Hawaii - Day 7 : 12/20/2008

This was our final day at Maui. We had decided to see the sunrise at the Haleakala Crater.
We woke up super-early like around 3:00 am and started driving at around 3:45 or 4:00am. The sunrise on that day was at 6:57am. Here is some information about the Haleakala Crater. Stretching across east Maui, Haleakala National Park is home to Haleakala Crater, an active, but not currently erupting volcano, and Maui's highest peak.



Rising over 10,000 feet above sea level, Haleakala's graceful slopes can be seen from just about any point on the island. Haleakala means "House of the sun" in Hawaiian, and legend has it that the demigod Maui lassoed the sun itself from its summit to slow the sun's journey across the skies.

We reached the summit i.e the Puu Ulaula at around 5:30am and there was quite a crowd there. It is very very cold at the summit. And extremely windy too. This is the only place in the world where you can drive on a paved road from sea level to over 10,000 feet in less than 38 miles. The final overlook is Puu Ulaula, at 10,023 feet: the top. The summit rises 10,023 feet above sea level. The crater is 3,000 feet deep, 7.5 miles long and 2.5 miles wide - a total of 22 miles in circumference.



There is nothing in your way here from a 360deg panorama that can, on a clear day, include the other Hawaiian islands: Hawaii, Lanai, Molokai, Oahu, and Kahoolawe. Well it was still dark when we got there and all we could see was a brilliantly clear sky and the summit itself felt like another island in the ocean of the clouds. It was a great sight – there was a white bed of clouds below you – and the sky was clear above you. We spoke to the expert at the visitor center and she told us that Haleakala Crater is the fourth best place on earth to watch the sky and the stars. It was pretty amazing. We saw the sun rise which was breathtaking – it was beautiful and then we went on a couple of short hikes to get more of the brilliant views from up above.





We could see the bed of clouds all over the islands, it was pretty bright at the top, but the sun had still not reached the islands yet. It was a sight I can never forget.





Watching all the islands, and the ocean with the clouds on one side, and a rainbow running through it – it is one of the sights I can never forget in my life. It was breathtaking. We started our drive back – believe me it was beautiful. The views that you can get from here are indescribable. We stopped at various points to look at the view and we were just trying to fix that memory in our minds. It’s just way too beautiful to express. We were both silent on our drive back because we were just overwhelmed by the beauty around us.

Below is the picture of the craters - we hiked to this place.





Some more pics of the view on our drive back-





We had breakfast at a place named “Spices” – and were a little sad as we had to get back to the condo and pack up and leave. We had a relaxed breakfast and we reached the condo.

Showered and packed – we were ready to check out at around 12:30pm. We checked out and on our way to the airport, stopped at one of the craft fairs on our way. We shopped for some knick knacks – Sush got himself a Hawaiian printed shirt. We left there and stopped at the Kamaole beach for a last peek at the ocean. I was really sad to leave the place and get back to Chicago.

Some last shots of the ocean from the Kamaole beach-






But all good things come to an end – and so did this trip. It was one of the most memorable trips in our life time so far and very special! And – anybody going to Maui, a week is not enough!!

Hawaii - Day 6 : 12/19/2008

Woke up early and were really excited because we were taking our very first helicopter tour – yes, we were taking a half an hour helicopter tour of the West Maui mountains, complete with water falls and all.

We reached the heliport at around 8:15 am, our tour was to begin at 9:00am. We got our customary safety talk by one of the members there. I did not think too much about getting onto a chopper for the first time – it was no big deal. I had already ridden one of those small air planes – the 4 - seater ones, and thought it should be pretty much similar. Newho, the pilot took us to the chopper, he got on first, I got on next to sit beside him and Sush got in last. I was surprised at how tiny it was. We were literally squashed against each other. And then the chopper lifted from the ground – and I suddenly got the jitters. The helicopter is all glass and very light and for a moment I was scared. The pilot was driving it like a Kinetic Honda. We took flight and rose above the ocean. The scene was breath taking. We had to communicate via the headphone and speaker, like a walkie-talkie. We left the ocean behind and entered the mountains. Wow – it was magnificent to say the least. Water falls, greenery and the mountains … it was a great experience. We saw the location where the opening scene of the Jurassic Park movie was shot – it was just great. We toured all around the West Maui mountains and were really spell bound at how much more beautiful everything looked from that height. I really envied all the birds at that point of time. How quickly the 30 minutes passed and we came back and had a safe landing. We were on a high at the sight we had seen.







