A Week in Maui

Maui was a fun island, much different than the other 3 Hawaiian islands we have been to.  It had a lot to do and see.  We did as much as we could in Maui while still enjoying some beach time.  The week we visited there was a strong wind advisory in effect for a lot of it, which made beach time a little less pleasant at the beginning of our stay.  Luckily we still got to see a lot of the beautiful island.

One of the Falls at Ohe'o Gulch, Maui had many great waterfalls

Passed out after a plane ride and a late dinner at McDonalds

Our first day we spent exploring a much less visited part of Maui, the south west coast all the way up to Ohe'o Gulch.  The road was long, bumpy, and twisting.  Luckily there was stunning scenery along the way.  We did the Pipiwai trail before we saw the Ohe'o Gulch (AKA Seven Sacred Pools).  The trail featured a bamboo forest that sounded really cool in the wind, several waterfalls, and a huge waterfall at the end.  Would I do it again?   Yes, please.  There was a lot of water flow so the pools in the gulch were not open for swimming.  But they were breathtaking. On our way home we were ready to be out of the car, but we found a fun place to eat: Poi by the Pound.

Views along the drive

The road was barrow, twisty, scary, and bumpy ....  I was on edge most of the time.  Good thing the views were worth it.

Can I live right here?

A banyan tree on the trail

The first of many waterfalls on the trail

Looking up at Ohe'o Gulch

A horse by Charles Lindburg's grave

The church near Charles's grave

Charle's Lindburg

On the second day we decided to relax a bit more and have a little less driving.  We went to the Maui Ocean Center.  It definitely beat out the Waikiki Aquarium.  It was pretty awesome and we even got to see them feed the turtles and the sharks.  After we grabbed a quick lunch at our rental we walked the board walk in the Kealia Pond Nature Refuge and played at the beach there.  Then we picked up Crystal from the airport and ate at the delicious Paia Fish Market. Yum!  And then pie from Maui pie.  Double yum!!  Get the lilikoi or chocolate haupia.

The beach near the wetlands, you can't tell but it was super windy

Day three we spent in the Maui uplands.  We went to the surfing goat dairy for a tour and to taste their delicious cheeses.  Then we headed out to Kula Bistro for yummy sandwiches and pizza, followed by chocolate chip cookies.  Next we headed to the Ali'i Lavender farm.  Not only did they have lavender, but lots of fun tropical plants in their garden.  Then we headed up Haleakala.  Our first stop was more breath taking than I expected.  It is huge!  We ate a dinner picnic in the car at the top and ventured out sporadically in the cold to see the views as the sun set.

Baby Goats!!!

Their playground

Learning how they make cheese

Admiring the Lavender

The views as we were driving up Haleakala

Views into the Crater 

Grant up there with the clouds

We were not viewing the sunset alone

A silversword plant, unfortunately we didn't see any in bloom

By the observatory up top

 

The fourth day we went to the west side to explore.  We stopped to see a couple distant whale spouts.  Saw the old jail and trains in Lahaina.  Then we went to Napili Beach and played in the sand and ocean until we go rained on.  After we drove up to the Nakalele Blow Hole. and also stopped at Dragon's Teeth (a cool rock formation).  Then continued on the narrow twisting road all the way back to Kahului for dinner at Da Kitchen.  It served local favorites, but the plates were more about quantity than quality.  Except for the fried spam musubi, that was sooo good.

The old prison in Lahaina

Old whaler items, not sure why Louis was so sad (but isn't that a cute sad face)

The gate house at the prison

Beautiful Crystal with our cute boys

The sugar cane transport train in front of the old stack of the sugar factory

Dragon's Teeth

Pace in front of the blow hole

Day five we did the road to Hana.  It was beautiful.  And because the it was a rainy day there seemed to be less traffic than I had anticipated.  Also the waterfalls were powerful!  There was a lot of water coming down.  I definitely don't remember the names of all the waterfalls because they were plentiful, but they were beautiful.  We also went down the Ke'aena Peninsula, where we saw a waterfall pouring into the ocean and a beautiful view back at the Hana coast and we ate yummy banana bread.  Then we also hike the road down to Nahiku Coast, and we had the beach to ourselves with crashing waves.  When we made it to Hana we went to the black sand beach and lava tubes at Wai'apananapa State Park.  The ocean was rough but we went down to the beach and when it started to rain we found shelter in the lava tube.  Then we debated going to the red sand beach or not, but I am so glad our adventurous side prevailed, because it may be one of the most beautiful beaches I have ever seen.  It was beautiful and we had it to ourselves for a few minutes.  The ride home was scary, curvy, dark, and full of crying babies and kids.  We pushed our kids to the limit that day and all of our nerves were shot.  But for me it was worth the day we experienced.

Our first waterfall...that we went off road for....when we didn't need to (oops)

On Ke'anae Peninsula

So many beautiful views

An old church at the end of the peninsula

A favorite waterfall

So many waterfalls, some across the road

Some taro farms

One side of the waterfall

And the other

Looking at a waterfall directly under the road

The black sand beach...yes it rained on us

Kai stayed happy until the drive back

Our last day we decided to take a more relaxing day.  We packed all our stuff up checked out of our place and picked up Crystal from her place and headed to the market.  We shopped for souvenirs from some local artists and then we headed to the beach, Po'olenalena.  It was a peaceful red/white sand mix.  It wasn't crowded and very peaceful.  The sand was so soft there.  We stayed until luch time.  Picked up tacos for lunch and a treat to eat later at Maui Pies.  Then we headed out to 'Iao Valley.  It has a whole different feel than the rest of Maui.  It felt much wetter and more tropical than the rest of Maui (Except maybe the road to Hana), and it had tall mountains reminiscent of the windward side of Oahu (but definitely more of a cluster of mountains than the long range).  And the needle was very pretty.  Glad we made it out to that part of Maui, it was so unique from the rest of the island.  Then we headed to the airport to eat our pb&j dinner at the airport then head home.

'Iao Valley

The 'Iao Needle

Maui was so much fun and we were so glad Crystal could join us despite some lodging dilemmas (sorry Crystal).  The weather was never perfect for us, but we still had enough good weather to see everything we wanted to.  Would we go back?  Of course!