Hawaii: Days Thirty to Forty Two - Maui

We flew 9 hours from Sydney to Honolulu and took a taxi to our hotel. The next morning we woke up late after our long flight and time change the day before. We had a lot of time to kill before our thirty minute flight to Maui so we relaxed at the hotel. We had some nachos for lunch and set up camp on the beach. 

After a few hours we took a taxi back to the airport and flew for all of thirty minutes to Maui. Once we landed we got a taxi to our AirBnB for the next twelve days. We brought in our backpacks and settled in to the new house. 

The next day we walked a few blocks down to check out the beach. The water was really calm so we weren't going to be able to go surfing there but it was a really nice beach and we even saw some sea turtles swimming in the shallow turquoise water. We spent most of that day and the next relaxing at the beach and the house catching up from our trip and jet lag. 

One morning later we loaded our gear into our rental van and headed to a nice beach for snorkelling. We jumped into the water into a colourful reef with a multitude of fish darting about. This snorkelling spot was our best chance to see a black tip reef shark but we snorkelled for an hour and didn't spot any. We got back in the van and headed to another beach, this one famous for its sea turtles. We snorkelled for a bit before our first sighting. It was the largest sea turtle we had seen yet by far and it was very old.

We watched him come up for air and it looked so cool seeing his beak stick up out of the water for air. Their shell and beak look a lot different underwater. We let him be and swam down the rocky coast where there was a small reef. Soon we saw another smaller sea turtle swim right past us. We kept going down the coast when Kaden spotted a tiny juvenile sea turtle hiding under a rock overhang. We left the little guy alone and Sage and Mom went back to the beach because Sage needed a break from swimming (she was snorkelling on her own without a lifejacket to help so she had done really well). The rest of us continued and found the sea turtle that swam past us earlier. We watched him eat from the reef and swim up for air a few times before heading back to the beach. We had a nice picnic by the waves and there were a bunch of chickens that tried to steal our food. They were wild ones because there was no nearby house that could have owned them. We finished our picnic before getting back in the van and heading back to the house for the rest of the day. 

Once morning came around again we grabbed the surfboard and bodyboards from the backyard of our AirBnb. We drove down the coast and ended up a a little beach. Since we had only taken one surf class in Costa Rica we were still beginners so we picked a beach with small waves. We grabbed the board and headed out into the shallow waters. It was quite rocky but we had gotten some water shoes the other day so we wouldn't cut our feet. We took turns with the surfboard because there was only one but after a few tries each we all caught a wave and rode it in towards shore. After an hour and a half of fun I smashed my knee off of a rock when I was walking over to get the surfboard from Kaden. I headed into the beach as my knee was bleeding quite a bit.  Kaden and Zaddek took a few more turns and Sage even rode a few waves sitting down. We spent most of the day on the beach and in the water until we were all water logged and tired then headed back to the AirBnb. On the way back Mom spotted a humpback whale coming up for air. We stopped the van and pulled over but it had gone back under water and swam away.

Dad and I visited the Kealia Pond Wildlife Refuge another morning. The ponds were man made for Hawaii aquatic bird life including American coots, Tricolored Heron, Night Herons and the endangered Hawaiian Stilt bird. 

 American Coot

 Night Heron

After we left the refuge we spent the rest of the day celebrating Christmas which was only two weeks away. Sage and Zaddek put together a ginger bread house and Sage had us all decorate Christmas cookies. 

We spent most of the next day at the house before heading to a traditional Hawaiian Luau. Once we got there we all got Leis made from real flowers and Sage really liked hers. We walked around the grounds where the Luau was being held before the food was served and saw the pit for the pig roast.

When the Luau started we went to our table and waited for our turn to the buffet. The food was really good and soon the hula show started. We watched the show and Sage really liked all the dancing and flower dresses. After the show we headed back to the house for the night.

Another day we loaded the surfboard and boogie boards into the van again and headed to the other side of the island only 20 minutes away. We drove down that side and stopped to watch surfers at a famous surfing site known as Jaws. There was a truck selling delicious banana bread so we had a picnic and watched. Then we went further along the famous drive "the road to Hana" and stopped to get out for a hike on a waterfall trail but it was closed off due to the rains the night before so we drove a little further and turned back. When we found a beach with smaller waves we all got out to try. Turns out they were bigger than we thought and we got tossed around a lot so after banging around we packed it up and headed home.

On our last day in Maui we visited a monument to the last stand of the native tribes in the middle of a huge valley between two mountains. We climbed up in the valley through the lush green landscape and read about the fight.

Once we left the monument we headed into town got some lunch and went Christmas shopping. The next morning we packed up and left our AirBnB and took the thirty minute flight back to Big Island.

Total planes: 2

Total vans: 1 beat up awesome surfer's one

Total miles walked: lots

Total miles swam: even more

Total wipeouts: too many