Maui Adventures – Todd and Cindy's Travel Blog

Hawaiian Adventure Maui Final Post

After what we were told was a highly unusual whale tour Tuesday (hanging on for dear life in the 4 foot swells while protecting our cameras), we decided to give it another shot. We booked Saturday…what a difference! The weather was clear, waters were calm and no one got wet.

Although we didn’t see any huge breaches, we were treated to numerous sightings.

We saw a lots of dorsal fins breaking the surface,

lots of pectoral fins waving,

and lots of tail slaps.

The next 2 pictures show the scarring on the back and tail of this male that looks like he has been fighting pretty hard for the attention of his possible mates !

Two of the most exciting sightings included a whale peeking out of the water close to the boat,

AND a whale actually swimming right under the zodiac we were on. When there is a whale, the water turns turquoise and the white is the underside of the whale. Without actually jumping in the water for a really good pic, I tried my best to capture it, leaning over the side of the zodiac.

We can see why whale watching could get addictive (talked to lots who go out multiple times each vacation)…

Monday we took a drive to Haleakala National Park and took the long windy road up to the summit. After the Road to Hana, Todd said this drive was a breeze.

Haleakala summit is 10,023 feet (3,055 m) above sea level and the temperature dropped dramatically.

The volcano is currently dormant. In the picture below you can see two volcano peaks on The Big Island peaking through the clouds !

The views are stunning, even if the clouds get in the way.

One of the most interesting plants we saw was the Haleakala Silversword, only found here on the summit. It lives for 15 – 50 years and only blooms once.

After some pics and a walk about, I said, “Okay, enough of this cold, back to the warmth.” The temperature was about 20°F cooler. On the way back down, we stopped at The Visitor’s Center (9,740 ft / 2,969 m above sea level).

Each stop along the way down offered different views. Kalahaku Lookout (9,324 ft / 2,842 m) was impressive with the colours and shapes of the land.

It was interesting watching the clouds roll in as we drove through them. Our last stop down was at Leleiwi Overlook (8,840 ft / 2,694 m).

Tuesday night was a partial eclipse of the sun. The moon was to cover 68% of the sun. Unfortunately, clouds got in the way for a really clear view. The video is a time lapse of what we did see over a 2 hour period. You can notice about ½ way through, it gets really dark (eclipse time), then lightens a bit for the sunset.

Wednesday we drove towards Kihei to go to the Kealia Pond National Wildlife Refuge and walk the boardwalk through the marshlands. Just our luck – the boardwalk was closed for repair… So, we carried on south to Makena Beach State Park where we got out to walk the beach.

It was extremely windy, but the landscape was beautiful with volcanic rock sticking out of the sand.

While in the area, we made a pit stop at Maui Brewing Company’s brewery. We didn’t do a tour, but enjoyed sitting on their patio for a couple of pints of small batch beers craft beers that are available only at the brewery.

Todd contributed to his t-shirt collection. Too bad he didn’t buy it at the beginning of our visit, his beers would have been $2 off…

So, we spent our last day on Maui very low key – some packing and prepping for the morning exodus. We did walk into town so we could get a couple of Red Dirt Shirts (very Maui…).

Then we did our final stop at The Hard Rock. Todd has been quite impressed with their display of memorabilia. He asked if it was actually real and it is. This Tony Iommi jacket (Black Sabbath) is insured for $200,000 by Hard Rock.

The car above the bar was an actual functioning boat at one time – amphibious vehicle…

Usually, I post a lot of dinner pics from restaurants we have eaten at, but this trip so far, we have eaten just about all out meals on the lanai after sunset. Can’t really justify the cost of eating out and the views from the lanai are beautiful, plus Todd is an amazing chef!

We have definitely enjoyed our time at this waterfront condo in Lahaina. Maui has been beautiful – warm, sunny, gorgeous sunsets, lots to see and do, and also very relaxing.

Next up – the Big Island where we will meet up with our friends, Aline and Dave.

Hawaiian Adventure Maui Post 3

Monday was another drive to the east side of Maui for a Costco shopping venture. Before Costco we continued on Hwy 36 to Hookipa Beach. We had read it was a great surfing area with a good lookout point. We were not disappointed.

