Day 1 - 11 am, Winenot

Drinking wine and driving where we weren’t supposed to (not in that order) was the theme of the day. Taking an advantage of the fact that we’re not yet used to the time change my day started just after midnight when I was able to watch the stars after the moon set. It truly is amazing what you can see when there’s no light pollution. Reawaking just after sunrise, we enjoyed our coffee and the scenery then set out north along the coast further into the closed area where we weren’t supposed to be driving. The scenery is beautiful very rugged with the lava fields flowing straight down to the ocean. Eventually, we had to turn around honoring our agreement with the van owner not to enter a certain more treacherous area. Later that morning we stopped at the Maui Winery in Ulapalakua where Annemarie was treated to a local wine tasting which featured pineapple wine originating back to the 70s. The estate was beautiful with huge old trees, tropical plants and brilliantly colored robins and other birds. Following our appetizer of brie with pineapple syrup and crackers, which went perfectly with the wine, we went for lunch across the street to the ranch restaurant where we got fresh organic hamburger for Annemarie and a venison burger for myself, so delicious. Full and tired we started our journey to the other side of the island passing the airport, where we started in Halalui, then south. Driving down the coast looked similar to the touristy areas of Florida with all the boutique hotels and small restaurants and shops. The end of this drive we reached our destination of Malaka’i Beach and it was well worth the journey. Beautiful, soft tan sand, with large waves breaking on shore made for a beautiful walk and great scenery. Not daring to swim in the rough waters like others were, plus the water was a little chilly, we sat and watched as people played and would get sucked out only to tumble back in with the wave. At one point Annemarie cursed me as I took her on a barefoot hike across the lava rock to Lookout point which was debatably worth the pain. Now late in the afternoon we scrambled to find our new camp still unable to go to where the fires continued but are more contained than yesterday and still restricting access to the campgrounds. Camping is very limited on the island and you’re not allowed to sleep in a vehicle outside of private land or campgrounds so we ended up heading to Camp Olowala where we were already scheduled for the following 2 nights. Before we reached the campground, we stopped at a large resort, Annemarie had read about called Grand Waimea where they have beautiful gardens and sculptures. When we arrived, we walked through the entrance, which was absolutely stunning and the most amazing resort I’ve ever seen. There were sculptures From the famous artist Botero and the most beautiful landscaped grounds I’ve ever seen. They even had a small church for weddings. Curious I had to see the price per night and the cheapest room is around $800 or 115,000 Hilton points. Once we reached the camp we were pleasantly surprised by the beautiful grounds. They also offer glamping and cabins along the Campervan parking. Chickens and roosters run wild here looking for any handouts they can get. I was hoping one I saw was sitting on an egg and as I was preparing to steal some breakfast for tomorrow when it got up and 4 tiny chicks ran away. We settled into the camp and enjoyed a nice quiet evening in our van still exhausted from our long travels. We look forward to our next exciting day tomorrow not yet sure where we will end up.Read more