Freitag, 8. April 2016

Coconut, Coconut and Papaya - a trip to Maui 4

Day 5: The kayak - snorkel -tour. We got up quite early to arrive at the Makena Landing by 7 am to meet with Christopher from Maui Kayak Adventures. He had already everything prepared, kayaks at the beach, snorkel gear, water, snacks and camera. So we just picked up our paddles and off we went. We had an awesome time. We saw plenty of turtles, did I mention that I just love turtles, they are so beautiful! And there were so many fish and I even saw an octopus. Since we were on our kayaks, we were able to paddle around the big crowds and find a more quiet spot for our snorkeling.
If you plan a snorkeling trip on Maui, check out the Maui Kayak Adventures, they are very well worth the money.
There was nothing to top this!

Early morning kayaking.
Turtle alarm!
First snorkel 1.
First snorkel 2.
Under water 1.
Under water 2.
Under water 3.
Under water 4.
First back at the base.

Day 6: The last full day started with a wonderful view onto whales, playing in the water, so we could watch from our tent site. Amazing! What a perfect way to start the day - whale watching with freshly brewed coffee in your hand.
After that we spent the morning in Lahaina with some Geocaching, learning about the history of the island and Lahaina itself. We tried to get around the tourist crowd as much as possible and left when it got to full. The kids had plenty of sand castles they wanted to finish and I wanted to try to built a bamboo flute. On the way to the camp we stopped at the Olowalu petroglyph site, pretty cool and great thing that there are people out there volunteering to preserve this unique site.
At the camp site we meet a german couple traveling the world for 381 days, what a great experience - check out their blog at dreihunderteinundachtzigtage.

Bamboo flute.
Sand castles.
Park in Lahaina.
Geocaching in Lahaina.
Jump into history @ Lahaina.
Lahaina -Pioneer Mill history lesson.
Pioneer Mill.
At the campground.
Petroglyphs.
Petroglyph site.
More petroglyphs.
Campground buddy.
And that was it. Sadly we had to go. Before we head for the airport we made one last stop in Paia at the Paia Bay Coffee. It has a sweet back yard setting and delicious food and coffee. This place will be the first stop when we come back to make for an easy transition into Maui time.

Coconut, Coconut and Papaya - a trip to Maui 3

Day 4: We broke camp early in the morning to hike to the Pools of Ohe'o. We were a bit disappointed, I guess it is nicer with lots of water. The hike up to the Waimoku waterfall on the other side was very nice. Since we started early, we had long stretches of the way to ourselves. I liked the bamboo forrest the best. It was really magical, the sound when a gust of wind goes through is very relaxing and the green of bamboo, it's like a spa for the mind.


At the pools.
View from pools to the ocean.
Hike to Waimoku.
Along the way 1.
Into the bamboo forrest.
More waterfall.
Bamboo forrest.
Along the way 2.
At the waterfall.
Aloha boys resting area.
Then we drove on to Olowalu, taking the gravel road around the south. It was a long drive with wonderful views and a great burger in between at the Ulupalakua Ranch. After the long drive we were not really up for anything. We spent the rest of the day, enjoying the sun, the warm water and hanging around the campground. In the evening we quickly drove to Lahaina to stock up on food. And K finally got his long-wished for shark tooth necklace and we were surprised by a spontaneous Hula presentation.

Look back, the southern route.
The lucky driver. 
Who is up for a coconut?
View along the route.
Ocean.
At a small church. 
Church at the beach.
K :).
Lovely flowers.
One way street for miles and miles and miles.
Recovery station with burger supply.

Coconut, Coconut and Papaya - a trip to Maui 2

Day 3: Our next destination was Kipahulu. Of course it is often the way which makes the journey and we stopped at a beach near Koki beach and had a splendid time. The kids did not want to leave, but Frank had a surprise up his sleeve - the Venus Pool. See pics, there is no way to describe it, it is a real gem and for adventurous folks without fear of heights just about the right thing.

Near Koki beach 1.
Near Koki beach 2.
Coconut fun at Koki beach.
At the venus pool.
One of K's jumps. 
P all crazy about the jumping.
And Frank of course :).
Coconut, coconut.

Right at the pool is a small fruit stand, with an honesty box, I would say a perfect location. We opened the nut ourselves and took a papaya and some bananas for later. On the car ride from there to the next stop the kids were chanting: "Coconut, coconut and papaya" - and it became our vacation mantra.
Our last stop before the campground was a waterfall, small hike and some swimming.

Under the waterfall.
Some tree climbing.
We camped the night at the Kipahulu campground with a camp site right at the ocean. Private beach access so to say. The coast here is very rough and swimming is dangerous, but we are on a volcanic island and ever so often the lava built up little pools, one of them right there for us to enjoy with tiny little fish to see and a turtle greeting us in the evening and morning.

View from campsite.
Camp.
It's just what it looks like - perfect!
View from the campsite to the pool.

Beach.

Dinner - papaya noodles- preparations.
Our sea turtle.