Maui Wowie!
Everyone told me I would love Maui and they were right! It was an absolute BLAST and we spent most of the time hiking and exploring. The first day we were there we ventured into the jungle to Twin Falls. At points we had to take off our shoes and wade through thigh to waste deep water.
We made our way to a beautiful cave and waterfall. The water was a bit chilly, but refreshing after the sweat we broke hiking.
Next we made our way to a swimming hole where we could cliff jump and swing on rope swings!when up to some swimming holes and water falls.
On the way back down we stopped and picked some succulent, fresh guavas off the trees! You have to be careful not to get one that is not ripe though - SUPER bitter!
The next day we got up early and set off in the car on the Road to Hana, which is this little one lane (at times) road filled with switchbacks and narrow bridges that you have to yeild to oncoming traffic to get across. More specifically the road is made up of 54 one-lane bridges and 600 hairpin turns! Pat graciously volunteered to comandeer us there safely=) The drive was LONG and I took dramamine to ease the car-sickness, but the views were breath-takeing and the hike at the end to the 7 sacred pools was well worth it.
One the windy road ended we made our first stop at one of the famous black sand beaches, but it was more smooth rocks than actual sand.
Beautiful none-the-less, but no what I would consider sand by any means. On our way down to the beach we noticed a box in case of an emergency...
hmmm...don't think that empty water bottle will do much to save a life, but maybe we should consult McGuiver? Afterall, I am just a lowly former Milwaukee County Lifeguard - what do I really know about these things?
Next we made our way to a fresh water cave right off the black sand beach where legend has it a Hawaiian princess hid when she fled her cruel husband. Sadly, legend also has it that he saw the reflection of the premadonna's fan in the crystal clear waters and killed her! Needless to say, they did not live happily ever after! We jumped into the clear, but Lake Michigan temp water off the rocks surrounding it - refreshing, but not somewhere I would want to chill for too long (literally)
Finally we began our journey to the 7 Sacred Pools on the Pipiwai Trail toward the 400 foot Waimoku falls
(which despite danger signs warning of falling rocks, we were all inticed to stand under for a bit!)
To reach the legendary falls we first had to hike through an enchanted bamboo forest. Now I know what it would feel like to be a panda bear. It was so peaceful and the color of the sun filtering onto the path serene.
On the way back down I was extremely tempted to jump off a 50ft tall bridge into one of the sacred pools, but couldn't figure out how to get up once I jumped so decided against it (saw an Irishman do it, but swear he had a bit of Spiderman in him the way he scaled up the sheer rock walls surrounding it). Instead I put my monkey skills to use clinging to the limbs of Banyan trees!
but paid the price when we walked out of the forest looking like lepers cause of all of our misquito bites - BUT, just for the record, it was WELL worth it!
On our last full day in Maui I switched it up a bit and led the troops to a VERY dry place. While reading a handy-dandy tour guide book I stumbled upon some information about an archeological site on the southside of the island where Hawaiian tribes used to live, but the village was distroyed by a lava flow. Allegedly you could hike to a lighthouse, but sadly, it turned out to be a light beacon - not very impressive at all. However, besides the beacon, the scenery was out of this world. Honestly, to me it felt kind of like being on Mars. Hot and harsh red rocks as far as the eye could see.
The ocean crashed up along the cliffs at some points and washed endless coral up onto the serence beaches at others.
We climbed into lava tubes (kind of like caves) and stood near the light beacon and felt the incredibly strong wind gusts push us so hard we could literally lean into it and not fall over. It was surreal.
After rehydrating ourselves back at Ryan and Pat's apartment we headed out to the Maui County Fair - a once a year event! Let's say to me it seemed more like a local church fair, but that's part of the beauty of Maui I guess...quaint. On the way there Lish and I discovered Pat and Ryan's hard hat's and decided it would be fun to sport them in the back of the truck. We felt a bit like bobble-heads as we shook and jiggled it to our new fave song! Jiggle It! Jiggle It!
Upon our arrival the boys and girls split up for a bit and discussed where we should meet if we were to be seperated from our fair-buddy. And that place would be the Lost Keiki Booth of course (Keiki = kid in Hawaiian!)
Well, I believe that ends the tale of Maui Sept/October 2006. Next time I visit I plan to hike hike the Haleakala Volcano Crater! Can anyone say Spring Break? But until then, stay tuned for more adventures including, but not limited to, the Ironman in Kona, Big Island, Thanksgiving in Molokai, and Seattle in December.