We left the heliport and left for Hana. We had to drive by the town on Pa’ia where we stopped to have brunch. After a satisfying meal at a local restaurant and a full tank of gas, we were all set for the Road to Hana – often called the Road to Heaven! Some information about the drive to Hana. It is a trip back in time to the old style, slower paced Hawai'i and the most beautiful tropical rainforests you've ever seen! The road to Hana offers some of the most spectacular scenery found anywhere in the Hawaiian Islands, but the road is long and winding, with over 600 curves and 54 bridges. It's only 53 miles from Kahului Airport to Hana, but it usually takes about 2½ to 3 hours to make the drive, of course that depends on how often you stop. The Road to Hana is world famous for the natural beauty of its unblemished landscapes and towering waterfalls. We had already borrowed the Road to Hana cd from the lobby of our hotel. This cd was to guide us which mile markers to stop at, where to get the best views. If you are not a local to Hawaii, it’s a very good idea to play the cd along.

So we started off in our Mustang, with the top down of course, cruising along. We were warned amply by the locals regarding the drive and that we have to be extremely careful and watchful because of the winding nature of the road and also the one-lane bridges. The fun just started!

As soon as you enter the rainforest, you can make out the difference. The landscape totally changes. It is just too beautiful – the view, the scenery is mind blowing – cannot be described in words, and cannot be captured in pictures. The ocean was a magnificent blue. To get a better view of the scenery and the ocean, I stood at the back of the car, in the convertible and it felt great. Perfect weather, wind blowing against my face – hearing the ocean – oh it was like out of a book!! I cannot describe the scenes that we saw there – so I am just putting up the pictures to do the talking.
























We reached the town of Hana and now were all set to check out the O’heo’s gulch beyond Hana. Here’s some information about O’heo’s gulch which is also known as Seven Sacred Pools. About 15 minutes past Hana, on the Hana Highway (Road to Hana), is the O’heo’s Gulch at the east end of Haleakala National Park. A series of lovely waterfalls and tranquil pools flow through the O'heo Gulch and into the ocean nearby. The Pipiwai Streams feeds these falls and numerous pools starting 2 miles inland. The Pipiwai Trail, above the Seven Sacred Pools, is considered to be one of the best hikes on Maui. It is 4 miles roundtrip, gaining 650-feet in elevation. It takes 3 - 5 hours to hike, depending on how much nature loving you do. There are several great waterfalls along the route with the final destination being Waimoku Falls, falling 400-feet down a sheer lava rock wall.





Well we reached there around 3:00pm or so. We changed and started to check out the pools. We did a short hike and saw a few falls. It was around 3:30pm by then. Now to start off with the Pipiwai Trail. We did not know about this trail before – as the local expert did not tell us anything about this. If we had known that we could do robust hiking here, we would have started for Hana like early in the morning. Anyway, we started the 4 mile trail. We were a far distance from where the car was parked. We did not have any water bottles with us – no torch. Just us. We met people coming back from the trail and we kept asking how the trail was – they said it wasn’t easy – would take at least 3 and half hours if we were quick. We had started walking really briskly. The trail was a reasonably difficult one as it was going to gain an elevation of 650ft. I don’t know why we decided to do it – we just had to see the Waimoku falls. Why were we so concerned you think – as it was just about 4:00pm? We were going to be hiking in the rainforest with thick vegetation. We were sure there would be places with minimal light – and worst of all – no water. Anyway we decided to just start and see what happened. We decided not to stop and to go as fast as we could. Maybe on a different day, both of us would not have decided to do this – as it is not a very intelligent choice.



