On to Maui…

Security in American airports is as tight as ever, and I was pulled aside first for a full body scan in one of those machines that takes pictures of you under your underwear (!) and then to have the contents of my carry-on bag swabbed and examined in more detail. The Security people were very polite and friendly though, which hasn’t always been the case on the mainland.

The flight took us over the top of Oahu and we had some great views of Maui’s northern extinct volcano as we flew in. On the ground we collected another car ( a Hyundai Elantra

Our destination was above those clouds!

which is a very gutless wonder – Neil is NOT happy with it!) , loaded up the GoPro and set off to climb the other extinct volcano that dominates the Maui skyline. Haleakala is over 10,000 feet high and the top portion is occupied by Haleakala National Park.

The drive up was amazing – a steady climb through the green “upcountry” which is home to many cattle ranches. Haleakala is a shield volcano, which means it basically created the entire island by oozing lava down its sides, no dramatic explosions happened here. The result is that the island just rises evenly and gradually up to over 10,000 feet. The road switch-backs back and forth and eventually took us up into the clouds.

After a short stretch through the mist we popped out above the clouds into glorious sunshine – but we still had over 4000 feet to climb! It’s an extraordinary experience as you climb higher and higher and look out across the clouds to the northern part of Maui and the ocean – a similar view to the one we’d had on the plane earlier but this time we were on solid ground.

We drove into the National park via the familiar roadside entry station and purchased an annual pass. We can use it again when we get to the Big Island and Volcanoes National Park and we’ll also use it next year when we visit the Pacific Northwest of the USA. At $80 it’s a bargain and you only have to visit a few of the big parks to get your money back.

Above the entry station the shrubby vegetation gave way to a black, pumice stone desert landscape punctuated by the unusual Silversword plant,  they are only to be found here and are protected. We stopped first at the edge of the crater to visit the Information Office and to take in the amazing view of the crater. It’s huge, coloured in shades of rust and grey and black and is scattered with cinder cones across its floor. It’s a breathtaking site .

We drove up the last mile to the summit station and I lost my breath again as I climbed the stairs to the top. At 10,000 feet it’s easy to lose your breath!  Again the view was staggering – we looked across the southern side of the island and had an excellent view of the Big Island beyond the clouds.

There is an observatory up here – I can imagine the skies at night would have to be so clear and bright.  We spent a lot longer on Haleakala than I had expected we would – I don’t think either of us had realised just how amazing the views would be. I’ve seen many photos but they really don’t do it justice – I don’t think ours will either.

The car had groaned and changed gears in a grumpy fashion all the way up the mountain but it had an easy ride down. It wasn’t the only one – we saw a couple of bicycle riders at the top who had ridden all the way up from sea level. Oh to be that fit! They looked exhilarated when they hopped on their bikes for the ride down though, now that part would be fun.

It took us a little over an hour to drive down from the top and then make our way down the western shore of the Island to the Makena Beach and Gold Resort, our home for the next few days. We passed along beautifully landscaped roads and past some magnificent resorts , each with its own golf course, naturally! 

Luckily we arrived just in time to take in another lovely sunset from the verandah of our room. I’m starting to think of this as our sunset holiday 🙂 We haven’t had time to explore all the grounds or the beach yet but the view from the room looks pretty enticing. 

The hotel is built around a huge open garden with palms, waterfalls and ponds. We really enjoyed our dinner , my flank steak with garlic potatoes, asparagus and chimmi churri was delicious and Neil was just as happy with his Miso crusted Snapper.  Having catered for ourselves the last few nights it was a nice change to sit back and have a lovely meal served to us.

All in all it’s been an amazing day – yet again we’ve been blown away by another staggering American National Park. They really are a treasure.