Maui Trip Report contd...
Monday 16th January
Today was break day, we decided to sleep in and laze around, check out some beaches and try some snorkeling.
Rex and I went out to rent some snorkeling gear. Rex looked really doubtful when he saw the gear and started having second thoughts. We took some advice from the Snorkel Bob’s and headed out to the beach which had shallow but excellent snorkel views. I tested the water, tried the gear on and helped Rex with his. Then we went into the water till it was waist high. I was a bit apprehensive about his being so deep in water especially without the safety jacket. But Rex turned out to be a regular water baby. He jumped right in and got the snorkel bit of it right in the very first go! Later he even managed to start floating after watching me do it a few times. I was quiet impressed. The snorkel itself was great. There was a small fish school and some really beautiful fishes near the reef. The water was amazingly clear and wonderful. Rex was having a great time. We sort of hijacked the corner which had good views and refused to budge! We stayed there for an hour or so and then headed back home for a good shower and dinner.
Later that day we went to the Iao Needle point. This was another awesome valley. We couldnt go to the peak of this mountain since the road was close, but we got some pretty breathtaking views.
Tuesday 17th January
There are two attractions on the Haleakala Crater. The sunrise and the hike down the crater. Unfortunately we couldn’t do both.
The road was winding all the way and we saw lots of people doing the bike ride down from the top. This activity is described as dangerous and we could see why. The bikers were well dressed, but the winds were blowing hard and we could feel it every time we got out of the car to take pictures.
We stopped at one particular spot mentioned in the guide book called the Leleiwi Lookout. This is a great place to get a completely different view of the crater valley. The winds were blowing so hard here that Rex had a tough time just holding the camera to shoot. We would have loved to stay, but I just couldn’t stand the cold winds. Up ahead near the summit, it was even worse. We had read about it being windy (and cold) but hadn’t expected the severity.
Some unique things to know about the crater, is that it has some unique vegetation like the “Silverswords”. This plant like the salmon reproduces only when it dies. The name comes from the silver colored hair coverings on the plant. Also the crater itself isn’t exactly the crater. It’s a valley formed by erosion rather than the actual epicenter of the volcano. It was a magnificent view from the summit and I could imagine that the trek down would have been even more spectacular. But we had to let this go since we were barely prepared for the windy climate.
Since, we didn’t do the hike; we decided to drive around the upcountry area of the island. Two places that we wanted to visit were the towns Haiku and Makawao. We drove through Haiku which was quiet, green and wet. It was a beautiful serene place. We just drove around and enjoyed the peace and quiet along with the scenery. Makawao was a quaint little town which had a small downtown area. The local bakery shop had some delicious goodies and we stopped for a snack, before making our way back home.
Monday 16th January
Today was break day, we decided to sleep in and laze around, check out some beaches and try some snorkeling.
Rex and I went out to rent some snorkeling gear. Rex looked really doubtful when he saw the gear and started having second thoughts. We took some advice from the Snorkel Bob’s and headed out to the beach which had shallow but excellent snorkel views. I tested the water, tried the gear on and helped Rex with his. Then we went into the water till it was waist high. I was a bit apprehensive about his being so deep in water especially without the safety jacket. But Rex turned out to be a regular water baby. He jumped right in and got the snorkel bit of it right in the very first go! Later he even managed to start floating after watching me do it a few times. I was quiet impressed. The snorkel itself was great. There was a small fish school and some really beautiful fishes near the reef. The water was amazingly clear and wonderful. Rex was having a great time. We sort of hijacked the corner which had good views and refused to budge! We stayed there for an hour or so and then headed back home for a good shower and dinner.
Later that day we went to the Iao Needle point. This was another awesome valley. We couldnt go to the peak of this mountain since the road was close, but we got some pretty breathtaking views.
Tuesday 17th January
There are two attractions on the Haleakala Crater. The sunrise and the hike down the crater. Unfortunately we couldn’t do both.
The road was winding all the way and we saw lots of people doing the bike ride down from the top. This activity is described as dangerous and we could see why. The bikers were well dressed, but the winds were blowing hard and we could feel it every time we got out of the car to take pictures.
We stopped at one particular spot mentioned in the guide book called the Leleiwi Lookout. This is a great place to get a completely different view of the crater valley. The winds were blowing so hard here that Rex had a tough time just holding the camera to shoot. We would have loved to stay, but I just couldn’t stand the cold winds. Up ahead near the summit, it was even worse. We had read about it being windy (and cold) but hadn’t expected the severity.
Some unique things to know about the crater, is that it has some unique vegetation like the “Silverswords”. This plant like the salmon reproduces only when it dies. The name comes from the silver colored hair coverings on the plant. Also the crater itself isn’t exactly the crater. It’s a valley formed by erosion rather than the actual epicenter of the volcano. It was a magnificent view from the summit and I could imagine that the trek down would have been even more spectacular. But we had to let this go since we were barely prepared for the windy climate.
Since, we didn’t do the hike; we decided to drive around the upcountry area of the island. Two places that we wanted to visit were the towns Haiku and Makawao. We drove through Haiku which was quiet, green and wet. It was a beautiful serene place. We just drove around and enjoyed the peace and quiet along with the scenery. Makawao was a quaint little town which had a small downtown area. The local bakery shop had some delicious goodies and we stopped for a snack, before making our way back home.
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