Maui: Version 2.0 (New Pics, Post #19)

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Kylehnat

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kylehnat
As a child, I was deprived of real vacations. Mostly, my family either went somewhere within driving distance (which, with my mom and sister, was limited to about 300 miles), or we went to California to visit the grandparents. That was fun, except it wasn't. My sister and I would plead "can we please go to Hawaii?", to which my parents responded, "NO!". My dad lived on Oahu for a couple years growing up (U.S. Marine family), so he didn't see Hawaii as a vacation spot, and my mom felt obligated to spend vacations visiting her manipulative parents in Orange County. Naturally, as soon as the children left the house, Mom and Dad started going to Hawaii frequently. This Christmas, my sister and I were bitching about that, and my mom, feeling fiesty, quipped back "Shoosh, you little brats. Nobody is stopping you from going to Hawaii now." Touché, mother. A week later, I booked a trip to Maui. (And of course, the first thing out of her mouth when I told her about it was "why?" :rolleyes:.)

Why Maui? Why not? I wanted to go somewhere a little different, and Maui is far less molested than Oahu, but still has top-notch amenities (and non-stop flights from Portland and Seattle). Also, while loitering in Barnes and Noble one day, I noticed that the Maui guidebook had more pretty pictures :D. Lastly, HANA HIGHWAY. Checkmate.

So, I went for four days, and toured pretty much every part of the island. Even though I am not genetically-equipped to deal with sun, through careful use of sunscreen and common sense, I avoided sunburn while still getting a slight tan. I win :D.

Enough talk. Pictures! (All shots below are linked to the 1600 X 1200 originals).

Day One
I landed in Kahului with plenty of time to spare before checking into my hotel, so I drove around town for a little while, stopping at a few places. One place I really liked was the Queen Ka'ahumanu Center, Maui's main shopping mall. It has everything you'd expect at a mall, and it's open-air, which creates a very pleasant atmosphere. After poking around in a few stores, I took a short trip up the Iao Valley to see the Iao Needle. This is a good place to check out early in the trip, as it's a short drive from the airport, and gives a tantalizing taste of the lush greenery that can be found on Maui.

Within the park, there are a few little trails and gardens to explore:




The needle (giant phallus) stands tall, reaching 2000 feet into the sky:


Looking back down the valley, towards Wailuku and Kahului:


As the clouds rolled in that afternoon, I headed down to Makena (where I was staying), and found Big Beach for the first time:


I stayed at the Maui Prince hotel, which is the last resort on the South Maui coast. Very nice place to stay, with open-air lobbies, coi ponds, pools, large rooms, private patios, and beautiful grounds:



The first day I was there, it was very humid. In fact, whenever I stepped out of my car, my glasses fogged up. That's happened before, but not in 80-degree weather :). Definitely a sign of changing weather, and indeed, shortly after I checked in, it began to pour. It didn't last long, but it did wake up all the birds and bugs :sly:.

Day Two:
You could really tell that a couple of big planes had flown in on Friday, as there were many, many jetlagged people milling about at 5 AM on Saturday. I had trouble sleeping that morning as well, but that was more because I knew what was in store for that day. Shortly after I got up, I checked out Maluaka Beach, which is right in front of the Maui Prince. It's supposedly an outstanding beach, but I wasn't too impressed. It's kind of small and crowded, and it doesn't necessarily have that tropical feel. Nevertheless, it's picturesque:




After that, it was time for the Hana Highway. The distance from Makena to Hana is about 75 miles, but the guidebook I had said that it would take all day. I was skeptical. What's so fine-and-dandy about the Hana Highway? If you're a driver, it's one of the most intense and challenging roads you'll ever see, and if you're NOT a driver, it's simply one of the most breathtaking drives anywhere in the world. The road from Kahului to Hana starts out in the shrublands and sugar fields, then climbs its way into the hills and rainforest on the northeastern shore of the island.

Anyway, early in the journey, just east of Kahului, is apparently one of the best windsurfing spots in the world. To that point, it is always very windy in and around Kahului, as the north-easterly trade winds get funneled between the two mountains. This might explain why they can fly 767s and 777s from Kahului's 7000 foot runway. Here are some shots from nearby Hookipa Park:




The first 15 miles fly by. How can this drive take 3 hours each way? Well, when the sign says "narrow, winding road next 21 miles" it means narrow, winding road for the next 21 miles. This is where the Hana Highway gets its reputation, and this is where car enthusiasts will ruin a perfectly good pair of shorts. The road is simply breathtaking. It dips, climbs, and winds it's way through the forest, never letting you catch your breath. It's very generously called "two-lane" most of the way, and trickles down to one lane in many spots. One wrong move, and your rental car will be written off (and probably someone else's too). And all of that says nothing about the scenery, which has to be seen to be believed.

