (photo/Jason Rafal)

After the mountains we headed back toward the airport, over ground that looked very flat and brown by comparison. Maui had sugar cane processing until 2016, and Nick pointed out the old equipment as we flew overhead.

Old sugar processing equipment (photo/Jason Rafal)

Back on the ground; obviously had a terrible time (photo/Jason Rafal)

If you can’t tell from the above photos, the helicopter ride was amazing. If you’re not afraid of heights and are okay with the expense (it was the most we spent on an activity on the island by far), we would definitely recommend it. When we drove around the west side of Maui later in the trip, it was really cool to see some of the coastal places we had flown by at ground level as well.

Bugs, Beaches, Banana Bread

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Maui was our first trip out of the continental US in two years, and after having to cancel two planned trips due to covid, neither of us was actually able to get excited about being on a trip until we actually got to the island. After about 24 hours, I started to feel like I could relax and believe that I was on vacation. It helps that Maui is gorgeous and easy to get around, and the food is wonderful.

For the first half of our trip we stayed in an Airbnb in Upcountry Maui near Makawao. The listing warned that we’d need to be alright with jungle sounds, which I was excited about. We got to the cabin after dark and the surrounding forest was full of the sounds of bugs, wind through leaves, and the occasional feral chicken cluck. In the morning we were woken by roosters (several times) and treated to an expansive view of forest, mountains, and a bit of ocean. Our host gave us a tour of her property, which is a garbage-dump-turned-coffee-farm that is dotted with fruit trees, ancient burial sites, and some amazing rock drawings along the river. We also each got approximately 30 bug bites on the tour, which we treated with calamine lotion from the cabin while being overwhelmed by nostalgia.

Phot of the view from the cabin over a jungle with mountains in the distance

The view from our cabin in Upcountry Maui (photo/Jason Rafal)

On our first afternoon we decided to drive a little bit up the road to Hana to see a couple of attractions and get some food at a roadside stand. The stand was closed, either from covid or it being Thanksgiving week, so we pressed on to the next stand and ate banana bread for lunch before doing a little exploring. First lesson learned: never count on availability of food on the road to Hana. Once we had at least some food, our first visit was to the Keanae peninsula, where we ate bread and watched the waves crash against the dark volcanic rocks. The banana bread (Aunty Sandy’s) and the coast are both worth a stop in their own right, but together they are really excellent.

After the peninsula we went back toward town and stopped at the Garden of Eden arboretum, which is one of many stops on the road to Hana that is privately owned. Land rights for these areas are very interesting - some of them are private and you pay to go onto the land, some are private and you will be trespassing if you go onto the land, and some (though not a lot) are public land (state, regional, or national parks). The Garden of Eden charges admission but is definitely worth a visit to see a beautiful variety of tropical plants. 

Photo of an older black dog with a lei and a ribbon that says "Hawaii"

The garden’s guard dog, a sweetheart named Dan D Lion (photo/Jason Rafal)

I’m still trying to figure out what kind of tree this is, but it was amazing to stand under (photo/Jason Rafal)

We spent sunset on a local beach, hanging out with sea turtles. They’re awesome and calming all at the same time.

On Wednesday we set out early to do the full road to Hana. It’s a wonderful experience, but it’s an incredibly long day trip. We made 8 stops with some short hikes and didn’t swim at all, and it took almost 12 hours round trip. I’ve heard that some people stay overnight in Hana, which is definitely a good idea if you want to see more. It’s also a good idea to get an audio guide that you can play in your car. We bought one from the (somewhat problematically named) GyPSy Guides, but once we got back I heard there’s a local version as well. The guides are downloadable and tell you information when you hit certain GPS points, which is really helpful in areas without service, and they also share a lot of interesting history and culture.

Since we got an early start, we were able to get parking at the very popular Twin Falls, which includes a short hike to a couple of lovely waterfalls. Some of the non-volcanic rock walls here have a beautiful honeycomb pattern, which makes the waterfalls even more interesting to me. We didn’t swim because it was 8 am and 65 degrees out, but it would have been a nice place to swim.

Our next stop was the Hana Lava Tube, where we explored the large cavern with flashlights while reading informative signs. The cave was relatively untouched and completely unlit, which was a nice alternative to some other caves we’ve been to, and we saw a lot of stalactites and stalagmites.

Our next stop was Wai'ānapanapa State Park, which was one of my favorite areas of the day. They recently switched to a reservation system, so you have to book a time slot in advance and be in and out within that 2.5 hour window. There’s a black sand beach, which was quite crowded but still awesome, and a hiking trail that winds through black rocks and neon green vegetation along the coast. It was pretty amazing.

We ate lunch in Hana, which is tiny and adorable and has several food trucks (though most of them were closed). After lunch we pressed on.

Since there was parking available and we had to take advantage of that, we stopped quickly at Waioka pond, which would be an amazing place to jump off rocks and swim if you’re not in a hurry, and then Wailua falls, which is another beautiful and quite tall waterfall.

Our last top was just inside Haleakalā National Park, where we took the Pīpīwai Trail. This was my other favorite part of the day. We hiked through a bamboo forest, where the wind made the bamboo stalks clink together, and I felt like I was surrounded by a giant wooden wind chime. The end of the trail is a valley with a huge waterfall, which was beautiful as well. The bamboo forest alone makes it worth the trip, but it is half an hour past Hana and takes some extra time. The park also has smaller waterfalls, pools, and a beautiful rugged coastline.

The view looking up ‘Ohe’o Gulch (photo/Jason Rafal)

Nicole on the coast next to ‘Ohe’o Gulch (photo/Jason Rafal)

Since the road to Hana is busy tourist destination with complicated property laws and access rules, these are the general tourist guidelines that should always be followed:

  • Pull over to let locals pass

  • Don’t go on private property unless explicitly invited to do so

  • Don’t stop or park on the road

  • Respect No Parking signs

  • Don’t use drones

  • Generally, just be respectful and kind and ready to change plans when needed

After our long driving day, we spent Thanksgiving cooking and relaxing in the cabin before we migrated to the other side of the island for the rest of our trip.

We got a rainbow for Thanksgiving on our last morning at the cabin (photo/Jason Rafal)