The first thing we did when we got up Wednesday morning was check the top of Haleakala. No clouds! It looked like a perfect day for a drive up the mountain. We left Wailea at 7 o’clock and made it to the summit at around 9, passing through several different climate zones as we climbed from sea level to the peak at 10,000 feet. First there were the gentle slopes of Haleakala’s upcountry, with jacaranda trees and flower farms. Then we drove through groves of tall trees. And finally we reached the zig zagging switchbacks through scrublands with the clouds below us. The crazy curves were even starting to make Ron feel disoriented. We rounded one turn and there was a nene (the endangered Hawaiian goose) standing in the middle of road! Thank goodness, the car behind us wasn’t following too closely so Ron was able to stop and wait for it to move out of the way. I was very glad we hadn’t had to make the choice of hitting the nene or driving off the cliff. I think the nene might have lost that one.
We stopped first at the summit’s Visitor Center for incredible views of the crater. It was otherworldly, like suddenly finding yourself on Mars. The dark brown floor of the crater was streaked with reds and greens and littered with cinder cones reaching hundreds of feet high. Wispy clouds swirled up from below. We walked to the end of the short Pa Ka’oao Trail where we could see the tops of the Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa on the Big Island, rising above the clouds. It was only 52 degrees at the summit, cooler than I’d expected. But Jenny had lent us some jackets so we were very comfortable.
Next we drove down to the Kalahaku Overlook at 9324 feet. This overlook had even better views of the crater than the summit, I thought. There was also a trail that led through a field of silversword plants. Silverswords live 15 to 20 years but bloom only once before dying. We were lucky enough to see a couple of them in bloom.
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| Haleakala Summit |
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| Haleakala Observatory |
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| view of Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa |
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| Kalahaku Overlook |
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| silversword in bloom |
By this time, clouds were starting to fill in the valley and creep up the mountain, so we decided to make our way back to South Maui, driving through the layer of clouds on the way down. Ron had mentioned wanting to explore Kihei, but we didn’t have any specific plans so we just drove up and down Kihei Road until we stumbled on Coconut’s Fish Café. Coconut’s was famous for having some of the best fish tacos on the island. It wasn’t exactly what I was expecting – it was very small, the kind of place where you eat with plastic utensils and place your order at the counter. But the fish tacos lived up to the hype, two open-faced tortillas piled high with mahi mahi and ono, wasabi coleslaw, tomatoes and mango salsa. Yum!
What Coconut’s didn’t have was beer, so after we finished eating we went in search of Maui Brewing Company’s new brewery and tasting room. As luck would have it, it was “Logo Wear Wednesday” which meant $4 beers if you wore a MBC logo. Ron bought himself a t-shirt and used his discount to try a couple of different drafts.
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| Maui Brewing Company |
We had reservations for dinner that night at Nick’s Fishmarket at the Kea Lani. We had eaten at Nick’s on our first trip to Maui and it was one of my favorite memories. What I’d loved about it was that it had been “fancy” but not stuffy, one of those dinners that was more than a dinner, it was an experience. I was happy to find out that it hadn’t changed. The food was still fabulous, the setting was still fabulous. We ate outside so we got to see the torch lighter lighting the tiki torches around the pool, followed by a flock of kids. I ordered the Day Boat Catch, which was a delicious fish with lemongrass jasmine rice and vegetables topped with crab slaw and crispy won tons, and for dessert a chocolate martini with muddled jalapeno pepper. Oh my! What a perfect way to end the day.
continued on Part 4
beautiful photos, as always!
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