Hawaiian Islands - Māui
Satellite image of Māui
Our Hawaii vacation began with a flight on a spacious (and full) Airbus A330-200 from Seattle to Māui. The in-flight meal, individual video screens and gracious attendants made the 5+ hour trip, high above the blue Pacific Ocean, quite enjoyable.
Seattle to Maui
We landed at Māui’s Kahului Airport in the early afternoon. The airport code OGG recognizes Kauai native and aviation pioneer, Bertram J. “Jimmy” Hogg. After collecting our bags, we drove first to the nearby Costco for provisions, then to Kīhei and our short-term rental condominium at Kihei Sands, nicely located along the six-mile-long Sugar Beach area of Māʻalaea Bay on the southwestern coast of the island.
Māui, and especially Māʻalaea Bay, is the winter home to thousands of humpback whales, or koholā, where they mate, give birth and raise their young.
The whales were visible from the shoreline throughout the afternoon and early evening. As the sun set below the distant horizon, conch shells sounded through the warm evening air, concluding a full and transformative day.
Sunset over Mā'alaea Bay
The bay has experienced iconic waves known as “Freight Train” and “Jaws.” Fortunately, that wasn’t our experience. The next day, after checking wind and surf conditions, we carried the ocean kayaks in the predawn darkness to the beach and paddled into the calm bay waters.
Kīhei wind forecast
It wasn’t long before the sun rose over the 10,023 foot Haleakalā Volcano, warming the air and illuminating the imposing and verdant Kahālāwai Mountains. The volcano comprises 75% of the island of Maui and has erupted numerous times in the past 30,000 years, with the last one 400-600 years ago.
Sunrise over Haleakalā Volcano
Kahālāwai Mountains
After an hour of rhythmic paddling, we approached a gathering of 6-person canoes. We all maintained a safe distance as mothers and calves appeared close by and, further away, enormous males breached with sudden and spectacular splendor.
Kayaking Mā'alaea Bay
An unwelcome - and hopefully temporary - visitor to Sugar Beach, was vintage WWII torpedo boat “Chaparral” which had broken loose from its mooring and washed ashore during a recent windstorm. According to a January 26, 2024 Spectrum news report the Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources concluded that because of the condition of the vessel it would have to be cut up and removed in parts instead of being hauled away to Honolulu.
Vessel washed up on Sugar Beach
The Chaparral, unsightly as it was, served as a vantage point for navigating back to shore after a morning of awesome whale watching. Exiting the water was an experience, especially for this novice, as the heavy fiberglass kayak and I were buffeted by the admittedly mild surf. After recovering my balance, but not my dignity before the various onlookers, I rinsed sand off myself and the kayak, stored the kayak away and returned to the condo for coffee and breakfast.
Our Māui experience continued for three more days, including another kayak adventure (apart from numerous whale sightings, uneventful both in water conditions and ingress/egress), a drive through Kīhei proper, and an enjoyable and educational visit to the Māui Ocean Center Aquarium.
Māui Ocean Center
Hawaiian Spotted Eagle Ray
A short drive from Kīhei is the historical town of Pāʻia. Although we weren’t successful in finding a table at Mama’s Fish House, we enjoyed the food and atmosphere at nearby Milagro's.
Leaving Pāʻia, we drove to nearby Hoʻokipa Beach, where a large colony of sea turtles (“Honu”) rested, seemingly oblivious - or at least indifferent - to the onlookers and wind and board surfers.
Sea Turtles (“Honu”) along Hoʻokipa Beach
On the final day we returned to the airport for a short flight to Hana, on the island of Hawaii where we continued our Hawaiian Islands adventure.
Note: We look forward to returning to Māui and visiting La-hai-ná following its recovery from the devastating 2023 fire.
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