Aloha!! Maui & the Big Island

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.En savoir plus

Today was a more relaxing day and we took our time getting going and not exactly sure what we were going to do. The fire was still keeping the Crater Road closed so we had some breakfast at the camp and decided to check out Iao Valley State Monument, which is a more sacred place to the native Hawaiians as this was an area where great battles between rival kings of the islands would take place for control of Maui. The main geological feature is a mountain that has eroded to almost a point and this is where the troops from Maui would gain a vantage point and wait for the invaders. We hiked up a river quite a ways until we found the perfect spot with a small waterfall where we were able to mostly be away from other tourist and enjoy the cool but not freezing river. The relaxation part of this excursion ended quickly as Annemarie was standing on the steep sandy side in her flip-flops. Just as I was thinking “be careful”, her feet slid about 3 inches before she became airborne and landed right on her tush. Making sure she was ok first, I was clear to laugh, oh that is gonna leave a mark. We made our way back down the trail and found a huge tree that just look like it needed a hug. Back at the parking lot, Annemarie told me that she had read about a local restaurant famous Cafe Olei famous for its Ahi nachos. for its nachos. Located at Maui tropical plantation, they provide an example of all of the different types of fruits and trees common in Hawaii. Now, happy having had her fill we loaded back into the van, but were still undecided on where we were going to go. So what better place to regroup and plan but the Maui brewery. We were shocked at how large of an operation this was but after talking with the bartender we found out this is the location that brews the beer that’s distributed throughout the country. A couple flights sampling the different brews and off we were to see if there was any local volleyball we could join. Fortunately, the courts we found were empty being the winds are still probably around 30 mph which is not very good for our game so off, we went back to camp for an early evening to relax and just enjoy the cool weather and nice sunset.En savoir plus