These pictures are absolute crap compared to what it looks like in person, but that should tell you something...













Had enough? No, you haven't ;)












At the end of all that lies Hana, which is a bit underwhelming since you've just emerged from the jungle:



The journey there and back is a good six hours, and that's if you push. It's one of the most rewarding experiences I've had as a driver, and this road alone is enough justification for a trip to Maui. There are white-knuckle moments for sure, but when you're in a line of four or five like-minded drivers, it's sublime. And the brake-riding shutterbugs tend to get out of the way when a line forms behind them, so it's not too annoying. If you go, drive hard on the way there, and take your time on the way back, soaking in the scenery.

Side note: My noble rented steed, a 2006 Ford Taurus was a POS. For only having 19,000 miles on it, the car was in terrible shape. It squeaked and rattled so much, I assumed that this was not the first time she had visited Hana :D. However, it actually drove a lot better when pushed. I did manage to catch a nasty pothole, which made a horrifying sound. After that, a strange groan emanated from the wheel-well whenever I cranked the wheel all the way over. I mean...uh....Avis, it was like that when I got it. Moving on...

This little guy lived in the planter boxes on my patio. He did not save me money on car insurance, however:


Day Three
On Sunday morning, I got some better, more sunny pictures of Big Beach (finger cropped out of the first one :dunce:):



I tried my hand at body surfing for a little while. I caught a few waves pretty good, but many drove me straight into the bottom, and I swallowed a couple gallons of the Pacific Ocean. A well-placed rock also took a chunk of skin from between my toes. That'll smart for a while :ouch:. A lot of fun, though :D.

After that, it was on to Haleakala National Park, to visit Haleakala crater, at 10,000 feet. Another fabulous drive up the mountain: plenty of switchbacks and tight bends, as well as some good photo ops as you climb into the clouds.

Looking back at West Maui, Kihei, and Maalaea:


Shots from the top, well above the clouds:




Be careful not to cook the brakes on the way back down ;).

Day Four
On Monday, I headed over to West Maui and Lahaina, which is a very cool, little tourist trap on the western shores. From there, you have some neat beaches, great views of both mountains, and peeks at Molokai, Lanai, Molokini, and Kahoolawe in the distance. Sadly, when I got home, I discovered that my camera has started to crap out, and ruined about 30 shots I had taken from West Maui and Haleakala, leaving me with a bunch of things like this:



I was about to throw the damn thing out my window, but then I had to forgive it for this next shot: a perfect Maui sunset from Saturday:


I'm still getting a new camera, though :).

After four days in Maui, here's how I break it down:

Pros
-The scenery: Simply amazing.
-The weather: Don't bother looking at the weather forecast. It'll be sunny, mid-80's, with a chance of showers at any given time at any given place (less likely on the leeward sides of the island).
-The people: Natives are very friendly, and tourists are euphoric from being in Hawaii. Everybody's happy!
-The space: If you're going to Hawaii, it's less crowded than Oahu.
-The Hawaiian language: The written language just looks relaxing (though it should be noted that Hawaiian did not originally have a written form--that was forced on them by outsiders). The place and street names are all fun to say.

Cons (Included only as minor annoyances.)
-The traffic: Traffic is terrible on the main roads, particularly during rush hour. Also, most people on the road are tourists who don't know where they're going. The less-than-intelligent traffic lights don't help, either.
-The weather: You can count on it being sunny, but you can't count on it at any given moment. The weather sometimes changes every minute, and changes every mile you travel. Patience is key. If you're at the beach, and a big cloud comes over, you have to resist the temptation to leave. It will be sunny again in 10 minutes. Or it might be pouring in 10 minutes. Who knows.
-The space: The island itself is pretty small, but everything is very spread out. It takes forever to get anywhere.
-The cost: Tourists bring lots of money, and the island knows it. Gas was also $4.08.
-The isolation: If your plane develops a problem over the Pacific Ocean, there is nowhere to make an emergency landing :).

Do I recommend Maui? Yes, yes, I do. I'll certainly go back someday, and not just to replace the pictures my camera destroyed :D.
 
Wow! Exceptional post Kylehnat! 👍
Glad to hear you had an enjoyable & relaxing vacation! :cool:
It's something like what I'll require once SFGTP3 is organised & out of the way! :scared:

Looks like you're camera got the same sort of motion blur that some of the "mad tyte drifterz lol zomg !!1!!1!" crowd seem to like in many of their pics.
💡 Maybe you could sell a few of your corrupted pictures over there! :P :lol:
 
Who's the gentleman posing for you in this picture?
http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i65/kylehnat/maui/DSCF0107.jpg
:lol: I can Photoshop some sand over him if you'd like 💡
Smallhorses
Looks like you're camera got the same sort of motion blur that some of the "mad tyte drifterz lol zomg !!1!!1!" crowd seem to like in many of their pics.
It's something wrong with the wiring in the lens, I think. It shows up on the display screen, and if you whack the zoom lens, it goes back to normal...like some sort of glitch. I might keep it for artistic value :P. I actually think that blurry, psychedelic palm tree looks pretty cool :sly:.
 
