Maui - Haleakala, Snorkeling and Luau

Our first full day on Maui we decided to drive up to Haleakala. We awoke nice and early due to the time change, but decided not to worry about getting up there for the sunrise. The peak of the mountain is just above 10,000 feet, and you start at sea level, so it is quite the elevation gain.

Haleakala is a national park, and since we frequent the national parks in our area we have a pass and we were kind of excited about using our pass in such an exotic locale. The drive up the mountain was beautiful, we had good views of the west Maui mountains and both coasts.

We started getting into the clouds around 7000 feet. We hiked to a lookout, which was completely obscured by the fog. The trail was nice, and I imagine seeing the crater from there would be pretty amazing.

It was amazing to see the changes in landscape as we gained elevation. One of the "famous" plants there is the Silversword, below.

We continued our ascent to 10,000 feet and never did climb out of the clouds. It was pretty disappointing to have no view at all from the top. The weather can change fast up there, so we waited a while, ate our lunch and walked around in the mist. It was pretty cold and windy up there. It never cleared up.

On the way down the mountain the clouds had thickened and we had no view at all until about 4000 feet.

Many of the photo ops that we were hoping to take advantage of on the way back down were now obscured by clouds. We did manage to get a picture showing the "skinny" part of the island and you can see both coasts if you look carefully below.

We took a scenic route back towards our condo, through narrow roads, cacti, and sugarcane fields. It was nice to be back to nearly 80 degrees and partly cloudy skies.

We decided to test out our snorkel gear on the nearby beach. The waves were a little rough, and the sandy bottom wasn't exactly ideal for spotting fish, but it was fun none the less. There is really nothing like putting your head underwater with a mask on...a whole new world appears! We were told by the dive shop that the water temperature is always 77-78 degrees, but I saw somewhere else that said 72-78 degrees. Either way, it's pretty pleasant.

After snorkeling we headed to a Luau.

They had beautiful grounds right on the ocean with lots of displays and demonstrations to see. Many of the traditional Hawaiian crafts and rituals were explained. We watched them unearth the pig that had been steaming underground.

There was a pregnant appearing statue, so we took the following picture, assuming it would bring us good luck.

The food was served buffet style and there were lots of interesting, traditional choices. I do believe I tried everything and Jim made a good effort (he's picky). One of the things the Luau price includes is an open bar. Fortunately they could make just about everything without alcohol. Our favorite drink was the lava flow... a frozen pina colada mountain with a strawberry syrup down the sides.

The entertainment was well done, but a little hard to follow. It was done as a history of the Hawaiian islands. It was beautiful to watch, but I'm not sure I learned much about their history.