We made our way to a beautiful cave and waterfall. The water was a bit chilly, but refreshing after the sweat we broke hiking.
Next we made our way to a swimming hole where we could cliff jump and swing on rope swings!when up to some swimming holes and water falls.
On the way back down we stopped and picked some succulent, fresh guavas off the trees! You have to be careful not to get one that is not ripe though - SUPER bitter!
The next day we got up early and set off in the car on the Road to Hana, which is this little one lane (at times) road filled with switchbacks and narrow bridges that you have to yeild to oncoming traffic to get across. More specifically the road is made up of 54 one-lane bridges and 600 hairpin turns! Pat graciously volunteered to comandeer us there safely=) The drive was LONG and I took dramamine to ease the car-sickness, but the views were breath-takeing and the hike at the end to the 7 sacred pools was well worth it.
One the windy road ended we made our first stop at one of the famous black sand beaches, but it was more smooth rocks than actual sand.
Beautiful none-the-less, but no what I would consider sand by any means. On our way down to the beach we noticed a box in case of an emergency...
hmmm...don't think that empty water bottle will do much to save a life, but maybe we should consult McGuiver? Afterall, I am just a lowly former Milwaukee County Lifeguard - what do I really know about these things?
Next we made our way to a fresh water cave right off the black sand beach where legend has it a Hawaiian princess hid when she fled her cruel husband. Sadly, legend also has it that he saw the reflection of the premadonna's fan in the crystal clear waters and killed her! Needless to say, they did not live happily ever after! We jumped into the clear, but Lake Michigan temp water off the rocks surrounding it - refreshing, but not somewhere I would want to chill for too long (literally)
Finally we began our journey to the 7 Sacred Pools on the Pipiwai Trail toward the 400 foot Waimoku falls
(which despite danger signs warning of falling rocks, we were all inticed to stand under for a bit!)
To reach the legendary falls we first had to hike through an enchanted bamboo forest. Now I know what it would feel like to be a panda bear. It was so peaceful and the color of the sun filtering onto the path serene.
On the way back down I was extremely tempted to jump off a 50ft tall bridge into one of the sacred pools, but couldn't figure out how to get up once I jumped so decided against it (saw an Irishman do it, but swear he had a bit of Spiderman in him the way he scaled up the sheer rock walls surrounding it). Instead I put my monkey skills to use clinging to the limbs of Banyan trees!
but paid the price when we walked out of the forest looking like lepers cause of all of our misquito bites - BUT, just for the record, it was WELL worth it!
On our last full day in Maui I switched it up a bit and led the troops to a VERY dry place. While reading a handy-dandy tour guide book I stumbled upon some information about an archeological site on the southside of the island where Hawaiian tribes used to live, but the village was distroyed by a lava flow. Allegedly you could hike to a lighthouse, but sadly, it turned out to be a light beacon - not very impressive at all. However, besides the beacon, the scenery was out of this world. Honestly, to me it felt kind of like being on Mars. Hot and harsh red rocks as far as the eye could see.
The ocean crashed up along the cliffs at some points and washed endless coral up onto the serence beaches at others.
We climbed into lava tubes (kind of like caves) and stood near the light beacon and felt the incredibly strong wind gusts push us so hard we could literally lean into it and not fall over. It was surreal.
After rehydrating ourselves back at Ryan and Pat's apartment we headed out to the Maui County Fair - a once a year event! Let's say to me it seemed more like a local church fair, but that's part of the beauty of Maui I guess...quaint. On the way there Lish and I discovered Pat and Ryan's hard hat's and decided it would be fun to sport them in the back of the truck. We felt a bit like bobble-heads as we shook and jiggled it to our new fave song! Jiggle It! Jiggle It!
Upon our arrival the boys and girls split up for a bit and discussed where we should meet if we were to be seperated from our fair-buddy. And that place would be the Lost Keiki Booth of course (Keiki = kid in Hawaiian!)
Well, I believe that ends the tale of Maui Sept/October 2006. Next time I visit I plan to hike hike the Haleakala Volcano Crater! Can anyone say Spring Break? But until then, stay tuned for more adventures including, but not limited to, the Ironman in Kona, Big Island, Thanksgiving in Molokai, and Seattle in December.
posted by Tracy @ 1:36 AM
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