Sunrise on the Summit
We spent our first week hanging out admiring the surfers and windsurfers at Ho’okipa Beach, practicing our own surfing skills on the less challenging waves at Kihei and exploring the island. We fell in love with the laid back granola town of Paia with its cool surfers and windsurfers, aging hippies and local artists. We drove through the lush mountains to Iao Valley State Park and visited the incredible lava fields on the eastern slopes of Mt Haleakala.
On our snorkel cruise, with Pacific Whale Foundation, we visited Molokini Island (a bird and marine sanctuary) and the kids were thrilled to see dolphins and turtles swimming alongside the boat. Pacific Whale Foundation is unique in that it is a nonprofit organization that uses the money made on its boat tours to protect marine life. They have marine biologists and naturalists on board and they are very environmentally conscious. Even our plastic glasses (of which we were only allowed one) were made of corn (don’t ask me how)! At our second snorkel spot, I got up close and personal with a huge sea turtle as we swam along side by side. On the boat ride home, one of the naturalists did a talk on all the different kinds of marine life we had seen and Alexa was completely intrigued. She and Simon loved it when the naturalist taught everyone how to say the name of Hawaii’s national fish, the humuhumunukunukuapua’a (aka triggerfish). Every time they’ve spotted one since, they yell it out, usually through a snorkel. Claude, of course, intentionally butchers it every time he says it and they have exhausted themselves trying to teach him how to say it properly.
When our first week in Maui ended, it was time to leave Whispering Bamboo and head for cheaper digs (we are on a budget, you know). We spent our next night at Peace of Maui, a great little hostel on the slopes of Mt Haleakala. We got up at 4AM in order to watch the sunrise from the summit and still barely made it to the top in time for the big event. The 38 mile drive to the summit is the shortest drive from sea level to a 10,000ft peak in the world. After the sunrise, we hiked down the aptly named Sliding Sands trail into the crater to the Ka Lu’u o ka ‘O’o volcanic cone. The 6.5km of switchback trail descended over 2500 feet into the crater through some of the most desolate, yet beautiful, terrain we had ever seen. Volcanic sands dotted with “lava bombs,” huge boulders dropped from the sky by previous eruptions, stretched in varying hues of grey, pink, red and brown as far as the eye could see. The morning mist added to the sense of mystery and isolation and clouds literally poured over the surrounding peaks and across the crater. At times, we were completely enveloped by the clouds and the temperature would plummet briefly as they skimmed over us. As we descended further into the crater, the silence became almost overwhelming. Due to the almost complete lack of plant life, there were no birds, insects or animals and when we stopped and listened, all we could hear was our own breathing. Even the sound of our own voices seemed to be absorbed by the walls of the crater around us. We finally made it the volcanic cone (one of the smaller ones in the crater) and imagined what it would be like to see lava spewing from it. It was now midmorning and time to head back up the trail. This was definitely going to be a challenge, but, thanks to lots of snacks and the distraction of three rounds of “I’m going to the beach and I’m bringing…” we finally conquered the sliding sands. We were exhausted and covered in red dust from head to toe, but the we had tamed another mountain (this time in reverse)!
View our photos from Maui on our web album
Tags: Hawaii, hiking, Maui, Travel
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