Month: August 2019

As we approached Hana, we stopped at Waianapanapa State Park (yeah, say that three times quickly!) to enjoy the black sand beach. The sand is made of volcanic rock that’s been relentlessly ground down by the waves, and it’s really cool to walk on it.

We walked through a lava tube to come out to a beach filled with rocks and black crabs. Oh, and waves.

The view from the beach is, not surprisingly, stunning.

Like most of Maui, everything is green… including the rock walls, which have been overgrown.

After some time at Waianapanapa, we went to our rental place in Hana. It was advertised as a “bungalow” and it definitely was.

There was no air conditioning, no cell service, no internet… just a little house nearly buried in tropical plants.

I found a pretty flower for my pretty wife.

The lanai was screened in, and included the dining table and a bed. Kyra wisely chose this place to sleep, and was probably in the coolest room in the house because of all the airflow through the open screens.

It was a charming place, although at $450 per night it was without question the most expensive place we’ve slept in our lives! There are very few places to stay in Hana, and no other big towns for fifty miles, so accommodations command a premium. Totally worth it.

Later we went down to a red sand beach, which was nestled in a protected cove area:

Looking more closely at the sand, it was probably half red (note the color of the rocks above) and half black lava rock. Pretty cool.

After a couple of days in Hana and the area, we headed south. On our way out of town we stopped by a nice area called the Venus Pools. Although it looks kind of pretty, the water was filled with a lot of flotsam that would’ve made swimming kind of questionable.

Hana is definitely a cool place, and I think its relative inaccessibility adds to the charm somehow.

Nahiku is a little out-of-the-way village that’s absolutely stunning. There are only a few houses, as well as a bus stop and a church, at the bottom of a long winding road down from the Hana Highway. After parking, there’s a walk along a paved road (closed to traffic) that brings you to a beach lookout. We stopped for a couple of photos.

After a brief walk along the rocky shoreline, we headed to our favorite place in the entire world: a little swimming hole buried in the forest.

When we were last here in 2017, the waterfall was a gentle trickle, but with the rain Maui had been getting, it was considerably bigger this time. There was even a second, much smaller, waterfall off to the side.

The entire area is so incredibly lush and green that it’s hard to describe, and even harder to capture in a photo.

We didn’t have swimsuits with us in 2017, so it was a shame we couldn’t actually swim in the pool. But this time we’d planned better, and it meant we could use the rope swing which is probably thirty feet above the water. Zaque and Alex look good:

I just jumped straight off the cliff, since the rope swing wasn’t really necessary. The water was cool and crisp, fresh from the jungle stream. We swam under the waterfall and probably spent two hours just enjoying this magical place.

Even the walk back to the car was amazing. The green of the forest, and the colors of the plants, are almost overwhelming.

Ahh, Nahiku, you still hold a special place in my heart.

Along the Road to Hana there’s a little area called Ke’anae where the waves absolutely pound the north shore. There’s also a “world famous” banana bread stand there, so we stopped for a bite before walking to the rocks.

It had been raining, so everything was kind of dulled, but in a way it made the waves more impressive as they came crashing into the rocks.

Alex and Kyra waded out a bit and enjoyed the surf.

For some reason, the waves make especially spectacular splashes at one point, often surging twenty or thirty feet into the air.

For some reason, I love watching the waves.

Kyra waded out to another area, but couldn’t go too far because the incoming water was looking a little dangerous. Here’s a smallish wave hitting the outer rocks:

Along the “beach”, the black lava rocks are continually rolled by the waves, making them smooth. The sound they make as they cascade over each other is really fun.

The Nakalele Blowhole is a well-known spot on Maui’s north shore. We learned from our last experience on the craziest road of all time to take the western route, which was much easier. The waves were crashing as always, and the blowhole didn’t disappoint. Several times it shot well over a hundred feet into the air.

It’s actually kind of tricky to take a picture of it, because my camera has a hard time focusing on the ethereal water. But as with all digital photography, taking enough pictures eventually yields a keeper.

We hiked over to the far side so we could be closer (notice Laralee and the kids for scale):

I could watch the waves crash against the rocks all day.

Laralee stood a little too close to the shore and was surprised by a particularly big wave.

She and Kyra posed atop a tall rock overlooking the ocean.

After spending a while at the blowhole, we moved on to some nearby areas on the north shore. Zaque, Alex, and I hiked out to a promontory.

One thing I love about Maui is the color of the water. Yes, it’s really this blue when the sunlight hits it just right. (I didn’t adjust the colors or saturation in this photo at all.)

Maui is my favorite place in the world. When we were contemplating a trip to Hawai’i, Laralee and I agreed we had to go to Maui again. And of course the most magical part of the island is the Road to Hana, which is fifty miles of narrow roads, crazy winding turns, and the most amazing scenery anywhere.

Our first stop was the bamboo forest partway up the road. We stopped at the right mile marker and climbed out of the car. The kids were confused: “Are you sure this is the right place?” There’s no trailhead, in fact nothing at all to indicate there’s something to see. But when you look at the thick bamboo trees alongside the road, you’ll see a narrow dark hole that goes steeply down from the pavement. We stepped inside.

The trees are incredibly thick, making the forest dark.

The trail is steep, muddy, and not very well-defined. But we made our way down to a stream. The last time we’d visited, we could rock-hop across the stream to get to a series of waterfalls. However, it had been raining earlier in the day, so there was significantly more water. The stream was wide and deep, and we had to wade:

Fortunately we’d planned ahead and were all wearing swimsuits. (As it happened, we spent more than half our time in Hawai’i wearing swimsuits all day.) We crossed the stream and Alex found a place to achieve inner peace before we continued.

We found the first waterfall deep in the jungle, admired it for a bit, and then moved on to our real target, a second waterfall emptying into a big pool.

Of course we took advantage of a rope swing near the falls.

The kids posed by a different waterfall:

This is definitely one of my favorite hikes anywhere. The kids were thrilled, and asked if we’d be hiking through any more bamboo on our trip.

Yep.

For the second time, Laralee and I went to the Hawai’ian Islands. And this time we brought our kids.

Our internet service was pretty spotty during the course of our trip, so rather than a day-by-day travelogue, I’m going to step through each of the places we visited. Get ready for a dozen or so posts…