Next, we stopped in Paia to visit Mana Foods. The health food store looks like a shack on the exterior, but the interior is full of every kind of health product you could want. We have been on the hunt for White Flower (a Chinese liniment) and were directed here. We had read Paia was a sort of “hippy” town; again, we were not disappointed…lots of interesting people.

Gotta love Costco when it comes to some great deals – 4 pack LED bulbs came to $1.79 with the Hawaiian government rebate – we will be bringing some home with us.

And they had a UPF 50 wide-brimmed hat for $12.99 (that is an amazing price!).

After we returned to the condo unit, we walked into town (for some exercise and for me to purchase some jewelry I’d had my eye on…). After the purchase (Plumeria pendent and earrings – very Hawaiian), I treated Todd to a couple beers…

Our happy hour bar this trip is the Hard Rock – great prices and great staff. Murph is our usual bartender – originally from Chicago, he has been loving Maui life for 9 years.

Tuesday – so excited – Whale watching tour with Captain Steve’s! We arrived 40 minutes early…and we weren’t even the first ones at the pier. Unfortunately, the water was REALLY, REALLY rough. One woman we talked to said they have been on this tour multiple times over the years and 5 times this vacation and it has never been this rough. We got soaked as the large zodiac skipped across the water. Swells were over 4 feet…not great for our inaugural whale watching trip.

We did have a few whale sightings.

But it was really difficult getting good pics with the vessel bopping over waves and the salt water spraying onto the cameras.

We couldn’t keep our cameras out and ready for the breaches, pectoral fins splashing, and tail slaps…it was a continual “ohhhh, did you see that”, camera out of plastic bag, shoot picture, camera back in plastic bag for protection….

Looking back at Lahaina, we saw a brush fire.

When you book a whale tour, you never know how the water conditions will be or how many whales you will see….luck of the draw, but it was a great experience and we would do it again (and bring the underwater camera and some towels…). *Trips were cancelled for the remainder of the day…

Wednesday we decided to drive the infamous Road to Hana (42 miles, 600+ turns, many of them hairpin turns and 54+ one lane bridges). We actually drove past Hana to the National Park to do some hiking and see Waterfalls and the Pools of Ohe’o (aka Seven Sacred Pools). Unfortunately, it has been a fairly dry winter, so the falls were not that spectacular.

The plan was to drive straight through to the National Park and do stops on the way back, which turned out to be a great idea as we missed a lot of the crowds at the stops.

We both clearly remember Black Sands beach at Waianapanapa State Park from our drive in 2005. At that time, only us and a couple of other people occupied the park and beach area.

Our first view of the beach looked quiet as we remembered the way it was in 2005

Unlike 2005 it was very busy today !

There was people climbing up a rock pedestal and jumping into the ocean.

One of the few stops at a waterfall that actually had water was Upper Waikani Falls (Three Bears).

We made a slight detour to Ke’anae village to Aunt Sandy’s snack stand for some of her famous banana bread (mentioned in numerous travel books and websites) – sadly, she was closed by this time (late afternoon). Thirsty and having our fill of the twists and turns, we headed to Paia to stop for some food and a cold one…no parking anywhere (guess there was a lot of thirsty people). 9 hours later, we pulled into the condo just in time for sunset.

Todd did a time lapse photo video of our sunset !

We have done the Road to Hana drive twice now…don’t think we need to do it again…

Booked another whale tour…hoping it will be better…

Hawaiian Adventure Maui Post 2

Sunday – the day started out sunny, but soon clouded over. We decided to go out for lunch to the highly renowned Star Noodle restaurant – fresh noodles and Asian specialties (lots of people we have met, talk about it). We put our name in and were told about a 25 minute wait. The few we talked to waiting with us, were also first-timers and had heard lots of good reviews. When we finally got a seat, we started with an order of Pohole Salad (Hana Fiddle Head Fern, Maui Onion, Ebi, and Kombu) that we shared. Then Todd ordered Kim Chee Ramen (Kim Chee Dashi, Roast Pork, Bean Sprouts, and Kim Chee) from the Noodle Menu.

