Capturing the Moment

  No matter how quick a trip to Maui might be there will be hidden gems found and great times had. After a little snafu with my flight I made it standby to Maui, picked up my rental car, and rushed off to meet my friends on the road to Hana. We met at Frog Pond, one of our favorite swimming holes near the beginning of the road to Hana. After some rock hopping and cliff jumping here we decided to check out the hidden waterfalls at mile 11. I'm not sure what the name of these falls are but there are two of them, each with their own swimming holes. It is just off the highway but separated by lush jungle. A rope swing beckons the adventurous and rocks warmed by the sun give you more than enough reason to while away the afternoon.

  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 ...

View from the ridge Wild chameleon found nearby at Twin Falls The more you explore Maui the bigger it can seem. There are so many secret hikes and hidden waterfalls, dive sites, sea caves, wilderness trails, lava tubes, and more. I think even if you are not a water person you could still have endless days of fun exploring the island of Maui. Today after an aborted Peahi paddle in session and a forfeit baseball game we made spur of the moment plans to go tackle the Makaiwa Hike on the road to Hana. I had heard about this hike from different sources and like most of the secret hikes here on Maui, the entrance is hard to find. The beginning of the trail is very overgrown with a lot of crouching down, pushing thru foliage, and avoiding spider webs. Then your view opens up and you realize you are on a steep ridge line looking out over the wild Pacific ocean. Walking further you can see all the way down the northeast coastline of Maui. When you reach the end of the ridge...