Note: The bombing of Kaho'olawe stopped in 1990, but if you want to experience a bit of the action watch Magnum, P.I. episode 73, "Silent Night" where "Frenchman's Isle" is Kaho'olawe.
Highway 30 runs right behind this beach, which kind of spoiled the atmosphere. There was also a firing range across the highway so once in a while we heard a volley of rounds go off. The next time we camped here we moved our site to the east where there was more distance from both the road and firing range.
 The campsite |  Evening view |  Looking the other direction at Highway 30 |
We camped here a couple of nights, including our last night in Maui, since it was so close to the airport. The scene in the parking lot, people hanging around, and cars cruising by didn't make it feel like the safest place to spend the night. A number of the locals appeared to have made this their permanent residence. One drunk haole was wandering around and, among other things, talking about how many people he had killed. I overheard this great conversation between him and a local:
Local: (blah blah) and Bob (blah blah).
Drunk: (excited) Hey, Bob! Yeah, whatever happened to that guy? I haven't seen him in a long time!
Local: He died. He drank too much alcohol. It killed him.
Drunk: (long pause, as if contemplating) ... Bah!
Some time in the middle of the night the security officer did his sweep and there was a huge ruckus as it sounded like the drunk was kicked out of the park. The Archivist was awoken in the morning by a woman talking to herself and tapping on the side of the tent.
 Mobile home (note choking dog) |  Mobile home (if tow truck is available) |  Our tent with beach view |
 Looking towards Kahului |  Outrigger canoeists |  Evening view |
Ahihi Kinau Nature Preserve covers an area where the last lava flow from Haleakala flowed into the sea. We took a guided kayak tour of this area which followed the rugged coastline between Ahihi Bay and La Perouse Bay. Apparently this area has a reputation for kayak mishaps due to the wind/wave conditions and the number of inexperienced kayakers using the area. I only read about this later. We experienced some strong winds and pretty big waves but made it through without incident. A couple of the other people weren't so lucky (see below). Along our route we stopped at a couple of inlets nicknamed "The Fish Bowl" and "The Aquarium" which were excellent snorkeling spots. We also visited a "cleaning station" for Green Sea Turtles. Here they rest on the ocean floor and allow fish to graze the algae on them. We were observing them from above when some suddenly decided to come up for air amongst us. One weird thing about snorkeling was that my nipples couldn't handle the salt water. After being in the water for a while they got really painful and later they ended up scabbing over. Nasty!
 These suckas capsized in the rough water and had to be rescued |  The Aquarium |
 G gettin' schooled Inset: Moorish Idols |  Convict Tangs and Parrot Fish, Achilles Tang upper left Inset: Spotted Boxfish |
 Convict Tangs and Black Triggerfish (Black Durgon) Inset: Parrot fish and Yellowtail Coris |  Yellow Tangs and Hawaiian Flagtails(?) Inset: Achilles Tang |
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Green Sea Turtles
Picture above left shows a turtle resting on the ocean floor. I dove down until my ears hurt to take that photo.
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A good place to see marine life without getting sore nipples
Uh, fish
The tunnel
Archivist jelly-watching
Humpback Whales
Perhaps two-thirds of North Pacific humpback whales spend the winter months around the Hawaiian islands. Here they breed, give birth, and nurse young, but do very little feeding. The greatest number of whales are found in the Au'Au Channel bordered by Kaho'olawe, Molokai, Lanai, and Maui. We went on a Pacific Whale Foundation whalewatch out of Ma'alaea Harbor, which is in this area. Their website has some background information on the whales including a Humpback whalewatching guide/brochure. The Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary website also has a lot of information.
West Maui mountains from Au'Au Channel on a gloomy day
Thar she blows!
Peduncle arch and fluke up dive
Pectoral fin slap
West Maui Helicopter Tour
We took a helicopter ride around the mountains of West Maui. We had reserved this a number of weeks ahead but on the day of our flight a storm was just beginning to hit the island. The company was still running tours but the conditions were rather crappy due to strong wind and patchy rain. The highlight was flying up one of the mountain valleys to a huge waterfall. We were supposed to see more of the mountain valleys but got turned back by the bad weather. The conditions weren't great for photography either with all the reflection off the glass.
Helicopter and ubiquitous rainbow
Styles gives the 411 on the chopper
Honeygirl gives the ok for takeoff
View over Lahaina - a crappy day for a helicopter tour
Some sun still broke through here and there
Heading up a valley with falls
just coming into view
The money shot
Honokohau Falls (1120' / 341m)
This shows our perspective
and G's well-tanned leg
Haleakala
Haleakala ("house of the sun") is a shield volcano which is basically all of East Maui. The crater itself is big enough to swallow Manhattan. After our helicopter tour and visit to the Maui Ocean Center the weather became even worse. We drove up Haleakala hoping that the storm might blow through by the next morning so we could get some good early morning views (sunrise from Haleakala is supposed to be THE thing to see). The road from Kahului climbs to 10023 feet (3055 m) elevation over 40 miles (60 km) or so. The upper length of road was closed due to the heavy rain and strong wind. The only drive-in campground in the park, Hosmer Grove, was open but deserted. We found a shelter there to cook a meal and spent the night in the car. We parked away from the trees which turned out to be a good idea since they had a lot of broken limbs by morning. The upper length of the road was opened the next morning after maintenance crews cleaned off debris. The storm had died down but it was still raining and winds were strong. We didn't get the view we were hoping for but it was fun watching people show up in shorts and run back to their cars when they realised how cold it was (cold enough for snow at the summit).
The road up Haleakala
Upper section of road and jerk trying to
sneak around barrier
Worker cleaning the road looked like
she was in agony (cold maybe?)
Lots of debris still on the road
The Nene, Hawaii's state bird
Silversword and snow
Sign at the summit
Our view from the summit
What we should have seen
The only view we got - about half way up looking over West Maui
Inadequately dressed visitors
Archivist walking at the summit
Cone I found in the campground
after the storm
More Hawaiian Food
At the time of our trip, Maui had the only Krispy Kreme in the Hawaiian islands. When you boarded a plane in Maui you were bound to see a few islanders getting on with a pile of Krispy Kreme boxes. The last sugar harvest in Lahaina was supposed to have been in 1999 but there was still smoke coming from the stacks of the mill, unless I got it confused with something else.
Molson Canadian Hawaii Limited Edition
Lahaina Sugar Mill
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