The place looks stunningly breath taking. If a miracle ever happens and I get married I would consider it for a honey moon.
 
Haleakala was a breath of fresh air for me when I visited. Locals and such stared at me because I was running around in 40 degree air with a t-shirt on and at 10,000 feet. Refreshing compared to the humidity of sea level :sly:

Hana highway runs along the east side of the island? Cause a road over there is just barely wider than 2 lanes the whole side of the island and runs a along the coast. Would be perfect for flying down rally style if it wasn't two way.

Probably my favorite island, second possibly to the big island. Though when you said South Pacific in your b-day thread, I assumed true South Pacific ;)
 
I didn't say anything about the South Pacific. No matter, since all I cared about was sun and warmth, two things that apparently don't exist here anymore (I heard Saturday was quite warm, though).

The Hana Highway runs along the north coast, and then turns south to Hana, on the east side of the island. From what I've read, it's much wider and more luxurious than the roads which continue along the coast from there. Still, there are tons of "yield to oncoming traffic" signs where the road turns into an exercise in needle-threading. It would actually make a terrific WRC stage :D.
Azuremen
Locals and such stared at me because I was running around in 40 degree air with a t-shirt on and at 10,000 feet.
I think I got a couple looks, too :lol:. Seriously, it must have been 65 degrees up there. Sure, it was damn windy, but the scarves and poofy jackets were completely unnecessary.
 
I want to go back.
Me too :D. One of my coworkers was in Maui the week before I was, and he said the weather was downright lousy most of the time. The sun certainly makes everyone a lot happier, and everything a lot prettier :).
 
Sadly, there were clouds when I was up on the mountain :(

And I meant west when I said east :lol: The coastal roads are all crazy I've concluded though. I want to go back and rent a Sky Redline or something for a day and just go crazy.
 
I almost think it would be worth it to ship my beloved Mazda3 over there, just to drive the Hana Highway in a real car :D.
 
Amazing shots, looks like a beautiful place.

Adds Maui to list of places to go.
 
I think i'll write a Holiday story like that when i go on my honeymoon. My Fiance dosn't know that i've booked a trip to Sint Maarten.
 
Looks like this is the year to go to Hawaii for GTP.

I liked Maui second best to Kauai, but some of that may have been because the tour group we used had us in a relative dump of a hotel and then ran us through the Maui Plantation with a ditzy tour guide. My brother has a video of her posted on You Tube. I should put it in the Funny Video Thread.


Glad to see you had fun. It truly is a beautiful place to visit.


Were the whales still running? That was our big highlight of Maui.


And I know what you mean about funny looks for t-shirt and shorts. Some of our bus drivers were wearing winter coats and huddling out of the wind because it was 55 degrees F. I found it quite pleasant, considering my plane had to be de-iced on the way in.

Great pics too.
 
I think i'll write a Holiday story like that when i go on my honeymoon. My Fiance dosn't know that i've booked a trip to Sint Maarten.
:lol: My sister is in St. Maarten right now, actually.
I liked Maui second best to Kauai
Kauai is definitely one of the islands I want to visit. Will have to wait a while, though :).
 
Kylehnat
I'll certainly go back someday, and not just to replace the pictures my camera destroyed.

You didn't think I would break this promise, did you? ;). Okay, so the wistful "someday" turned out to be "six months later". (I'm a true American--when I want something, I want it NOW :D). With vacation days still to burn, and an excellent deal on airfare/accomodations, I just couldn't say no to six days of sun(burn). I stocked up on the SPF (you're welcome, Coppertone), and jetted back to Maui last Thursday. Last time, I stayed in the south part of the island, and didn't have much time to explore the western horn. This time, my hotel was in the west, so I got to explore the Lahaina/Kaanapali/Kapalua area a lot more. I also returned to the Iao Valley and Haleakala, neither of which I spent enough time at before.

In six days, I took 380 pictures. That pile has been whittled down to about 70 for your viewing pleasure. I've tried to avoid posting pictures which are very similar to the ones I posted in April. Since I had more time on this trip, I was able to slow down and get more of the details, as well as some new perspectives on the same locations.

