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Stingrays, Frogfish, Turtles, and Rainbows on a Mala Pier Snorkel

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  Snorkeling under the rainbow off the coast of Maui. So that is why they call this the 'Rainbow Isle!' The first thing I saw when I jumped in to our snorkel was a broad stingray swimming below me. This is a very rare sight out here in Maui. The fish were plentiful today at our snorkel sight. Here is a school of a thousand yellow fin goatfish. A green sea turtle hovering over the coral covered wreckage of the old Mala pier. A sea turtle hovers mid water as some of our group looks on from above. To get this shot I swam down below the turtle until I could angle the camera up at the snorkelers. I'm not sure if this turtle knew I was above it. It was drifting up higher right at me. This is the same turtle, coming right towards me. Two sea turtles hovering at the cleaning station. Face to face with a green sea turtle. This is my colleague, Sam, who is posing perfectly for this turtle shot. Turtle diving down with snorkelers behind. Tichelle was our kayak lifeguard today, and got...
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Returning to Halawa Valley on Molokai

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  Mo'oula Falls, at the back of Halawa Valley, was our hiking goal of the day. We followed the same trail that Hawaiians have been using for 50 generations. At one point 5000 people lived in this valley, but now the jungle has taken over and only 8-10 residents remain. Remnants of the ancient civilization are still visible, poking up out of the forest floor. We hiked past ancient walls, homesites, and temples on our way up the valley to the waterfall at the end. Once you step foot onto the Hawaiian island of Moloka'i, you find yourself in a very exclusive set of people. With no stoplights, no chain hotels or restaurants, and very little tourism infrastructure, Molokai is a very seldom visited island. Even people that grow up in Hawaii, most have never explored this island. Which means it is exactly the kind of place that we want to share with our guests. Today, we jumped into vans for an hour long drive from the small town of Kaunakakai, to the rainforest valley of Halawa. Hala...
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First Trip of 2025 to Lana'i: E-biking Around Town

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  I only had a few minutes to fly the drone this morning, but I did get a shot of our ship with Sweetheart Rock in the background. Of all the tourists that travel to the Hawaiian Islands, very few of them ever make it to the 'Private Isle' of Lana'i. Once called 'The Pineapple Isle', due to Dole creating the world's largest pineapple plantation here, now it is owned almost entirely by the CEO of Oracle, Larry Ellison. There are around 3,000 residents of the island, mostly living in Lana'i City, and working in the two fancy Four Seasons resorts. Ellison has turned the island into a secluded resort hideaway for the rich and famous. If you want to stay over night here at one of the resorts you will end up paying a pretty penny. But the draw of an almost empty island, no stop lights, no crime, and no crowds, makes it a perfect place for my trips with UnCruise. I want to show the guests places like this. Due to the history of the island being privately owned for ...
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