Maui -

Haleakala, Hawaii – the house of the rising sun

Gosia — Sun, 25 Feb 2024 17:33:21 +0000

Haleakala is one of the best places which I visited in Hawaii. This was the most sublime spectacle I’ve ever seen…- that’s how Mark Twain describes Haleakala in his book Roughing it. I think that it doesn’t need a better recommendation. This is an exceptional place, which must be visited especially at sunrise and sunset while in Hawaii. Dormant vocano The Haleakala National Park includes two volcanoes that form the Hawaiian island of Maui. The beginnings of Haleakala volcano are about a million years back. At that time the volcano began to raise above the Pacific Ocean creating Maui island. Actually, Haleakala isn’t a crater, what you can see from the top is nothing more than two separate parts of a volcano that collapsed on each other creating a valley. Haleakala is 7,5 mile wide, 2,5 mile long and 3000 ft deep. It’s now considered a dormant volcano. Haleakala – one of the highest mountains in the world Haleakala is one of the highest mountains in the world. Although Mount Everest is assumed to be the highest, two Hawaiian mountains are actually higher, as long as we measure them from the sea bottom to the top. One of them is Mauna Kea, which I wrote about here, while the other is Haleakala on Maui Island. Halekala reaches 10,023 ft from sea level, while counting from the bottom of the ocean it reaches 30,000 ft tall, Mont Everest height is 8 848 m. Closer to the stars The first astronomical observatory in Hawaii was located at the top of Haleakala. Lack of light pollution and transparent air provide excellent conditions for space observation. In fact, Haleakala is one of the best places to observe space from the surface of the Earth. There’s Solar Mees Observatory that explores solar flares and their impact on energy flow and radiation. On the other hand, the second observatory – Maui Space Surveillance Site identifies and tracks all human-made objects in space, including space waste. Sensitive plants There are many endangered plants and animal species living in Haleakala. With some luck, you can see there famous Nene known also as Hawaiian goose. There’re also Silverswords – endemic plants, typical only for Haleakala Park. They can be recognised by characteristic silver hair. Although they can survive extreme weather conditions and live up to 90 years, they are extremely sensitive to the touch of people. Touching Silversword destroys small hair, protecting them from light and radiation damage – which result in immediate death. Altitude sickness The good news is that Haleakal’s summit is very easy to reach. You can walk here on the Halemau Trail or go by car. The road to the top is very winding and narrow in some places, and the whole route from Kahului’s town takes between one and a half to two hours. This road offers spectacular views, while at the very top of Haleakala the panorama spreads over 160 km. Moreover, it’s important to remember that Maui island has around 17 different climate zones and most of them are located in Haleakala park. At the top, the weather can change unexpectedly any time. Furthermore, it’s important to know that reaching the summit in such a short time may involve the risk of an altitude sickness. I had this on Mauna Kea and I don’t recommend it. Pain and dizziness, nausea, dehydration and breathing problems are a signal to evacuate from the top immediately. Being at a lower height relieves most of these symptoms, but drinking a lot of water is necessary to hydrate the body. The House of the (raising) Sun The first Polynesian settlers treated this place as sacred. In Hawaiian, Haleakala means House of the Sun. This name is inspired by the legend of the semi-god Maui who trapped the sun to extend the day. People have been coming to Haleakala since the earliest days to see the sunrise. I managed to see this place twice, during the day and just before the sunset. Unfortunately, the weather wasn’t good during the day, because there was thick fog over Haleakala. On the other hand, what I saw just before sunset was one of the most beautiful experiences of my life. As we were going to the top, the landscape was becoming increasingly barren. Green meadows were giving up place to mountain views. The setting sun and clouds made an amazing impression. When we got there I felt as if I were on the highest peak in the world. I literally had clouds under my feet, and a spectacular sunset ahead of me. Mark Twain describing his feelings from this place wrote: I felt like the last man, neglected of the judgment, and left pinnacled in mid-heaven, a forgotten relic of a vanished world. It was the sublimest spectacle I ever witnessed, and I think the memory of it will remain with me always. Like this post, check out more here 🙂

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Hawaii – four islands and some beaches…

