Maui, Hawaii, United States of America

Maui, Hawaii, U.S.A, photograph # 1 – the Intrepid Explorer by the Maverick Helicopter that Chief Pilot Jake flew four of us in for our several hours, three-island tour; here, we stopped in the Hana Rainforest (just beyond Jurassic Rock – see photograph 5) for Champagne and snacks before resuming our tour

Our previous ship’s call on Maui, Hawaii, United States of America, was in January 2022 (during the COVID-19 pandemic) when we anchored off Lahaina on the southern shore of Maui and used tender boats to reach a pier in town.  It was a wonderful visit, made more vivid a little more than a year later when hurricane strength winds blew down a number of live electric power lines into 6 foot [2 meters] high dry grass and started a fire that blew down the hill to the old historic whaling town of Lahaina, completely destroying the homes in the fire’s path and burning down all the historic wooden buildings in town that housed retail shops, cafés, and restaurants.   As you will see in a photograph in our next blog post, the area is now sadly just dirt.  Locals estimate that it could take up to 15 years to rebuild the area, as the first order of business is to remove the topsoil in the whole area that is now contaminated with all kinds of dangerous substances as a result of everything burning to the ground.

The good news (not very well communicated by the Maui Chamber of Commerce over the past 18 months) is that the rest of the island is fine and more than ready to greet tourists with warm hospitality.  Having visited Maui as a couple and with our two sons probably more that 20 times over the past 52 years, we decided that the best way to see something “new” was to take a multi-hour helicopter ride over the island.  On the helicopter ride we also visited neighboring Molokai and Lanai Islands, both with very small resident populations (several thousand people, each), compared with around 180,000 on Maui.

Maui is the second most populated Hawaiian Island (after Oahu, with over 1 million residents), located east of Oahu and west of the “Big Island” (Hawai’i).  Maui is affectionately known as the “Valley Isle” due to the great valley that lies between its two major volcanoes, Haleakala and Mauna Kahalawai.  It is the second largest of the Hawaiian Islands.  Maui is well known for its stunning beaches, the sacred Ĩao Valley, the crater of the extinct volcano Haleakala, the Road to Hana, as well as great golfing, swimming, SCUBA diving and snorkeling, dining (at cafes, restaurants and luaus) and local entertainment.  In the winter, there is whale-watching for humpback whales from Alaska swimming by the islands as they head north back to Alaska for the summer.  There are also opportunities to support the local community (in the Lahaina region) through volunteer work and financial support.

Maui, Hawaii, U.S.A, photograph # 2 – the Maverick Helicopter heliport is adjacent to the Kahului International Airport, shown here just after “takeoff” in our helicopter

Maui, Hawaii, U.S.A, photograph # 3 – a suburb of Kahului on the northern shore of Maui, to the east of the city

Maui, Hawaii, U.S.A, photograph # 4 – the Road to Hana (“Hana Highway”) is a two-lane and one-lane paved road, along the north and east coasts of Maui, to the scenic small town of Hana on the east coast of Maui; the drive is tortuous, with 629 hair-pin curves and 54 one-lane bridges (out of the total of 59 bridges) on the 51 mile drive from Kahului (allow several hours!)

Maui, Hawaii, U.S.A, photograph # 5 — Jurassic Rock – actually, Keōpuka Rock – was featured in the opening sequence of the original Jurassic Park movie, as the helicopter flew in from the Pacific Ocean on the north shore of Maui to the Garden of Eden (Arboretum), a real, lush botanical garden set on 26 acres, off the Road to Hana, just south (inland) of Jurassic Rock

“The Road to Hana:  There’s a sense of suspense you just can’t shake while driving the Road to Hana, a serpentine road lined with tumbling waterfalls, lush slopes, and rugged coasts – and serious hairpin turns.  Spanning the northeast shore of Maui, the legendary Hana Hwy ribbons tightly between jungle valleys and towering cliffs.  Along the way, 54 one-lane bridges mark nearly as many waterfalls, some tranquil and inviting, others so sheer they kiss you with spray as you drive past.  The drive is ravishingly gorgeous, but certainly not easy.” – www.lonelyplanet.com

