Category Archives: beach vacation

The Black Sand Beach

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The Black Sand Beach

There 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.

Not just the Black Sand Beach

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 Stacks

As 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!

An Event of a Lifetime-Lana’i

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Diamond’s Event of a Lifetime

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. 

Sail Trilogy

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.

Hulopo’e Beach and Marine Preserve

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 lunch

After 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.

Crossing the Auau Channel

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”. 

 

Glass Bottom Boat – Journey

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Glass Bottom Boat - JourneyGlass Bottom Boat – Journey

The Glass Bottom Boat – Journey returned to her berth in the Pennekamp Marina right on time. The passengers disembarked. The Captain and his mate did a little clean up and then the All Aboard was called for our 3 PM trip.

I’ve been on a few Glass Bottom boats but never one like Journey. Most have a large glass viewing port in the bottom of the boat. A few had the windows in the hull where you looked out the sides. This one was different. There were 4 large boxes. They looked like freezers with  lids tightly secured when we got on board. Benches surrounded these Boxes and we were told to take a seat at any of the four. 

The Journey on the JourneyGlass Bottom Boat - Journey

After the obligatory safety instruction Journey cast off and we motored out through the mangroves. We spotted beautiful white herons perched in the trees but finally we entered more open water, the sea grass plains. The boat picked up speed here. The Captain’s Mate told us to watch for sea turtles. Sure enough, they were everywhere. They were hard to spot until you saw a splash as they ducked back under the water. They kept their distance from the boat. At one point there were so many the Captain slowed to almost a standstill so we could get a chance to look around without spooking the turtles. 

Open the Freezers!

As we left the sea grass plains behind we prepared for arrival at the reef. The Mate went around to each of the boxes and helped us remove the lids. The viewing port was at the bottom of the “well”. We could lean on the sides of the boxes and look down through the window to the sea floor below.  The water wasn’t very clear. Not like I would expect for the Florida Keys. It was obvious that the winds had been stirring things up.  

Glass Bottom Boat - JourneyView from Above

We drifted over Molasses Reef watching for any signs of sea life. Finally someone called out that they saw a turtle. Then we began seeing little reef fish like parrot fish. But our window had the best sighting. We got a shark! We also saw a jelly fish and several little sea turtles. After drifting there for about an hour, maybe an hour and a half  it was time to head back to the marina. No one got seasick but it was easy to see how you could glued to the windows as we all were. 

Conclusion

This was a good choice. The visibility wasn’t good enough to warrant the effort it would take to go snorkeling in 2 ft seas. It would have been nice to see the Christ of the Abyss which would require a snorkel trip but even the snorkelers didn’t get out there due to the rough seas. Maybe next trip. 

Glass Bottom Boat or Snorkel?

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Glass Bottom Boat or Snorkel?

Glass Bottom Boat or Snorkel trip, decisions,  decisions,  decisions! The gift shop was between the Visitor Center and the beach. They had signs out for the afternoon trips. The seas must have calmed down. Time to check out my options. 

Snorkel the Reef?Glass Bottom Boat or Snorkel

When I entered the shop a couple were talking to the Snorkel sales person. She was really pushing the Dramamine. The seas were still running 2-3 ft and it was quite rough. She didn’t think they’d get to the Christ Statue today but that it would be up to the captain to decide when he got out there. She did assure them that they could bring children. I don’t think I’d take kids snorkeling on 2-3 foot swells but maybe that’s just me. I prefer my snorkeling in calm sheltered waters. If it’s rough give me a regulator and scuba any day. Much easier. Having overheard that I moved on to the Glass Bottom Boat desk.

The Glass Bottom Boat

The sales rep at the Glass Bottom Boat desk was also encouraging the use of Dramamine. The reefs are located between 3 and 8 miles offshore off the coast of the Florida Keys so exploring them on your own is out of the question unless you have a boat. The “Christ of the Deep” statue is located at Key Largo Dry Rocks reef. No glass bottom boat tours go to see the statue; the area is too shallow. After some personal soul searching I decided on the glass bottom boat. I really wasn’t up for hard snorkeling and swimming yet and my scuba certification is still in limbo. The Glass Bottom Boat would give me a chance to check out the conditions. How rough was it really? How clear is the water? 

Glass Bottom Boat3 pm Boarding time

It was almost 2:30 so with a 3 pm boarding time I opted to turn in my gear and wait at the marina. I didn’t want to take a chance on losing track of time and  literally  “missing the boat”. The Glass Bottom Boat is the “Journey”. I settled on a bench in the Gazebo to wait for it’s return.Glass Bottom Boat or Snorkel?

Back to John Pennekamp Coral Reef Park

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Back to John Pennekamp Coral Reef Park

Back to the Park

The whole purpose of my trip to Key Largo was to see the reef at John Pennekamp Park so it was only reasonable to go back to the park after lunch. My receipt got me right in. I still had all my snorkel gear. When you rent it you rent it for the day so I thought about an afternoon snorkel. My feet were still hurting from the morning adventure on the coral so I decided I’d check out the visitor center first.Back to the Park

Environmental Education and Visitor Center

The Visitor center was refreshingly cool. As I walked in I saw a theater that was running a continuous loop of film. One of the other visitors was just leaving and he told me I had perfect timing. The loop was just starting again. That was good enough for me. I popped into the theater and made myself comfortable.The underwater photography was beautiful but the message was a serious one. The movie was about an hour long and it was about the conservation of the seas. It followed the life cycles of the tiniest creatures  ending with the mammals. It was very worthwhile. Throughout the movie people came and went. Too bad they didn’t sit through to the end.

Back to John Pennekamp Coral Reef Park30,000 Gallon Saltwater Aquarium

The main feature of the visitor center was the 30,000 gal aquarium.  The aquarium was filled with native fish. Kind of a sneak preview of what you could see on the reef.  Smaller aquariums featured different reef animals including my lunch, the Florida (spiny) lobster.

Back to the Park

 

If you go

The park is open daily from 8:00 a.m. until sunset but parking can fill up early. All park buildings including the Concession Building and Visitor Center are open 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

All visitors are required to pay an entrance fee:
$8.00* per vehicle. Limit 2-8 people per vehicle.
$2.00* Pedestrians, bicyclists, extra passengers, passengers in vehicle with holder of Annual Individual Entrance Pass.
$4.00* Single-occupant vehicle or motorcycle.
*Plus $.50 per person Monroe County Surcharge.