I ordered Star Udon (Roast Pork and Scallions in a Rich Pork Broth) from the Noodle Menu. Although both noodle soups were a little saltier than we prefer, the overall flavours and fresh noodles were delicious, and may require a return visit.

The rain began as we were eating at Star Noodle and continued off and on most of the afternoon, but cleared in time for another amazing sunset.

After the sun set, we decided to go for a bit of a walk. As we strolled along the street hand-in-hand, we both noticed at the same time Andrew Jackson staring up at us. We looked around but saw no one who the $20 would belong to so Todd quickly picked it up and put it in his pocket.

Monday we planned a Costco run (okay drive – it’s about 45 minutes from where we are staying). Can’t beat their Maui Gold pineapples for $2.49 and cooked chickens for $4.99. Because we were heading east, we did a bit of a detour to check out the Sacred Gardens we had read about. It is not really a garden, but a greenhouse with a very “zen-like” feel.

Visitors are encouraged to help themselves to free tea or hot cocoa and wander among the plants and flowers or to sit and relax among them.

They also had two labyrinths, one outside and one inside. It was a relaxing stop before hitting the mobs of people at Costco.

Tuesday, we decided we better get out for a bit of a power walk. We followed along the ocean path just outside Lahaina city limits and that took us into the hotel district and Whaler’s Village. The trail began with very few people, but became quite crowded closer to the hotel district, where we saw a man trimming the palms on a small platform (at least he had a harness on).

After just over 4km, we turned around and headed back. The rest of the day was spent relaxing on the lanai as we waited for the sunset (sorry if there are so many sunset pics, but it truly is an amazing site, night after night…).

Wednesday can be called Whale Wednesday! There was so much action today. During breakfast we were treated to a whale (the closest we’ve seen yet) doing a head lunge.

Today was also Whale Talk in town. We learned a lot of interesting facts about the humpback whales’ biology, habitat, and their behaviours: the length of the pectoral fin is 1/3 the length of the humpback whale; they only come to the Hawaiian Islands to breed and give birth (feeding is saved for their time in Alaska); the calves grow 5 lbs/hour; the males are the ones that produce the whale song…and so much more. Then we came back to our lanai for lunch and we were entertained as a whale did tail slaps – 25 TIMES in a row!

Here is a young Humpback playing in the bay just behind our lanai !

Then we were treated to a possible “fist fight” between two males as we saw pectoral fins flying through the air. Amazing!

Thursday we did another big walk – 9+km. We walked to Whaler’s Village and back. Whaler’s Village is a large shopping centre in the hotel district. We wandered in some of the stores, but most interesting were the models on display in the one area. The largest is a skeleton of a Sperm Whale.

We learned at the Whale Talk yesterday that it is believed the humpback whale is a descendant of the Paleocene Epoch which they display at Whaler’s Village.

Friday we drove to Nakalele Blowhole, WOW! The forces of nature are truly AMAZING! That said, you need to be careful – there have been a few (a few too many) deaths. Somewhat recently – In 2011, David Potts, 44, of San Anselmo, California was killed when he was knocked off his feet by a large wave and swept into the blow hole. His body was never recovered. In 2013, Jay Rothweiler fell to his death from a cliff overlooking the blowhole.

The walk down to the area of the blowhole is steep and rocky.

We met some people from there from Southern California who said this is their 3rd time to the blowhole in 12 years and that it was spouting the highest they had seen.

The forces of nature…

We spent a long time watching the various blows before heading back up the rocky way (can’t say path – there wasn’t any…).

On the road back to Lahaina, we pulled over at a lookout and were treated to a gathering of an abundance of surfers.

Conditions have been great the last few days for prime surfing.

We stopped for lunch at the Fish Market (and of course, I didn’t order fish…). This place gets great reviews for both its diner and fresh fish counter. Todd had to try one of their fresh oyster shooters !

Then Todd had a shrimp and a mahi-mahi taco. I was happy with the Kalua pork tacos.

It is hard to believe we have been here 2 weeks already. We certainly are adapting well to Island Life…

Next week we have a Whale boat tour booked to try and get some up and close pictures of the humpbacks !