Never have I seen a more beautiful place. Polynesia is the place imagined when paradise is thought of, and Maui is the place where Eden was born. It is to this vast tropical wonderland that Pete and I ventured off on our honeymoon.
There was so much to do above ground that we almost hated to spend the time underwater. But underwater we went - our first dive was to Molokini Crater, where we saw a green moray, spotted moray, three white tip reef sharks, and a neidebrough egg patch (rose shaped). The dive was on the inside of the crater and protected from the rough water from the open ocean. It was a beautiful spot but there were too many people crowded around. Our second dive was on the wall outside of the crater. While it was very interesting (Pete was hand feeding sea turtles) I experienced surge like never before. The heavy surge brought me up and down 30 feet with each wave. It took a while before I could relax enough to "go with the flow" and stop trying to compensate for my buoyancy.
The next day we did a reef drift dive called Banyan, where we saw rock fish, cleaner fish, and eels. The only bad part of the dive was a longer than expected surface swim. I never realized how difficult diving in the open ocean was - I've been spoiled by always spending time under the glass calm water of the Caribbean.
After all that excitement, we decided to seek some adventure above ground. Being an avid cyclist, Pete wanted to go on one of the most famous bike rides in the world - the Maui DownHill. We started by arriving at the tourist trap about midnight, then took a bus ride up to top of Mt. Haleakala (dormant volcano). Several hours later, we (and about 1000 other riders)witnessed the sunrise over the heavily fogged in volcano. That was pretty interesting, however, it was about 20 degrees Fahrenheit at the top of that mountain, and no tourist to Hawaii has the appropriate clothes to withstand a night on top of a volcano. Next came the part Pete was waiting for - the ride down the volcano. Unfortunately, it was all downhill, and there was no peddling required! The tour company we were with required everyone to stay together so we were stuck with people who seemed to have never ridden a bike before. We rode big, heavy, rusty bikes that must have been surplus from WWII - and we did nothing but brake all the way down. Poor Pete was so heavy that his brakes wouldn't allow him to go slow enough to stay back with the tour group, so he had to put his feet down the whole way down the mountain. Talk about "Fred Flintstones brakes"! All in all, we're glad we had the experience - but I know Pete would like to go back someday, with his own bike, and no tour company.
Next, my husband dragged me hiking through the rain forests in search of spots no one had seen before. If there was any type of road, footpath or trail, Pete wanted no part of it.
Finally, we ventured to the Seven Sacred Pools. Of course we had to do the full circle of Maui, and drive the Pilani Hwy (part of it was washed away at the time) there, and the Road to Hana (a white knuckle experience) back. It was one of the most beautiful places on Earth, and definitely worth the trip.
There was so much to do above ground that we almost hated to spend the time underwater. But underwater we went - our first dive was to Molokini Crater, where we saw a green moray, spotted moray, three white tip reef sharks, and a neidebrough egg patch (rose shaped). The dive was on the inside of the crater and protected from the rough water from the open ocean. It was a beautiful spot but there were too many people crowded around. Our second dive was on the wall outside of the crater. While it was very interesting (Pete was hand feeding sea turtles) I experienced surge like never before. The heavy surge brought me up and down 30 feet with each wave. It took a while before I could relax enough to "go with the flow" and stop trying to compensate for my buoyancy.
The next day we did a reef drift dive called Banyan, where we saw rock fish, cleaner fish, and eels. The only bad part of the dive was a longer than expected surface swim. I never realized how difficult diving in the open ocean was - I've been spoiled by always spending time under the glass calm water of the Caribbean.
After all that excitement, we decided to seek some adventure above ground. Being an avid cyclist, Pete wanted to go on one of the most famous bike rides in the world - the Maui DownHill. We started by arriving at the tourist trap about midnight, then took a bus ride up to top of Mt. Haleakala (dormant volcano). Several hours later, we (and about 1000 other riders)witnessed the sunrise over the heavily fogged in volcano. That was pretty interesting, however, it was about 20 degrees Fahrenheit at the top of that mountain, and no tourist to Hawaii has the appropriate clothes to withstand a night on top of a volcano. Next came the part Pete was waiting for - the ride down the volcano. Unfortunately, it was all downhill, and there was no peddling required! The tour company we were with required everyone to stay together so we were stuck with people who seemed to have never ridden a bike before. We rode big, heavy, rusty bikes that must have been surplus from WWII - and we did nothing but brake all the way down. Poor Pete was so heavy that his brakes wouldn't allow him to go slow enough to stay back with the tour group, so he had to put his feet down the whole way down the mountain. Talk about "Fred Flintstones brakes"! All in all, we're glad we had the experience - but I know Pete would like to go back someday, with his own bike, and no tour company.
Next, my husband dragged me hiking through the rain forests in search of spots no one had seen before. If there was any type of road, footpath or trail, Pete wanted no part of it.
Finally, we ventured to the Seven Sacred Pools. Of course we had to do the full circle of Maui, and drive the Pilani Hwy (part of it was washed away at the time) there, and the Road to Hana (a white knuckle experience) back. It was one of the most beautiful places on Earth, and definitely worth the trip.
4 comments:
Hey Denice - nice picture!
I've been to Maui, and I really liked it also.
Great description of your trip. It sounds like fun... except the part about the bike ride....scary!
Lots of useful information. Sounds like you didn't DO the typical tourist vacation!
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