Up the road from Wailuku is a "highway" which tours the entire western volcano along the shore. Parts of it are barely wide enough for one car, and have sharp dropoffs on the "makai" side of the road (ocean side). A couple of my co-workers have done the whole thing, and say it is quite awesome, aside from the constant threat of crashing the rental car. It's also very rural, owing to its inaccessibility. A few miles up the road, someone had a sign in their front yard--carefully crafted with spraypaint and plywood--that proclaimed, "You ain't in America no mo'. Dis is Hawaiiland!". Despite the fact that tourism IS Hawaii's ecomony, many of the Hawaiian natives don't care for the fact that their islands have been whored out. Can't blame 'em. Here are a couple shots from that area:


Iao Valley
Okay, here's the Iao Needle again, just for completeness sake:

That's what everyone comes to see (and there were three frickin' tour buses parked when I got there :mad:). However, there is so much other eye candy in this jungle, the needle almost takes a back seat. It's almost never sunny up there, but I think the gray haze gives the place a mystical feeling that's pretty cool.





Lahaina
I booked a "mountain view" room in Lahaina, fully expecting that "mountain view" simply meant "you're a cheapskate who won't pop for an ocean view room". But really, the view was quite stunning, particularly at sunrise (which I only saw on my last day there, attempting to get the jump on jetlag ;)).




As I mentioned in Post 1, Lahaina is a neat little tourist trap, with tons of shops and restaurants on Front Street, as well as nice views of the ocean and Lanai.




Haleakala
Marge Simpson: "Don't worry, kids, this is a national park. We can have lots of fun!"
Park Ranger: "I'm afraid that's no longer true..."

Mon Dieu! This has got to be one of the most amazing places on Earth. I can't believe I didn't spend more time here in April! As usual, the details are easily missed. On the way there, I could see thick clouds building up on the west side of the mountain, but the summit was clearly visible, so I knew the weather would be nice up top. As expected, I hit a dense fog halfway up the mountain. At times, visibility couldn't have been more than 50 feet. There are cows galore grazing in the fields (with no fences), so no-visibility was a bit un-nerving. At about 8000 feet, I emerged from the tops of the clouds into brilliant sunshine. Now of course, the only thing worse for this Scottish skin than tropical sunlight is tropical sunlight, two miles above sea-level. I could hear my mom screaming at me from 2500 miles away. SPF 30 did the trick quite nicely, though. Near the top of the mountain, there are two visitor areas: the park's visitor center at 9,000 feet, and the summit at 10,000 feet. From there, the ocean of seawater was hidden by an ocean of clouds:



The Big Island's Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa in the background:


Lots of red dirt and rocks to explore! :dopey:







What elevation?


Oh. I'll put the rowing machine away, then.

The silversword plant grows only here:


On the way back down, at 8000 feet or so, is a parking lot and a trail which leads down to Leleiwi Overlook. This gives you another perspective of the volcano's crater:



The landing is somewhat wind-sheltered, and between gusts, you hear absolutely nothing. No people, no birds, no cars...nothing. For that couple of seconds, the rest of the world doesn't exist--an indescribable solace.


Poor water bottle. It never had a chance :(.

[Rental car bitching]
In April, I went with the full-size Ford Taurus. Not terrible, but it was far too big for the island, which has many narrow streets, tight parking lots, and crazy surfboard-carrying pickup trucks. This time, I thought I'd be smart by renting a compact. Enterprise lists "Ford Focus, Chevy Cobalt, or similar" on their website. Focus and Cobalt? Not awesome, but the size is right. Oh, how I wish they'd given me a Focus. Instead, I got saddled with this...thing:

The PT Loser. Driving this, it would surely be only a matter of hours...nay, minutes...before I got laid.

Seriously, this was the worst car I've ever driven. It's absolutly terrible at everything, and is indicative of why the American auto industry is in shambles. Detroit, stop building 🤬, and maybe buyers will come back. Until then, don't cook turd soup and expect us to wolf it down and ask for more.
[/Rental car bitching]

Beaches
Commence with the beach-bumming! No surprise here: Maui has some pretty awesome beaches. The sand is soft, the water is warm, and the breeze keeps you from melting. Just find yourself an empty patch of golden brown, lay down the towel, and let the skin cancer begin! The view from most West Maui beaches is pretty cool. Get there early in the morning, and you can literally see the billowing clouds form over the islands of Lanai and Molokai, where they stay parked most of the day.




These little crabs are everywhere. They pop out of the sand, skitter around, and hop back down the hole. They're tough to photograph as they scare easily, and are quite speedy.


Waves! By the way, the water looks a lot friendlier than it actually is. The surf is deceptively strong, even close to the shore.



Ownage!


End of the Road
Down in Makena, at the end of the road, is a big lava field, left over from Haleakala's last eruption in the 1700's. Flip-flops are not advisable footwear.





Kapalua
The northern-most town in West Maui is Kapalua: playground to the uber-rich golfers. Just north of there is Honolua Bay. The water there is ridiculously clear. Great views of eastern Molokai as well.





Remember this guy?


This is what that is supposed to look like :).


Six days of sheer torture. I couldn't wait to come home :D.
 
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