Gosia — Thu, 05 Jan 2017 08:11:54 +0000

I must admit that I have a problem with spending leisure time at the beach. I cannot do it and I treat beaches as a part of a sightseeing plan. I can spend 2 hours maximally at one beach. Of course, I don’t spend this time on sunbathing. Hawaii turned out to be a perfect place for me. There’re a lot of beaches which can be explored 😉 and what’s more important they varied a lot! Every of four islands, which I’ve visited has something new to offer. O’ahu O’ahu it’s the most popular Hawaiian Island. Here’s famous Honolulu and the majority of tourists arrive here as a first place, and usually the last one. So you can imagine how crowded can be the most popular beach on O’ahu – Waikiki. Bearing that in mind and in view of the tight itinerary, I had only a glimpse of that beach from a car. A little bit later, I could admire it together with whole Honolulu, from the Diamond Head peak. There’s one invaluable advantage of Waikiki beach, while it’s always overcrowded, other beaches, which are located farther from Honolulu are desolated. Like Lanikai Beach – situated in the north-eastern shore. On the other hand, western part of O’ahu Island guarantees amazing sunsets, and even possibilty to see turtles basking on the sun. However, the most beautiful is Hanauma Bay. It’s the only one beach in Hawaii where you need to pay admission. It’s a strict nature reserve and an ideal place to observe underwater world as well. More about this beach and its surrounding you’ll find here. Maui An interesting example which presents the variety of Hawaiian islands is Maui Island. You can rest here on beautiful, white sand beaches with emerald water, like Polo Beach. But then again, on the other, eastern part of the Island, close to the famous Hana Road you can spend your time at black-sand beaches like Waianapanapa State Park. Big Island Beaches located on the Big Island can also be divided into, let’s say “hotel beaches”, which look like those, well known from holidays catalogues. As an example below – Mauna Kea Beach. Sometimes they’re surrounded by golf courses and even the access roads to them, make a great impression. On the other hand, on Big Island you can encounter also wild, rocky beaches, where you can put up a tent and have whole these places for yourself. Kaua’i According to the law, every beach is public in Hawaii. However, it can happen that the beach is public, but the access to it is private or what’s even worse, it can be inaccessible in view of the terrain conditions. One of such beaches is located on my favourite Hawaiian island – Kauai. It’s surrounded by the impressive cliffs of Na Pali Natural Reserve. I’ve had opportunity to see this marvel form air and ocean perspective and I must admit that this experience belongs to the category marked under the label “metaphysical” but I’ll write about it another time 😉 Close to Na Pali, you can rest at beautiful Tunnels Beach, which has great conditions for snorkeling, surfing or kitesurfing. The ocean bottom here was shaped by volcanic activity which created special tunnels – nowadays the habitat for a large variety of fish and unfortunately sharks, so be careful 😉 Another interesting beach is Polihale State Park – here you can see the first cliffs of Na Pali Reserve. This beach is located off the beaten track and it’s really secluded. What’s more, according to one Hawaiian guy, there’s one unwritten principle that sunbathers can lie at least 300 meters from one another 😉 ‘ On the other side of the Na Pali cliffs you can relax on beautiful, wild Ke’e Beach. As you can see, in case of beaches, you definitely won’t be bored in Hawaii. I know that I’ll get back there, as during my stay I saw only a little part of these marvelous islands 😉 ” order_by=”sortorder” order_direction=”ASC” returns=”included” maximum_entity_count=”500″]

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Road to Hana – road for the road’s sake, part II

Gosia — Mon, 27 Jul 2015 13:17:32 +0000

Road to Hana ends in a town of the same name. But it’s not the end of attractions of the east Maui island. Around 12 km farther, at the 45 mile maker, there’s an amazing waterfall called Wailua, which rises 80 feet above the ground. Although it doesn’t seem to be easy to reach you only have to cross the street to see it! Heading farther to the south, on the way 330, it’s worth to stop off at Haleakala National Park. Entrance is located at Kipahulu Visitor Center and admission fee costs 10$ per car (I recommend to keep this ticket because it’s valid in the whole park area for 3 days). Just behind the parking lot you can find interesting trail called Pipiwai Trail. All way takes around 2 hours (6 km) and it isn’t tough. Just after 1 km, you can admire a beautiful panorama of Makahiku Fall which is surrounded by lush rainforest. A little bit farther is amazing banyan tree which huge roots and branches radiate in all directions of the world. It’s no wonder that this tree is a religious object in Hinduism because it looks really phenomenally. Just behind the banyan tree is a stark bamboo forest. Bamboo is one of the fastest growing plants. During one day it can reach even 1 meter. The highest bamboos can measure 40 meters. Bamboos growing on Pipiwai Trail are smaller but in some places this forest is so thick that it creates amazing dusky atmosphere. Road ends on a beautiful, 120 meter high, Waimoku Fall. It’s not the end of amazing landscapes. On the way back you can choose the route leading from Kipahulu to Kula. This road is totally different than green Hana Road. This road is intended for 4WD cars and it surprises by its steppe character. I guarantee that you will never forget this view at the sunset. Road to Hana despite its little distance impresses by fabulous landscapes. Here you can see the most beautiful Maui views: azure Pacific contrasting with black and red sand beaches, steep cliffs, huge waterfalls and rainforests. Eucalyptus trees, coconut palms, banyans, bamboos, banana, mango or guava trees are abundant. Little Hana town and roadside fruit stands create unique atmosphere.It’s no wonder that the Road to Hana is regarded as a one of the most beautiful roads in the world. Some tips: – start a trip as early as possible because during the day it’s very crowdy, – there aren’t any gas stations so tank your car before journey, – put your map and gps aside and look for mile makers. Sometimes this activity is even more tiring than driving as they are located in every nook and cranny, – buy something to eat and drink, – become acquainted with the car rental conditions. Some companies forbid to drive this way, – if you want to go from Kipahulu to Kula, you need 4WD car, – drive “aloha”, give way to other vehicles, – take raincoat, mosquito repellent, swimming suit, study shoes and suntan lotion, – take your time and admire beautiful landscapes, – if you see something interesting, stop your car if it’s possible later you won’t regret that you didn’t do this, – try banana bread or shave ice, swim in the waterfalls or in the Pacific or just go for a walk. ” order_by=”sortorder” order_direction=”ASC” returns=”included” maximum_entity_count=”500″]

