Honeymoon Stop 2--Maui

A pleasant surprise at the Maui airport--leis courtesy Katey, Paul, Ethan & Piper

After a fabulous week on Kaua'i, a welcome greeting at the Maui airport and high marks from many people we know who have visited Maui, we had high expectations for our time there. And you know what they say about high expectations...

In general, we found Maui to be much more developed and touristy than Kaua'i. The hiking isn't nearly as good, and while the food may be a little better, it's still overpriced. 

While Maui may not have met our expectations, our time there wasn't wasted. The day after we arrived, our concierge at the Westin directed us to a hike on an old golf course. After a leisurely brunch at the Ka'anapali Beach Hotel, we put on our hiking shoes. Despite a steep uphill climb at the beginning, the hike wasn't particularly challenging.

We chose the 3.5 mile hike, with some off-road additions

Later in the week, in an effort to avoid driving two hours to hike on the eastern side of the island, we hiked the Lahaina Pali Trail. This trail is accessible from Highway 30 and follows a ridge with spectacular views of both Maalaea and Kahului Bays. This hike is longer--more than five miles one way--and all sun.

Once we completed the Village Walking Trails hike, we continued around the northern part of the island in search of more adventure. We hiked down to the Nakalele Blowhole and the lighthouse near it. While I was leery about going down to the blowhole, I'm glad we did. It's an awesome sight, one that I couldn't experience from 200 feet away. We kept a safe distance away from the hole itself. Locals told us that tourists still die at the blowhole every year after they get too close.

Near the Nakalele Blowhole

At the blowhole, off to the left

Fascinating, yet bug-ridden forest we discovered after our trip to the blowhole

Maui is home to a large national park, Haleakala National Park, which has an entrance near the end of the Road to Hana and another entrance at one of the highest points on the island, the Haleakala Crater.  The summit exceeds 10,000 feet.

Z and I before some hiking on the crater

Beginning our hike on the crater

You could spend days hiking in the park. In fact, we picked up a hitchhiker who was doing just that--hiking with friends and his kids from one cabin to the next at the park. We opted for a shorter hike because we had dinner reservations at the infamous Mama's Fish House.

Waiting for our table at Mama's

Everyone we spoke with who has been to Maui told us we had to go to Mama's. Founded in 1973, it's still one of the most popular restaurants on the island, probably in all of Hawaii, and cooks up some great food. Our meal was one of the best we ate in Hawaii, but it was the atmosphere and the ambiance that made the meal special.

Our table at Mama's, overlooking the beach and ocean

Spread of food at Mama's, whole fish, macadamia-encrusted stuffed fish

Z devoured his whole fish

On our way to the crater, we stopped at the Ali'i Kula Lavendar farm to stretch our legs and sample some delectable lavender creations, like lavender lemonade, a dark chocolate lavender brownie and dark chocolate with lavender essence. Yum! The farm isn't large, but it's a great place to stop enroute to the crater. Entry costs just $3 per person.

Stopping for a moment of zen amidst the lavender

This honeymoon is a trip of "firsts". Z's first time in Hawaii and our first time in most of the countries we're visiting. It's also a trip of first experiences, like shooting a gun. I never thought I would shoot a gun on my honeymoon, but, then again, I never planned on a 10-week honeymoon.

On the boat to La'nai

We took a ferry boat to the small island of La'nai, less than eight miles from Maui. La'nai is home to two Four Seasons properties, but looked deserted until we got around the southern part of the island to the harbor. After we landed, we took a quick transfer to the Four Seasons Lodge at Koele to wait for our shooting tour.

The Lodge at Koele is a beautiful property. I imagine a stay there would be incredibly relaxing, but that I would get bored after a couple of days.

Orchid house at the Four Seasons Lodge at Koele

Hawaii has perfect growing conditions for orchids

Z catches up on the news with his new feline friend

Shooting a gun is serious business and our instructor made sure we followed all gun safety regulations before he let us lose on the range.

Ready to hit the course!

Z hones in on his target

All safe at the end of our adventure

While on Maui, we knew we had to drive the Road to Hana. But rather than seeing all of the sites on the drive twice, we started the road in reverse, west of Hana and Kaupo from the Piilani Highway.

At Wailua Falls

We stopped at a cave, where Z did some cave swimming

In Hana and not far from Hana Beach Park, we found a delicious Thai restaurant. Hana offers many Thai restaurants, but the one we settled on was Nutcharee's Authentic Thai Food. It features a partially outdoor kitchen and a dining area covered by a tent, which we appreciated given the frequent downpours. Our dishes--Massaman Curry with chicken for me and a steak noodle dish with lots of chilies for Ziv--had plenty of flavor without the grease that often appears in Thai food.

Since he first read about lava tubes on Maui, Z wanted to see them and tick another "firsts" experience off his list. He had his chance on our Road to Hana tour.

Stalactites inside the lava tubes

One week on Maui was plenty and by the end of the week we found ourselves missing the ruggedness and adventure of Kaua'i.