From the North Shore of Oahu, we drove to Honolulu Airport and boarded an early flight bound for Kahului, Maui. After an extremely long taxi, the pilot informed us "a light" had come on in the cockpit and he was forced to trundle back to the gate. An hour later, the problem was fixed and we finally jetted off to Maui.
Half an hour later, we were at Thrifty picking up a brand-spanking-new Jeep Commander 4x4. It only had SEVEN miles on it and the steering wheel was still partially wrapped in plastic! Our luggage successfully jammed in the back, we struck out for the coastal town of Kihei and the condo we rented over the Internet on account of its modern style. It seems most condos in Hawaii are owned by old American women who can't resist decorating them with disgusting floral wallpaper and kitschy furniture.
Maui is easily the most American island. You hardly see tourists from anywhere else in the world and native Hawaiians are even rarer. Although noisy, Kihei turned out to be a pretty cool place with a great little market and some of the best beaches in Maui. Here's a short breakdown of what we did:
DAY 1
Arrived in Kihei. After unpacking, AM and I strolled over the road and found a great skate park AND an oceanfront rollerskating rink! It was a bit weird. We then went to Foodland to stock up on groceries and ended up having dinner at a fantastic Italian restaurant none of us can remember the name of.
DAY 2
Took a road trip to the so-called "hippy town" of Paia. Apparently Willie Nelson and Woody Harrelson live nearby, but I don't know why. There's not a lot there and it's not particularly scenic. Disappointed, we decided to brave the Sunday crowds in Lahaina - the island's historic capital. We had fish'n'chips for lunch and resolved to return.
DAY 3
Went to the local marketplace in Kihei and got a new suitcase. Yep, we'd bought that much stuff! I also picked up a new case for my concert ukulele as the handle on the old one conveniently snapped off in Waikiki. In the afternoon, AM and I tried a recommended snorkeling spot. There were a few fish about, but I was more interested in the vast amount of coral. It must've been about five-metres high. That night, we dined at Bubba Gump's in Lahaina. Life is like a box of shrimp...or something.
(CRAZY) DAY 4
This was a biggie! Before we left Oz, we promised ourselves we'd get up at 3am and drive 2.5 hours to the peak of Mount Haleakala (3,055m) to watch the sunrise. Although it was BLOODY FREEZING atop the extinct volcano, the view was spectacular and well worth the trouble. Since we were already on the right side of the island, we decided to press on to the town of Hana after breakfast. I'd seen T-shirts in the marketplace that read, "I survived the road to Hana!", but assumed it was just a beat-up, a way of making wussy Americans feel like they'd done something daring. It isn't. With 59 bridges (46 of which are only one way), 620 curves and sheer drop-offs at every twisting turn, it's by far the most dangerous road I've ever driven. Most tourists don't go past Hana (the road only gets worse!), but I really wanted to see the grave of pioneer aviator Charles Lindbergh, which lies near to where an earthquake closed the road in 2006. When we finally got back to Kihei, I'd been driving for 11+ hours. And yes, I got a T-shirt!
DAY 5
Our final day in Hawaii. Very sad. AM and I hit Polo Beach, which had the softest (and hottest) sand I've ever felt. After a few hours of swimming and lying about, it was time for some entertainment. First, we had a slack-key guitar concert to attend at a resort north of Lahaina. It was brilliant, but we had to leave early because I'd booked tickets to see Matt Costa (one of Jack Johnson's mates) at the Hard Rock Cafe in Lahaina. He only came on at midnight, but it was worth the wait. It was also nice to see local Mauiians (?) out on the town. A bit like the MTV show "Maui Fever" (AH knows what I'm talking about). It was 2am when we got back to Kihei and none us us had had dinner, so our final meal in Hawaii turned out to be a burger from Jack In The Box drive-thru.
Well, that's about it. I'll post a link to photos tomorrow. Mahalo for reading :)
