Fun travels: Maui in 2007

Maui in 2007

I first went to Maui back in 2001 and have been back twice since then.
It is truely a magical island.
On a single island, there is a high mountain-like volcano, tropical forests, beaches, all do-able in the same day.
This is a collection of some photos that I took in 2007.

Took a Hawaiian Airlines flight from Seattle to Maui.
In the distance is Mt Baker, a popular place for summer hiking and winter skiing.

The Olympic mountains in the background.

Arrival at Maui after a 5 hour flight

I rented a private apartment just off the beach with a great front yard!

Below is Makena Beach, one of my fav beaches in Maui.
Most of the beaches in Maui, being a small volcanic island, is that the dropoff from the beach is quite steep. Some beaches such as those in Australia or the continental USA have a long drop off, meaning you can walk far out before the water gets deep.
Not so in Maui, the water gets deep very close to the beach.
Little Makena, a nudist beach, is just off behind me where the photo was taken.

A cafe in Maui with walls adorned with money bills from all over the world!
Very cool!

Took a trip up to Mt Haleakala, a dormant volcano at 10,000 ft, to view the sunrise.
The trip started at 2am and I got there at about 4am, with a crowd of people already there.
It was so cold and windy up there in the early morning, huge contrast with the tropics down below
Some people were not prepared as they came up dressed in only tshirt and shorts...

People were all huddled up around the Lookout point, being the only available building there.
At 5am or so, the sun slowly started rising, it is truely magnificent and definitely worth the sleepless night!

What did the sunlight reveal?
Mt. Haleakala's landscape is very barren, it looks like the moon.
Astronauts actually trained here before their first moon landing.
There are also some trails leading down into the craters.
I dont actually recommend hiking down, there isnt much to see and the climb back up is really hard.
It is two steps up and one step down, due to the sand. lol

Science observatories for astronomy.

Moonscape like environment

This is a distant view of the lookout point where everyone was huddled up viewing the sunrise.

After the sun rose, it was no longer cold and felt like being back in the tropics.

The Silversword plant, which grows only on top of Haleakala.

Back down again to the beaches!
The drive down was long and windy, though easier in the day.
There are cycling tour groups headed down but they are very dangerous as they share the same narrow mountain road as the drivers.
It is very easy for a tired driver to accidentally knock down a cyclist.

Green turtles are very common in the waters around Maui.
In fact, off the Prince hotel, there is a spot known as Turtle town.
Many turtles congregate there.
It is possible to swim to turtle town off the beach there, hugging close to the rocky shoreline.