• Bec Taylor
Sep – Oct 2019

Hawaii 2019

Our big Honeymoon to Oahu, Kauai and Maui 😊 Read more
  • Change of plans

    October 10, 2019 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 27 °C

    Last night we were flicking around online and the weather came up that it was meant to be full on raining out Hana way all day. We read a few reviews about doing the drive in the constant rain and decided to push it back until Saturday when it seems to clear a bit. There's always a little bit of rain on that side of the island apparently, but when it's all day, it's different. So change of plans today, just did a shuffle and we're heading to the western circle loop of Maui.Read more

  • West Maui Circle

    October 10, 2019 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 29 °C

    We drove through Lahaina which is another popular tourist area, I can see why, lots of food and shopping, and right on the beach. We stopped at Whalers village for an early lunch at Hula Grill then a bit of a shop. Great spot, right on the beach and we could see 2 of the other Hawaiian islands from there, Lanai and Molokai. We continued along the loop, stopping at lookouts, blowholes and beaches along the way. After the olivine pools the road got really tight and windy, we kept going but it was a bit scary being up so high and most of it being single lane. I think the road to Hana is meant to be pretty similar, but less of a drop off. Kahaluloa village was in amongst the crazy road, a lot of locals live there and there were a heap of pop up markets and side of the road stores, it was really nice. The roads widened again and we were close to our last stop at Iao Valley. It was green and beautiful. We paid our entry and walked up to the monument, we thought we were being childish because it kinda looked a little suggestive, then we read the information board and it said it was the 'phallic stone of the god of the ocean'. Made sense. Warriors used to perch themselves on top of it to be on the lookout for incoming attacks. We headed back after a small stock up of snacks, drinks and poptarts at Safeway. Yes we know we have them at home, but why not try them where they're a staple? We relaxed in the aircon for a bit then headed out for dinner. We were feeling seafood again and found a little spot called Eskimo candy. Basically a ridiculously good version of a fish and chip shop. Shrimp scampi for me and the captain's platter for Ben which had fish, chips, scallops, oysters, calamari and prawns. Such good value, so tasty and big serves! Back to the accommodation for some drinks, bit of Netflix, the heaps up game and bed.Read more

  • Paia and surrounds

    October 11, 2019 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 26 °C

    Poptarts to start the day! Such a healthy breakfast, haha! They were pretty good, sweet though! We headed for Paia today, it's a town at the start of the Road to Hana, thought we'd go have a look around because we won't have as much time tomorrow to stop in. It's a cute, little, older town with lots of little shops, we stopped in for lunch at Milagros, burritos and burgers, so good. After lunch we wandered through the shops, somehow ended up in a shop that reminded us a little of something you'd find in Byron bay or Nimbin, lots of organic health foods.
    I read about a beach that has a nice outlook and you might see a turtle or 2, so we headed there. MORE LIKE 21 TURTLES! I was a little bit excited. They were just chilling in the sun, slapping each other with their flippers and going into the water when they got too hot. We spent a while there just watching them, it was really nice. We didn't want to bother them, so we went to another beach for a swim, so refreshing but super salty. It was a nice relaxing afternoon. For dinner we went to a deli for a French dip and pastrami sandwiches, so good! Big day tomorrow!
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  • Start of The Road To Hana

    October 12, 2019 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C

    Early start today, but we moved a bit slower than we'd planned, all good though, no rush. Got fuel for the drive just before 7 and we were on our way, but first, malasadas! We made a quick stop at Hookipa beach to see how the turtles were going. Lots had already moved out and you could see their slide marks where they'd dragged themselves to the water.
    The Road to Hana is 52 miles, has 617 curves, 54 bridges and is either very tight or single lane for a lot of it. We stopped first at the twin falls, there was a little bushwalk involved so it was good to do that first before it got too hot. The falls were quite little but pretty, I grabbed an iced coffee from the farm van out the front and it was probably the best I've had, even beating the caramel Starbucks one. On our way to the next stop, we got stuck behind a bloody porkchop in a jeep who was either driving in the middle of the bloody road (one lane but still), or he was going 5mph and couldn't work out how to give way. Ughhh. Luckily the scenery was a nice a distraction. Some houses along the road had food for sale or their toilets for sale, $1 a use, good idea we thought!
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  • Garden of Eden

    October 12, 2019 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 26 °C

    The Garden of Eden is botanical garden with beautiful ocean views along the road to Hana. We stopped in here and spent some time walking around and taking photos. We moved on and stopped in and out of a few lookouts when we reached the halfway point.Read more

  • Halfway point and Ben the hoon

    October 12, 2019 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 30 °C

    We stopped off at the Halfway to Hana rest stop to take a few photos, to get a hotdog and their famous banana bread, it's the 36th anniversary this year.
    Ben is a pretty confident driver, a bit too confident to other drivers I think, a lot of the cars ahead of us would pull over to let us through, haha. But also we're not in a jeep or mustang like the majority of the tourists so maybe they think we're locals. There was a courtesy sign at the start of the road asking to let the locals through so they're not stuck behind slow drivers.Read more

    Trip end
    October 17, 2019