High up on the volcano

We started early on Wednesday morning - beautiful weather! - and drove about 150 mi. in total - which seems to be nothing in Nevada or other regions, but a lot here on the island. Traffic is horribly slow, roads not always smooth, and driving in long lines of cars drives me nuts sometimes.


Passed by the beaches south of Lahaina first, where we noticed a lot of drop-outs (?), surfers, hippies, living here in their cars, pick-ups and tents along the highway. We stopped at Papawai Point and saw quite a few humpback whales in the water. They seem to winter in this area and, of course, numerous whale watch tours are offered . Wondering whether it's good for the majestic mamals to be followed by these boats all the time. They have set up a manned maritime information point.

On to Maui Tropical Plantation in Waikapu, a neatly manicured property with touristic offerings, like a "mini-train", touring the farm and a zip-line. We had excellent local coffee from their own coffee roastery, walked the grounds to check out the tropical flora (among them: coffee plants, see pic, and bananas), and bought an original Hawaiian shirt for Peter in the General Store, which had a superb selection.

Up we drove from there to the Upcountry region - former farmland on the western slope of the volcano, which is dominating the eastern part of the island. Through lush green landscape we crawled towards the Haleakala Crater and Haleakala National Park, and checked out the Hawaian Ocean Distillery and Surfing Goat Dairy on the way. The drive up to the volcano was easy, well paved wide road. From the entrance station up we drove to the summit (which is a big tourist attraction at sunrise - you have to register in advance to get in for it!), in an elevation of about 10,023 ft./3.000 m. Enjoyed great views, though the sky was not clear and there were clouds hanging low and passing through. Temps were about 20 deg F lower than on the bottom, where we started, and we had to bundle up. There is a weather station up there, not open to the public, and hiking trails in the volcano valley, but we didn't see any hikers at all, though our friends told us about this hike.

The volcano is different from what we expected: it is not a deep crater, but a vast crater valley - Haleakala Valley - formed by erosion, not by eruption. It's a so-called dormant volcano, not active for a long time. There is a rare, endemic plant being found: the Ahinahina (Silberschwert or Argyroxiphium sandwicense) which only grows on Maui in high elevations and is an endangered species.

Winding down the volcano and through the Upcountry southward, on Kula Hwy., to Maui Winery, another big tourist attraction, where we bought a bottle of their Maui White, a pineapple wine, which is actually surprisingly good. The winery itself is worth a visit, with its Hawaian sculptures, and, despite of the street unfortunately ending briefly after the winery so that we had to go all the way back, same route. Great views at least! (see pic below) There is no connection down to the South Coast, only a few miles, which is a pitty. Wished there would be a loop around the island. This would definitifely be a big plus, would help to stagger the sometimes busy traffic and make the drive more interesting.

Makawao was our next stop - sort of a "Wildwest Village" with a couple of movie-style buildings, a lot of touristic shops and a little historical museum (pic) in a nice setting. Parking, as always, was a mess, much too few spaces. Bought some provisions for dinner, but, in general, it's the same offerings for the same prices where ever you go to on the island. On Maui it's not like going to the backcountry means it's getting more "authentic" Hawaiian or original or cheaper. It's unlike Spain or Greece, where, when you get away from the touristic coast, it gets more authentic and more affordable.

Flora is spectacular, just a few flower close-ups below, as well as a pic of our fav animal on the island, making noise all night above. Wondering why they don't open more chicken roasteries/foodstands and sell them noisy chickens to tourists?


On the way back to Lahaina we passed by a fantastic fabrics store in Kahului, closeby the airport and checked out styles and prizes (incredibily inexpensivve!) before we drove back with a loaf of bread and cheese in the hotel fridge and called it an interesting day.