We started – almost running, skipping along – also we met a lot of people on our way – everybody was returning back. The trail was pretty difficult – maybe if we were just walking it wouldn’t have seemed so. We were hurrying all we could, climbing without water and no breaks. It seemed like Mount Everest. We kept asking people how the trail ahead was and how long it would take. They said it was going to get more difficult, and dark. We kept going and going, did not take a break. The only times we stopped were when we came to a water fall or a pool to look at it. We reached two more water falls, it was breathtaking – the view. We just stopped for like 5 minutes to drink in the beauty of it and continued with our hiking – gaining elevation steadily.



We reached a really dark spot. It was a wooded area in the forest – a lot of bamboo and no sun reaching there. It was fine going in – but what about returning back – it would be bad without a torch or company. At that point, we met some people returning back from the trail and we asked – how long – they said probably half an hour more. We asked them if there was anybody at the Falls, they said they were the last ones to leave the spot, and there was nobody there. At that point, we thought that maybe we should return back – Sush asked me what do you think we should do? I said – we have come this far (believe me it was difficult) – lets just get done with it. And we went on – we reached the falls and what a sight it was. It was like Nirvana for us. It felt worth every bit of perspiration. Seeing the Waimoku Falls, falling 400-feet down a sheer lava rock wall was pure bliss to the eyes. Luckily as we reached there we met a lady with her two kids also. Those were the only people there. We immediately asked if they had a torch – they said no. But we were glad that at least we had some human company. We spent some time there (minimal) and started the hike back. I had sprained my knee and the hike back was all the more difficult. But now, we were relaxed because we were heading back and we had company. We still hiked back rather vigorously, ‘cos the drive back to Maui on Hana Highway in the dark was a little scary. We were very surprised at ourselves (me, especially) at how quickly we could finish the hike. And it surprised me as to what all we can achieve just if we set our hearts to it!







Finally we reached the car and the time was like 6:00pm We had finished the entire hike in about 2 and a half hours. It was an achievement of sorts and boy, we were glad we did it. Like Sush said at the end – I can’t believe we did that – I guess I did it for you, and you did it for me! The drive back was a difficult one, but Sush made it all seem very easy. The boy loves to drive and he was totally relaxed and confident – so no issues. We reached Kihei around 8:30pm and had dinner at an Indian restaurant. We were pretty tired and headed back to the condo and slept like logs!

Hawaii - Day 5 : 12/18/2008

As usual started the day early – and we were really excited as we were going snorkeling again. This time a diff harbor, a diff catamaran and a diff island. We were taking off from the Lahaina harbor, in the Pacific Whale Foundation boat and we were going to island of Lana’i. Well, first a little bit of information about Lanai. It is another small island not far from Maui. It was known as the Pineapple island. It was the official supplier of pine apples for the Dole company of juices. But now there is no pine apple cultivation anymore. Presently the island of Lanai is privately owned (yes!) by some chap named David Murdoch. Newho, that place is known for its pristine coral bed and also dolphins. So basically the trip that we were taking was a snorkeling trip combined with a dolphin search. So we were super excited. Got on to the boat and started the trip with breakfast. We were sitting on the deck as usual and this boat was not too crowded. Well just 15 minutes into our ride, and we spotted whales again!! Same amount of awe and wonderment, but this time managed to capture something on the camera. We were really excited as we saw like 3-4 whales.

The excitement died down and we reached our first spot of snorkeling. Yes, we were going to snorkel at two different spots today (Yay!)

The first spot is known for having a superb coral bed. There are fish there, but not too many. The captain already told us that don’t be surprised if you don’t see too many fish out there but just enjoy the coral bed – as it was one of the best places to see it. We plunged in to the water and this time Sush and me kept together for most of the time. I thought after the Molokini snorkel I wouldn’t be too surprised with what I see as what we saw there was soooo good, how can it get better? But I was wrong – the coral bed here was magnificent. It was a bit wavy, and the water was not very clear, a little murky – but that did not spoil it a bit. The corals were captivating, the colors were splendid. And we did see quite some fish. I counted this time and we saw around 13 varieties of fish. After 45 mins or so of snorkeling we got back to the boat. The bad part was that there was no professional photographer on board this time who would click pictures of the water life and from whom we could buy them.







