Maui, Hawaii part 1

The weeks before we left for Hawaii, Maui was hit by two back to back storms causing historic flooding causing flash floods, landslides and other damage. Many roads and parks were shut down leaving us unsure about what to do. There was no getting our money back. And the future weather was looking good. So we packed extra books and some card games and even if we weren't able to do all the activities we had planned we would still at least get the relaxation we had wanted. 

DAY 6  

We left Oahu and flew into Maui. Maui, known as the Valley Isle, is the second-largest Hawaiian island, formed by two major volcanoes, Haleakalā and the West Maui Mountains.

We picked up our rental car and by the time we got to our hotel it was midday. The check in line was unbelievably long. The hotel we were staying at was the same company we stayed at in Waikiki and due to availability and $$ I had booked a ground level suite. And I was nervous. The rooms of our first hotel had been a bit dated.. but the moment we walked into our room all our doubts disappeared. It was modern and spacious and the ground level gave us a lovely tropical feeling right at our doorstep. 

We had a lovely dinner.. and then stopped at a Safeway to stock up on some goods. Tomorrow was going to be a big day. 

DAY 7

We had an early 5am wake up time and were out and in the car by 5:30. Today we were headed to Road to Hana. Road to Hana is a renowned 64-mile road featuring 620+ curves and 59+ narrow, one-lane bridges including waterfalls, rainforests, and black sand beaches. 

Just to get to the starting point of Hana Highway, a town named Paia was an hour away from our hotel in Kaanapali. The famous Waiʻānapanapa State Park featuring the black beach required reservations plus we didn't want to be stuck driving these crazy roads at night so an early start was needed. ps. the state park reopened on this very day and was previously closed due to the flooding. It was all meant to be.

There were so many cool stops along the way I wish I had planned on spending a night in Hana but I didn't. So we saw what we saw. Also my initial plan was to start at the beginning and make our way all the way to the last stop; the Pipiwai Trail. But again making are way back in the dark did not sound like a good idea so we did the reverse. We started with the Pipiwai Trailhead

It was a 4 mile in and out trail. We started around 9:30 and it took us a total of two hours to complete.

Giant Banyan Tree

There was a dense grove of towering bamboo. They made a unique clacking sound in the wind. It was interesting but considering that this hike was called an absolute must do. It was not. It was just fine. 

At the end of the hike we could see Waimoku Falls with a 400 feet drop. It was all very nice. Just not a must do. 

Since we hadn't had breakfast and we had a little time before our Waiʻānapanapa State Park reservation we stopped to get some food at one of the local food trucks.

We ordered some pizzas at the food truck and indulged in some cold sweets while we waited. Once ready we took the pizza's with us to eat at the Black Beach. 

The Honokalani Black Sand Beach is located in Waianapanapa State Park. We had a reservation window of 12:30pm to 3pm. We entered the park at 1pm steamy hot pizzas in tow. 

The beach is covered in black lava pebbles rather than sand. That's us sitting under the tree while M takes a photo from above. 

We ate our pizza and then set off to explore. They beach has lava tubes, blowholes and a stunning volcanic coastline with crashing waves. 

Our next stop was at Coconut Glen's Ice Cream place.

Afterwards we headed to the Ke'anae Peninsula known for powerful ocean waves pounding black lava rocks and Aunty Sandy banana bread.

Unfortunately Aunty Sandy had sold out all her bread and closed up shop but those waves were so cool. 

Our next stop was a bit tricky to find. It was called the Painted Forest where we were to see rainbow eucalyptus trees. We almost gave us when I suddenly spotted them. It was less a forest and more a clump of trees but they were pretty. It was a very quick stop. 

It was past 5pm now and a few of the stops had closed.. oh well. We were pretty tired anyway.. Getting close to Paia we thought we would just grab food there rather than wait till we got back to our hotel in Kaanapali. 

But first we made a quick stop at Ho'okipa Beach. Also know for it's turtles, plus it was close to sunset and it looked like a nice spot to watch the sun go down. 

And look at what we saw!! There were so many of them. Just living their best lives. 

There were many surfers as well and it was fun watching them.

 

Dinner unfortunately was not good. It was a Peruvian restaurant and they had been far far too liberal with the salt. 

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