Maui Ohana

No I did not drive Ponty to Hawaii… But this blog is just as much about adventures then it is about a camper. So if you like adventures read on.

I went to Maui for several reasons. One was to spend some quality time with my one and three year old niece and nephew (Avalon and Jude), and another was to have some fun and family time with my brother Jaime, whose wife had recently left him for a British surfer and seemed to be in need both of those things.

Adventure #1: Lanai

We were planning to backpack in Haleakala Crater, but the weather was not looking good up there. On a whim we decided to jump on a $20 ferry to Lanai, a small island with a population of only 3,000. On the Ferry we met Ryan, the local tennis pro at the only hotel on the island. Like us, Ryan also gets excited by the idea of adventure (plus it seems like Lanai can be a lonely place). He decided to drive us out in his Jeep to the other side of the island and camp with us for a couple days. We had a great time sitting around the fire by the beach, sharing stories, and snorkeling near an old shipwreck.

Adventure #2: Hana with the Wee Ones

The kids had the week off of school and Jaime had the week off of work so we decided to take a trip on the Road To Hana. We stopped at the rainbow eucalyptus trees, the black sand beach, a sweet freshwater cave, the seven sacred pools, and then camped near the beach just inside the park.

Adventure #3: Haleakala Crater

Mom had the kids for the weekend and the weather was looking half decent so we headed up to the Crater. We hiked in from the summit down Sliding Sands to Paliku cabin the first day (about 9 miles) and then we hiked from Paliku up switchbacks back to the Halemau’u trailhead the next day (about 10 miles).

It is an amazingly beautiful landscape up in the crater. Unlike anything else on this planet. We got a lot of rain the second day and it got COLD. We trudged along through the crater and up the intensely steep cliffside switchbacks trail. Then we stood in the rain for a few hours while car after car neglected to pick up two soggy backpackers and give us a ride back to the top. Eventually a nice family from Alaska did.

Adventure #4: Jude and Uncle Day

Daycare got canceled for Jude because of an outbreak of lice, so Jude and I got to spend the day together while Jaime was at work. We drove out to the bamboo forest and walked through the bamboo next to the river. Jude was clinging on to me for dear life. When I asked him how he was doing he said “Scared and Happy!”. We made our way to a beautiful waterfall where Jude picked up rocks for a few hours and threw them into the water (he is easily entertained). Then we went to twin falls, hiked in for a few minutes before getting decimated by mosquitoes and then ran out to get a coconut. Definitely a day that I will cherish the memory of!