Maui

 Thursday, February 8, 2024

In case you missed the last post...we have a new cabin!! How nice to walk out on that marvelous balcony and watch as we sailed into the port at Kahului, Maui. I believe the Koningsdam was originally scheduled to be at Lahaina, but things changed after the devastating fire last August. Although Kahului isn't as much a tourist area, it does have a dock which eliminates the tender process that is needed in Lahaina.

Now that the weather is so pleasant, we grabbed some breakfast from the buffet and sat outside near the aft pool while we ate. Our new Canadian friends, Ron and Jean, sat at the table next to us and we caught up with them a bit.

I had reserved a car from Enterprise which had an office within walking distance of the port. This was actually the third reservation I made after watching for price drops and our rental was $49/day compared to the $72 when I first made a reservation. Even though the Enterprise office was close to the port, getting out of the port required walking quite a distance. 

It took very little time to get the paperwork taken care of and we were on our way for the day in a white Jeep SUV. Again, we used the Guide Along app as our "personal" tour guide and headed to the summit of the volcano, Haleakala. 

Our journey began at sea level and would end at the summit with an elevation gain of over 10,000 feet! I used the compass app on my iPhone to check our elevation as we drove.

Driving towards Haleakala

We drove through different types of landscapes on the way up and the temperature continued to drop as we gained elevation. The total distance was less than 40 miles total but it took us a couple of hours to reach the summit because of slow speed limits and narrow, curvy roads.

The weather was clear and our view was great all of the way up. We were told many times during the day that we were very lucky to have such great weather. Often the whole mountain is covered in clouds with zero visibility.

We stopped at the visitor center and the view into the crater was other worldly. I had come prepared with a pair of long pants to pull on over my shorts and a jacket. Bob checked with the park ranger and asked about the hike in the crater. The full Slipping Sands Trail is 11 miles long but she suggested just walking part way and then turning around to come back. I struggled just to get up the few steps by the visitor center so Bob took off on his own and I walked around taking some photos and then waited in the car.

The rare Haleakala Silversword plant is unique to the summit area.
The plants live from 15 to 90 years but only bloom once...and then they die. 

From a little Googling I think this bird is a Chukar.

After Bob returned from his hike we drove the last half mile to the summit of Haleakala. From there we were looking down on a layer of clouds below that had rolled in, much like the view from an airplane.

On our way back down, we stopped at a couple of overlooks. At times it looked like the road was just going to go off the side of the mountain and into the clouds. 

Eventually we did drive into the clouds and visibility was poor until we got to a low enough elevation that we drove out of the cloud layer. I am so thankful that we had a clear day at the summit so we could see the amazing landscape!

Going back we took a different route to the ship and drove through the small town of Makawao and the on through Paia. We were going to stop in Paia, but the traffic was insane so we just kept driving until we got to Ho'okipa Beach Lookout. Huge waves were rolling in and we stood for sometime watching the surfers and windsurfers. And...Bob was very popular with the chickens again.

Lots of windsurfers

Bird Man

The traffic had thinned out on our way back through Paia and we were able to pull in at Tobi's where Bob got some shave ice and I had a Dole Whip. We ate our treats sitting at an outdoor table watching the hustle and bustle of the small tourist community.

After returning the car and making the longish trek back to the ship we were both tired and not in the mood to dress for dinner so we went to the buffet. The comedian (Sid Davis) scheduled for the main stage didn't interest us so we watched sail away from the balcony and then hit the hay early.