Maui Trip
Me and my partner went to Maui for vacation. This is our 2023 Christmas vacation, but we booked the tickets one week before the Christmas/New Year week, since we thought that time would be less people on island and of course the flight tickets are cheaper.
Before we go, I planned to have this trip in relaxed mood. I used to plan on many places and always spent a lot of time on portrait photography. Later when I went back from the trips, I realized I did not have much enjoyment with scenery, and always feel tired. So this time, I want something different.
The trip was 5 days 4 nights. So we have 3 full days to go around the Maui island.
Day1: Arrival
The flight arrived around 2pm. After we took our luggage and rent the car, it is already 4pm. The weather of the day we arrived Maui was cloudy. Seems winter is the time for rain in Hawaii. On the way to our Airbnb, we saw the clouds cover the half of the sky, with sunlight penetrated the cloud and formed light beam.
I used to think only sunny day can be the best weather in islands. But when I met the cloudy days on islands, well, it is totally a different style and it is also gorgeous.
We went to a shave ice shop, because I saw people recommended it a lot on social media.
To be honest, we both do not like their shave ice. It seems to mix ice with food flavors as well as pigments, which tastes super cheap.
Our Airbnb is a 1b1b apartment. The Apartment Office has anything that people need for island vacation: ocean, beach, swimming pool, BBQ place, etc. It can directly see the Haleakala National Park, the iconic mountains on Maui, from the apartment beach.
Day2: Haleakala National Park
Haleakala National Park is the initial reason we book the trip to Maui. We saw the street view of this National Park on Google Map, it looks like the surface of the Moon. I have never seen such scenery before, and really looking forward to take a look.
We have to first drive to the visitor center on the hill, and then starts to walk the trail downwards. The driving toward the visitor center starts with regular sceneries: bushes, grassland, horses leisurely eating here and there. The view reminds me of Switzerland, even though I have never been to Europe.
Later, we arrived at the parking lot near visitor center. Then I suddenly saw something we have never ever seen in my life.
It is exactly like the street view we saw on google map. Even better.
No camera can record that shock. There are no single plant on the mountain ridges and valleys. Volcano rocks were weathered into small pieces and formed smooth surfaces, with various colors including red, yellow and navy. Clouds can only reach the mountainside. That day the clouds only cover the half of mountain peaks, and they were gradually moved into the National Park region. It reminds me of Journal to West, where it depicts demonic spirit. And here it is: steep, silent, misterious.
We started the trail, walked down to the dead volcano. When be inside these mountains, there is no sound at all. No songs of birds, no rustling of leaves, even no sound of the wind. It feels like the earth is only me and my partner. I watched the dead volcano in far, quietly, lied there. I can feel she is also watching me. She has been lying like this for thousands of years, witnessed the origin of living organisms, the extinction of dinasours, the booming of human beings, the wars, the peaces, the discovery of America continent, the invention of light bulb, the first city, the first skyscraper, the first computer... But she never complained, never showed off, never self-pity. Because she knows: All those moments will be lost in time like tears in rain.
How small I am! How small human is!
When close to the volcano, there appears some type of plants. Looks like some cactus, with thick leaves.
We did not reached the edge of crater. Because it is too far and the high altitude and low oxygen level made my partner feels bad. We walked back to the parking lot, and decided to took a look for the peak of this mountain.
There is an observatory on the peak. Of course this is the best place for watching the galaxies. I am jealous about the job here. Imagine, you stayed on this island, worked as a theoretical physicist. You drove to the observatory at sunset, the beautiful mountains next to you, the ocean lied in front. When the night comes, you are the only person in the observatory, regulating the telescope and watched the galaxies. You took down notes, boiled yourself a cup of coffee, you worked concentrated the whole night until the dawn. You looked outside, there is the sunrise.
Damn. This is my dream job.
We went to a brunch restaurant in the morning, before we came to Haleakala National Park. I found it on the social media. But it tastes bad, and the food is expensive.
Because of this experience, I decided not to follow the suggestions I prepared in advance any more. So after we went back from the National Park, we decided to randomly choose food trucks. We went to the food truck park near Costco, and we bought some Thai chicken as well as an acai bowl. Both of them are delicious. The Thai chicken is grilled with some Thai style sauce, and Thai salad as side. Chicken is charred outside and tender inside. Just the right taste for me. Acai bowl is also not bad.
Well, I would not believe in the food recommendation of social media any more.
On the way home, we saw the Tyndall Effect again.
Day3: Road to Hana
Because of the time zone, I got up early in Hawaii. So got chances to see sunrise at the airbnb balcony.
From the previous experience, we randomly chose a coffee shop near our airbnb. Nice coffee!
Today's plan is the road trip on Road to Hana. Road to Hana is on the east coast of Maui island, going from north to south, with Hana town as the end. We planned to go the counterclockwise, first drive through some villages on the south coast and arrive Hana, and then go on the Road to Hana from south to north, and finally back to our lived town.
Because the first part of road trip is not included in the Road to Hana, the driving road is not that good. Some places have single lane, which is only suitable for one car to pass through. And they are those dirt road, with lots of puddles. However, the scenery is fasinating.
The first stop on Road to Hana is Waimoku Fall. It actually belongs to Haleakala National Park. The waterfalls does not in the flood period.
We saw a lot of bamboos on the trail. Bamboos are super tall, about 36 feet (12 m).
The waterfall trail took us 2 hours. I guess summer is the flood period for waterfall, which may produce more spetacular scene if comes here.
The next stop is Wai'anapanapa State Park. It is famous for black sand beach.
The sand is super thin and pure black. I've seen black beach in Big Island before, but not as thin as the sand here. I guess this is an excellent place for portrait photography.
The rest of Road to Hana are winding roads, very difficult for driving. There are several waterfalls along the road, but we did not stop for sightseeing. I would say it is not that worth for road trip on Road to Hana. The best scenes are on the south part of Maui island, which is not included in the Road to Hana line, and seldomly people go there because of the bad road condition. Waimoku Fall might be worth trying in the summer.
We chose another food truck for dinner. Also Thai food. We chose pork basil this time, which is the most famous street food in Thailand, said by the owner. It is delicious, even better than the chicken yesterday.
Day4: ‘Ian Valley State Monument
We decided to take a rest this day, because we drove too much on Road to Hana and was super tired. So we went to 'Ian Valley State Park to take a look for Pu'u Kukui. It was heard that it is the mountain of the God of Ocean. Many aboriginal people believe Pu'u Kukui can bring them luck and protect them from the storm.
It is not a large State Park, only 30 minutes is enough for finishing it.
We went back to airbnb and stayed there the whole afternoon. We watched videos on Youtube about two guys traveling in China. The two bloggers had the road trip to Tibet and Xinjiang, as well as some random places in China. They are so sweet I would say. Their travel vlogs are much more sweet than any love shows or films or episodes.
Day 5: Back home
The flight is in the morning. We packed up and head to the airport.
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This is a relaxed trip. Very different from previous trips I had before. I used to have my camera with me all the time, and feels the trip is only thinking about how to take better photos. Sometimes even forgot to enjoy the scenery. This time I just let myself calm down and listen, smell, touch and hug the nature. I actually see more, feel more, enjoy more.
This is the real vacation.
