Capturing the Moment

Outrigger Canoes at Hana Bay Waterfall seen from the car The last day in Hana is always bittersweet. You are leaving behind the peace and tranquility of this lush hidden corner of Maui but you have some incredible sites to take in on the drive, especially if you complete the loop and go back a different way than you came. We headed towards the Kipahulu and Kaupo areas on the less frequented East side of Haleakala Volcano. We saw waterfalls from the car and made our first stop at Seven Sacred Pools. This is where we hiked the day before but we saved the pools for this morning so Deedee could see them. Deedee, Susie, Heidi, and me with a huge Banyan Tree Seven Sacred Pools It is a pretty easy loop trail to the pools with a big banyan tree along it. The pools have been closed due to flash flooding the past few times I've been here so I was pleased to see they were nice and calm today. I could really get in and around them for some good picture opportunities. One ...

  One of the reasons I have always been so fond of Maui is the fact that it has a place like Hana where you can get unplugged in the lush rainforest. My Hana adventure team included my girlfriend Heidi, her mom Susie, and her grandmother Deedee. We planned a two night-three day laid back but still adventurous Hana mini-vacation. We booked a nice two bedroom cottage thru Tropical Tradewinds Vacation Rentals located just up the road from the Hana airport. I had camped overnight once in Hana but other than that I always rushed through on day trips.   Knowing that we had plenty of time allowed my group to make certain stops that I don't usually do. We stocked up on groceries for the cottage and then continued to the Keanae Peninsula. This beautiful community sits on the north coast of Maui and is a small taro farming community.   After a lot of windy curves and one lane bridges on the road to Hana, we next stopped at Wainapanapa with its famous black sand beach. This is ...

Last time I wrote about the infamous Commando Hike it quickly became the most searched for entry on my entire blog. Apparently the secret whereabouts of this hike are secret even from the Maui Revealed guide book. As my favorite hike on the island I decided I had to share this with my friends Ryan, Will, Mickey, and Abby who had a week in Maui before catching their tall ship in Honolulu to set sail to Tahiti. Here is their adventure in pictures. Rock hopping up the creek Some pools are deeper than they appear 25ft up on vines. This is like Disney World This could be out of a movie set Mickey asking, "we go up this?!" teamwork Deeper into the lava tube what does that sign say? The payoff after the cave. Waterfall and swimming hole all to ourselves. Getting a different view on the hike back Burger's best tarzan impression Abby takes the plunge Will: the only one brave enough to face t...

Titan Scorpionfish There are a lot of dive options here in Maui. We have easy beach entry dives, rough sea north shore dives, offshore pinnacles, shipwrecks, and a few caves and caverns as well. Many of these dives are hard to reach unless you go by boat, and then sea conditions along the North and East side of the island rarely permit good conditions. So I do most of my diving on the South and West sides. But every once in a while I make it off for some really adventurous dive like this one. Along the rugged recent lava flows along the south east shore of the island there is one dive that I have heard about since I moved out here at a place called Nu'u Bay. It is very far from anywhere, about halfway from Hana to Kula along the portion of the Hana Highway that goes past Hana and Seven Sacred Pools. The fastest way to get there is to travel up the volcano about 4,000ft to Kula and take the back road to Hana. Once it reaches sea level it's just a few more miles before re...

 The road to Hana here on the rain forest side of Maui is already an off the beaten track kind of adventure. But if you have that drive to explore you can find yourself under a 400ft waterfall with no one else around. The beauty of this place is that except a few of the bigger, well known sites most of waterfalls, swimming holes, cliff jumps, and other incredible sites don't see too much foot traffic. But unless you are a local or have done your research there won't be any signs that point your way.  One of my favorite hikes here that is a pretty easy skill level is the Waimoku Falls hike above Seven Sacred Pools. This is a little beyond Hana and is also a great place to camp. If you do camp here don't just set up in the parking lot, set off and follow the trails. They lead to beautiful, secluded camp sites on the cliffs overlooking the raging seas. We had an owl, the first I've seen here on Maui, fly right into the tall grass near our camp site here. The pools ...