Hawaii is a state of the United States of America located in the Pacific Ocean. It is the only U.S. state located outside North America and the only island state. Distant and exotic it is on everyone’s bucket list. While travel is at a standstill, I thought I’d share a slide show from my trips to Hawaii. The photos are from Oahu, Maui and The Big Island. They include landscapes, water sports, flora and fauna. There is so much in Hawaii to see.
The Hana Highway FinaleAs you know by now The Hana Highway aka The Road to Hana is a repeat adventure. I seem to end up taking that trip either by tour or by accident on every visit to Maui. When I got stuck on my rock on a one lane road I was looking for a beach on the Road to Hana that I had seen on a previous tour. We were nearing the end of this tour and I almost missed it. The tour bus drove right by. I blinked and tried to look quick as we shot past. Was it the same beach? I thought so but why weren’t we stopping? Time for the Hana Highway Finale.
We were well past the turn off when the tour bus finally pulled over. I had to ask. Was there a beach with lots of vendors behind us? The driver said yes but new ordinances prevent tour buses from stopping there now. It was such a popular stop that it just got too congested so the tour buses were banned. Violators received hefty fines. When he saw the room on the road shoulder to pull over he did so we could watch the windsurfers. The last time I was here it was all about surfing but today it was windsurfers.
Jeff, the driver, went on to tell us that large windsurfing contests were held here every year and these windsurfers were here to practice their moves. Sometimes they went far out and came racing back. Jeff said they were practicing their speed runs. More fun was watching them ride the waves like surfers with sails. They would be on a crest of a breaking wave and pull the sail over. This made them flip sometimes completely over. It was awesome when they were successful but there were far more failures. That’s when we watched the brightly colored sails splash into the water and the wave break over it. But like a phoenix the surfers got back up and tried again. This was a colorful wrap up to our daylong tour of the Hana Highway and back.
I’m not sure but I think this is Hookipa Beach Park. Now I’ll need to return to Maui and the Hana Highway to confirm this for you. See how easy it is to convince me to go back! And you can see why I always end up on the Road to Hana- so much to see.
Red Sand Beach of MauiYou don’t want to miss the Red Sand Beach while you are on Maui. It’s called Kaihalulu Beach in Hawaiian. Located just outside of Hana we made a stop after we went to the Black Sand Beach. It’s just a tiny beach tucked into a pocket cove. The rust colored sands of the beach are just that, rust. The lava that forms the Ka’uiki Head cinder cone is filled with iron which rusts. The lava breaks off and washes up onto the beach breaking down into the red sand.
The Islands of Hawaii are blessed with many colored sands in their beaches. We visited both a black sand beach and a red sand beach on Maui. There’s a green sand beach on the Big Island. The green sand is created by a common mineral in Big Island lava called olivine,
All of these beaches get their colors from the lava rock that breaks down to form the sand. The exceptions are the beautiful white sand beaches. White sand beaches are actually fish poop. Shocking I know. But the parrot fish eat the coral to get the algae that grows there. Then the hard coral passes through their system to come out as , well, Fish poop. It then washes up onto shore to form beautiful white sand beaches. Parrot fish can poop up to 200 lbs of sand per year per fish! Think about that next time you spread your blanket on that pristine beach.
Stoplight Parrotfish (Sparisoma viride) at Salt Pier
Be Cautious at the Red Sand BeachLike most of the beaches in Hawaii there are no life guards on duty so you swim at your own risk. Kaihalulu Beach is beautiful to visit and look at. The water is usually a deep blue with splashing white where it breaks against the rugged coastline. That very rugged coast creates currents and rip tides that can drag an unsuspecting swimmer out to sea or toss them against the sharp lava rocks. Either way the swimmer is likely toast so Beware.
Ka’uiki Head is the birthplace of Queen Ka’ahumanu, and site of historic battles and an ancient heiau.
The Hawaiian name means “roaring sea.”
The Black Sand BeachThere is a Black Sand Beach on Maui. We stopped for a visit while on the Road to Hana Tour. Waianapanapa State Park is located just outside of Hana. I think this is one of the most spectacular stops on the Hana Highway. The beach is nestled in a private cove. The tour bus dropped us off in the parking lot and we followed a wooden walkway. Eventually you come to the stone stairs down to the black sand beach. I never got down there as I was captivated by the views from the lookout.
Waianapanapa State Park is not just the black sand beach. It includes Hawaiian Cemeteries, Sea Stacks, Blow Holes and even a Lava Tube. There are various legends associated with the park. One such legend is as follows:
A Hawaiian legend states that long ago in Hana a Hawaiian princess named Popoalaea was forced to marry an older chief named Kakea. The chief was very jealous and suspicious of his young bride and beat her often. One day she fled with her faithful serving maid and they hid inside a lava tube cave near Hana’s black sand beach.
To enter the cave required a dive into the fresh water pools called Waianapanapa (the meaning of the word is “glistening fresh water”).The king and his men grew furious looking for them. Finally one day while searching for her he spotted the two women’s reflections in the waters of the cave as they sat on the ledge.
They were killed on the spot and every spring thereafter during the dark nights of Ku when this murder took place the waters seem to glow red, signifying the blood of the princess.
Cliff Jumping from the Sea StacksAs I sat quietly enjoying the sun, the sea bird colony on the large sea stack became quite agitated. Moments later a head appeared. Then the rest of the body followed. A young man must have swum out to the Sea Stack and was now climbing the huge rock. Eventually he made it to the very top. I watched him set himself then cannonball out over the water. What a long drop! He is either crazy or far more brave than I!
As a Timeshare Owner with Diamond Resorts, I am always invited to a special event when I come to Maui. These events are called Event of a Lifetime and are usually interesting and enjoyable. The cost is minimal and 90 minutes of your time to hear an “owner update”. This time the Event of a Lifetime is a day trip on the Trilogy to Lana’i.
Trilogy is one of the premier attractions providing sunset Dinner cruises,whale watching trips and a day trip to the island of Lana’i. As of 2012, the island was 97% owned by Larry Ellison (Founder and Chairman of Oracle), with the remaining 3% owned by the state of Hawaiʻi and privately owned homes. There is a ferry to Lana’i so you can visit the island on your own. An animal sanctuary on the island is home to 380 feral cats! They have no natural enemies so they just multiply.
We requested permission to enter the harbor by blowing on a conch shell. Then we waited for a response. Once it came we headed to our slip at the dock. We were greeted by Native Hawaiians chanting. As we disembarked we were presented with shell lei’s of welcome. It was only a short walk to the beach but air conditioned van’s were waiting if anyone wanted to ride.
Part of the beach was set up exclusively for us. There were picnic tables and chairs, a supply van with masks and snorkels and snuba equipment. Nearby was a trail down to the tide pools.
Captain Coon’s BBQ lunchAfter a morning spent relaxing on the beach, swimming, snorkeling and snuba diving we were escorted to a covered open air building for lunch. Captain Coon’s BBQ is salad, rolls, BBQ chicken and noodles. The chicken was quite tasty but several guests said their chicken wasn’t cooked through. I suppose cooking for a crowd like ours can be a challenge.
Heading back to Maui we had to cross the Auau Channel. We were heading into the wind now and that served to give us a wet and wild ride. Water soaked everyone in the bow until the captain had the sails set and turned off the engines. Once we had wind power the ride smoothed out. Over paper cups of ice cream we looked for whales. Too soon it was time to make our way back to Lahaina.
If you are on Maui and want to explore Lana’i you can take a ride on the Trilogy or take the Maui to Lana’i Ferry. Its a step back to “old Hawaii”.