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Road to Hana – road for the road’s sake, part I

Gosia — Mon, 20 Jul 2015 07:38:06 +0000

Why am I writing about the road? You can think that it’s nothing special. But there’s one road, in the east part of Hawaiian island – Maui, which is not only a road but also a destination itself. It is called Hana Higway but in fact its name is a bit misleading because it has nothing to do with a highway. Travelling all this 100 km route can take even 1 or 2 days! Is sounds weird, especially for the USA road conditions. But this highway is not a simple road. It’s typical switchback with 600 turns and around 60 bridges. The most part of this road is too narrow for 2 cars. Using horn or high beam before hooks is a must. It’s also very hard to say what is shorter there: straight sections or cellular network range.Additionally during driving this road we can spot a lot of abandoned houses and cars. But I can guarantee one thing: during these 100 km you will see every possible dream landscape! Beautiful cliffs dipping steep to the turquoise ocean waters, amazing black sand beaches, lush rainforests with exotic vegetation and spectacular waterfalls are just for the asking or rather making a few steps from a car. So turn Hawaiian music on, fasten your seatbelts, open a sunroof, stick your elbow and go! Stop 1: Paia town It’s the last place on the 100 km Road to Hana where you can tank your car. Formerly this town was the important center of sugar industry. Now it’s a mecca for surfers and windsurfers. Here form the Hookipa Lookout, we can admire their amazing water stunts. Stop 2: Kaumahina State Wayside Park (just before 12 mile maker) After short walk to the hilltop we can see a beautiful coast landscape with black beach – Honomanu Bay. Stop 3: Kalaola Point (between 14 and 15 mile maker) Here you can see a beautiful coastal panorama. Stop 4: Ke’anae Beach Park and Ke’anae Landing Fruit Stand (on the turning, just before 17 mile maker) Here you can see a beautiful view of Ke’anae Peninsula with palms, bananas trees and black lava rocks in the background. In the Ke’anae Landing Fruit Stand (address: 210 Ke’anae Rd) you can taste the best banana bread in the island. It is sold straight from the oven. It’s an ideal refreshment on the way to Hana. Stop 5: Three Beard Falls (between 19 and 20 mile maker) This waterfall is one of the best on the road to Hana. The amount of the water depends on the rainfall and unfortunately during our visit it was a bit dry. As you can see all attractions are for asking. Stop 6: Pua’a ka’a State Wayside Park (between 22 and 23 mile makers) This is an ideal place for a picnic in the surrounding of a beautiful waterfall or swimming in a nearby pond. Stop 7: Hanawi and Makapipi Falls (they are located between 24 and 25 mile makers) You can see there beautiful waterfalls in the exotic Hawaiian scenery. Stop 8: Wai’anapanapa State Park (you need to turn left to Wai’anapanapa road at the 32 mile maker) In this 120 acre park, among lush vegetation you can find interesting cliffs, caves and black sand beach. „The highway” ends in Hana. It’s a small town with a population of 700 residents. It’s located in the surroundings of banyan and breadfruit trees. Little church, gas station and popular Hasegawa General Store create special Hawaiian atmosphere there. ” order_by=”sortorder” order_direction=”ASC” returns=”included” maximum_entity_count=”500″]

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