Take 2

On our first visit to Maui we hit most of the major tourist attractions, so we hit some of the slightly less popular sights on our second take of the island.

On one particularly overcast and rainy day, we drove into the western half of the island to take a look at the Ioa Valley State Park, featuring the 1200ft Ioa Needle. This basaltic feature served as a look-out point in a 1790 battle that changed the course of Hawaiian history. The park featured paved paths, and a winding garden. There were also warning signs all over the park telling you to stay on the path because flash floods could occur at any time!

Ioa Valley "Needle."

On another overcast day we decided we would (again) try to track down the entrance to the Waihee Ridge Trail. Tom and I had tried on two occasions to find this trailhead, but were unable to locate it with google maps. On a third try, we found it, and hiked it! The trail was about 7km round trip, and featured forest, sweeping views of the island, and lush vegetation. We saw some unidentified fruits on the path, and also some fresh guava!

Waihee Ridge Trailhead.

Waihee Ridge forest.

Waihee Ridge view of the island.

One evening, we decided to check out Big Beach before we made ourselves dinner. We spent about an hour enjoying the setting sun. In particular, we watched the clouds moving over the island of (what I think is) Kahoolawe-- but it could also be the island of Lanai.

Tom also noticed a pod of whales passing through the area. If you watched the horizon closely, you could see spurts of water shooting up into the air from blow holes. And every once in a while, one of the whales would flip it's tale out of the water. In the photo below, you can see a blow-hole blast, and a tiny bit of fin.

Whale watching from Big Beach.

On our last day in Maui it was overcast, rainy and windy. We had planned to spend one last day at the beach, but the water was choppy. Instead, we drove to Kealia Pond, a bird and wildlife refuge outside of Kihei. I guess the birds weren't too keen on the weather, because we didn't see much wildlife.

Black Necked Stilts.

We spent the afternoon on Polo beach. Tom decided to take one last stab at snorkeling, but I decided to stay on the beach. While he snorkeled, I got sand blasted by the wind while watching a family of four repeatedly chase their runaway inner tube as it was blown down the beach.

And now it's back to reality. My only consolation is that the weather at home is supposed to be fairly nice this week-- but it doesn't beat Hawaii!