If you see in the picture - the tail of the humpback whale can be seen!







So we continued our trip to the island of Lanai. No dolphins so far. The boat was rocking as it was very wavy because of the strong winds. And the ride was pretty bumpy – almost a mini-roller coaster ride – that was how much the boat was rocking. We enjoyed it nevertheless. It just feels great to be surrounded by water all around – and not too many boats come to Lanai for snorkeling – so we couldn’t see anybody in near vicinity. We reached Lanai – it was getting very windy and we could see the currents in the water – they were really strong. One of the crew members jumped in to check if it was safe enough to snorkel. And she came back saying too wavy – not safe to let us snorkel. The captain immediately turned around and started towards Maui, but told us that he would take us to another snorkeling spot which was popular for sea turtles. He said that would definitely make up for the disappointment of not seeing any dolphins.
On our way to the other spot which was in the direction of the harbor, we again spotted whales!! We were sooo excited again!

Check out the awesome video Sush managed to shoot of the humpback whale!




Check out a few pics of the views from the deck and us posing after our snorkeling!






We reached the spot, and immediately from the boat we could see sea turtles in the water. They were just huge. We got so excited, we just jumped into the water. The water here also was murky, but the fish that we saw were too good. There were too many fish – it was a huge area where we were snorkeling. The coral bed here also was great. We snorkeled – were enjoying it totally, and we spotted the turtles. We stayed absolutely still so as not to alarm the turtle and waited for it to come closer. The turtle came closer, checked us out, circled around us and left. Believe me, its intimidating. The sea turtles are huge, and its quite scary when they so so close to you and swim by. But it was great. We saw two more turtles after that and we were very happy. We saw huge variety of fish there. And then suddenly a lady who was snorkeling near to us called us and said that there were sharks there and we should check them out. Immediately we swam to the place she was pointing to and surely saw two sharks – I was alarmed and came up and then the lady from the crew said that these sharks here are harmless and there is no danger. Phew!! Some excitement!!
I just did not want to get out of the water – cos I knew we were not going to snorkel after this and wanted to see as much as I could. But finally it was time and I had to get on board.




We had lunch – hot barbecued burgers and got off the boat and started to drive to a diff part of Maui to cover the beaches there. We drove around and covered the Ka’napali, Napili and Kapalua bays and beaches. Stopped at the various look out points and also at a beach to see the water. They were beautiful beaches, a little secluded - but absolute gems. Well, in Hawaii beautiful beaches are a way of life - we were kind of gotten used to the beauty of the place :).




We reached Lahaina around 4:00pm and had time on our hands. So decided to check out the Cannery mall there. It is a cute little mall. Were just browsing and went to a couple of Hawaiian souvenir/gift stores. Not the usual keychain, magnet stores but these stores had real Hawaiian stuff – that is designed and made in Hawaii, most of it hand crafted. Bought some stuff there and were delighted at the ingenuity of the designs. Sush started talking to a local there – to find out a place to eat good food in Lahaina – ocean facing to watch the sunset. He suggested the restaurant Kimo's – we decided to have dinner there.

After our shopping, we headed to Kimos for dinner. We reached there at around 5:30pm and decided to have dinner – at 5:30pm. We were on the upper level – like a roof top – facing the ocean directly. There was a huge cruise liner right in front of us, all decked up and everything; it felt just perfect. We placed our orders – the hotel recommended me the Opakapaka fish (that’s the Hawaiian name for pink snapper) – that was the fish of the season. He said that it was white and flaky and delicious – that’s what I was looking for. We had a 3 course meal – and quite honestly it was one of the finest fish preparations I have eaten. We had a long dinner – we were there for almost 2 hours. We saw the sun set over the ocean – the cruise liner was lit up beautifully – it felt as if the cruise was lit up just for us as it was right in front of us. There were ‘mashals’ burning for light. The sunset was magnificent and it was undoubtedly the most romantic dinner setting ever.





After dinner, we called it a night and returned back to the condo.