Maui, Hawaii, U.S.A, photograph # 6 – a waterfall in the Hana Rainforest

Maui, Hawaii, U.S.A, photograph # 7 – three waterfalls in the Hana Rainforest

Maui, Hawaii, U.S.A, photograph # 8 — our midday Champagne and snack lunch break was in the Hana Rainforest; these taro fields (our landing “pad”) were planted and harvested for centuries by the native Hawaiians before Europeans came to Hawaii (discovered by Captain James Cook in 1778)

Maui, Hawaii, U.S.A, photograph # 9 – a large, stunning monkeypod tree on the edge of the ancient taro fields in the Hana Rainforest where we landed for lunch

Maui, Hawaii, U.S.A, photograph # 10 – foliage at another edge of the ancient taro fields in the Hana Rainforest where we landed for lunch

Maui, Hawaii, U.S.A, photograph # 11 – the flower of a red ginger plant (note that this is not the edible ginger plant that we use in cooking and candies) at the landing spot in the Hana Rainforest

Maui, Hawaii, U.S.A, photograph # 12 – after lunch we flew through the Hana Rainforest where we saw innumerable waterfalls flowing with water that had come down the sides of the Haleakalā extinct volcanic mountain

Haleakalā, or the East Maui Volcano, is a massive, active shield volcano that forms more than 75% of the Hawaiian Island of Maui.  The western 25% of the island is formed by another volcano, Mauna Kahalawai, also referred to as the West Maui Mountains.  The tallest peak of Haleakalā, at 10,023 feet [3,055 meters], is Puʻu ʻUlaʻula.

Maui, Hawaii, U.S.A, photograph # 13 – a view of “Jurassic Rock” and the shoreline of north Maui as we flew back toward Kahului on the way to west Maui and then on to the islands of Molokai and Lanai

Maui, Hawaii, U.S.A, photograph # 14 – the red soil in the open fields is from the volcanic iron residue in the soil, shown here as we flew west towards Maui’s western extinct volcano’s mountain, Mauna Kahalawai, with the summit, Pu’u Kukui, at 5,788-feet [1,764 meters], towering over a lush nature preserve

Maui, Hawaii, U.S.A, photograph # 15 – the northwest corner of the island of Maui, with Molokai Island in the distance

Maui, Hawaii, U.S.A, photograph # 16 – lush, forested slopes in the west Maui ridges under Mauna Kahalawai

PHOTO Maui, Hawaii, U.S.A, photograph # 17 – a stream flows through one of many lush green valleys under Mauna Kahalawai

PHOTO Maui, Hawaii, U.S.A, photograph # 18 – this was the largest collection of waterfalls that we saw in one valley on Maui – under Mauna Kahalawai; note that the lava rock is so porous here, that many of the waterfalls are natural “springs” opening on the mountainside, rather than water runoff from uphill

Maui, Hawaii, U.S.A, photograph # 18 – this was the largest collection of waterfalls that we saw in one valley on Maui – under Mauna Kahalawai; note that the lava rock is so porous here, that many of the waterfalls are natural “springs” opening on the mountainside, rather than water runoff from uphill

Maui, Hawaii, U.S.A, photograph # 19 – approaching the southern shore of Maui on the western side of the island (where Kaanapali and Kapalua developments are located), with the island of Molokai in the background

Maui, Hawaii, U.S.A, photograph # 20 – flying over Kaanapali, Maui

Maui, Hawaii, U.S.A, photograph # 21 – developments on the southern shore of Maui, west of Kaanapali

Our next blog post will continue our helicopter tour of three Hawaiian islands with photographs and descriptions of Molokai and Lanai Islands

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