Capturing the Moment

Me grabbing the rail at Honolua Some surfer getting shacked   What a way to ring in the new year! A week on Maui with old friends, borrowed camping gear, and a good winter swell brought out many smiles. We made sure to get in a couple of whale watches complete with muggings and breaches, and even managed a few dives at some of our favorite spots. Nate breaking the mystique Cutting hard at Honolua   There are a few spots on the island with big firework shows for new years eve but the real scene is in the local neighborhoods. Fireworks sell like crazy leading up to new years and it shows with explosions heard from noon onwards. I even heard a few the next morning. I checked a few times to see if Nate's car was on fire because of all the smoke. And despite her best efforts to fall asleep I still kissed Heidi at midnight thanks to some unbelievable explosions from the neighbors. Whale tails everywhere! Adult breaching Baby attempt   It was a n...

   Fjordland National Park is the biggest national park in New Zealand. It covers the southwest corner of the south island and has ice carved fjords, massive sea cliffs, lakes and valleys, and towering waterfalls. Multi-day hikes abound and since you can fill your canteen with water straight from one of the thousands of waterfalls your pack won't even be that heavy. Although it might be wet, everything is saturated here with the incessant rain. Looking back from the mouth   Of course as we neared the town of Te Anau, the gateway in Fjordland National Park, the rain started and didn't stop all day. Luckily the rain does not stop things here in the Fjordlands. In fact it just brings more waterfalls. Some of which dry up shortly after the rain stops. Our final destination was Milford Sound, the end of the road. From here boats leave a tiny harbor and spend a couple hours motoring around the fjord and out to the opening to the Tasman Sea. Fur Seals are often seen fr...

Trying to escape the bad weather that has been hounding our attempts to hike on the glaciers we took off south in search of thrills and adventures. We knew that Queenstown, the city of adventure, lay at the end of this road, but what we didn't know was how amazing the journey itself would be. Roaring Billy Falls    We had heard about road closures and curfews on driving the mountain pass between Haast and Wanaka, so we made sure to get an early start. We stopped to check out Hunt's Beach on a tip from a local surfer but the massive swell from a few days earlier had all but disappeared. Once we turned inland and passed the tiny village of Haast, the scenery started changing into dramatic mountain landscapes. Often the road would wind its way following a river before inclining more for a climb higher into the mountains.   The scenery was beautiful from the road but it was the numerous trails leading into the jungle that provided the most stunning views. Huge, ca...

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...