We woke up in Maui for our first day on our second of three islands. We had been debating whether to visit Maui or not because there had been a big fire the year before. However, we’d seen a news article with Maui residents advertising that they were functional and reliant on tourism for their economy, so we thought it would still be a good thing to fit in, even though we’d only have two days. Plus, one of my priorities was seeing a national park, and I had a hard time choosing between Volcanoes National Park (on the big island) and Halekala National Park (on Maui).
Maui Day 1: Halekala National Park
We hopped into the car, stopped on the way to grab lunch, and then drove through the switchbacks up to the edge of the mountain. First, we stopped in the visitor center to get our national park stamps and the posters that I’d started collecting. Then we drove farther up.
Halekala National Park is an active volcano that makes up the majority of the island, it’s highest peak standing at over 10,000 feet. The height was enough that we could feel the drastic temperature change, having to add layers as we drove higher. The peaks of Halekala were high enough as to be cloud-covered and blustery.
When we got high enough, we were able to look down over the caldera into the painted valleys. We stopped at various overlooks, then went on a short hike above the clouds. Then, we began our descent into the caldera. We walked for about 2.5 hours along the Sliding Sands trail down the edge of the caldera.
We stopped at a few more lookouts on the drive out, catching some rainbows and a beautiful sunset over the ocean (where we caught sight of a whale). Becca was inspired and we booked a whale watching tour for the next morning. Then we drove back to our hotel and grabbed food from some food trucks before turning in for the night.
Maui Day 2: Whales and other ocean creatures
On day 2 in Maui, we woke up early and drove to Maalaea Harbor for our early morning whale watching tour. The type of whales we were looking for were Humpback whales, the same whales that migrate from Alaska (which we saw on a whale watching tour during our previous summer’s trip). We joked throughout that we might run into the same whales that gave us such a good show up near Seward, AK.
Our tour began at 7, and we spent two hours on the boat. Our guide had a master’s in conservation and was very knowledgable about whales. We enjoyed recieving information about whale migration patterns and feeding as we drove to an area where whales had been seen earlier in the morning. Our boat didn’t use any sonar because of the way the topography causes sound to bounce. Boats choose not to use sonar because if every boat used sonar, the whales would be overwhelmed by the noise within the confined space of the bays of Hawaii. Our boat drove around, looking for whales based on radio communication with other boats. Luckily, we stumbled upon a trio of young male whales and were able to follow them around for most of the ride. They said that the males didn’t usually travel together like that, but we’ve had great luck on whale watching tours recently! (Shout out to my sister’s friend Naina for suggesting this company!) At one point, the boat put down a hydrophone, or underwater microphone, so that we could listen to the whale song. It was one of the most hauntingly beautiful songs I’ve ever heard.
After the tour, we were right next to the Maui Ocean Center, an aquarium with local Hawaiian oceanlife. We wandered around for an hour or two, seeing all of the Hawaiian underwater creatures that we wouldn’t get to see.
Then, we stopped off at the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary Visitor Center, which provided background information on whales and NOAA research. We walked along the beach and (unsuccessfully) tried to spy any of the whales we’d seen earlier.
The last of Becca’s priorities had been to try some poke, so on the way to our flight off the island, we stopped at a restaurant and got her some. It was delicious! Then, we were off to the airport, boarding the airplane to our final island, the Big Island of Hawaii.
WANDERING 