Welcome to Hawaii

Here we are at Big Beach in Maui, there is a Little Beach too right next to it but the nudists there might not appreciate me posting their pictures... I must say that all the beaches on Hawaii are equally wonderful. The beaches are clean and, at this time of year, sparsely populated. All beaches are public, so you don't have to stay at the most expensive hotel to get a good chunk of sand, and if the waves are not to your liking you can hop in your ford mustang convertible and drive down the road and try your luck at the next one.

Haleakala National Park

If you want to feel like you're on top of the world then come to Haleakala National Park (it's a mouthful, but when you only have an alphabet of 12 letters your words have a tendency to get rather long...).

The absolute top of this park is 10,000 ft above sea level and on a clear day you can see for miles! Of course thats only if it is a clear day...



Luckily we went back for a second peek...



AT the park you'll also get to see the famous silver sword plants and if you're lucky you'll see one flower. We didn't see one - which I guess means that we saw young plants since they flower only once and die.

MultiColoured Beaches

You may not believe it but Hawaii has many multicoloured beaches.
Of course they have the standard colour...

But they also have black...


red...


and green...unfortunately the green beaches are only 4x4 accessible, however you can see the little green glass specs in this closeup - so use your imagination and think of an entire beach like that!

Wildlife

Hawaii - being an island - is kind of lacking for wildlife. With the exception of birds and sea creatures - who can obviously get there for themselves - everything has been imported. You find such exciting wildlife as rats, mongoose, feral cats, wild chickens and roosters, wilds pigs, goats, cows...you get the picture.

The local birds are pretty much all types, song birds, seabirds, geese, owls and very friendly pheasants.


If you're in the right place at the right time you can sea creatures as well. We saw manta rays and friendly turtles.

Volcanoes - Past

Lava fields are abundant in Hawaii. There are different types of lava but the fields that you see are filled with very porous lava. In fact the only places in these fields where you will see any vegetation is along the various roads and trails. The traffic on the roads has crushed the lava down enough to create a layer which prevents the water from draining away completely and thus it can support some life.


In certain areas you'll see neat formations from the lava. Here the trees managed to stay upright when the lava flowed over them and the lava formed these vertical casts of the trees.


Lava tubes need no explanation, there is one that you can visit in Volcano National Park (can you find me?)

There is a second section of the lava tube if you bring a headlamp or flashlight.

Volcanoes - Present - Part1

The ground in volcanic areas gets rather hot so what you will see alot of is steam. Here I'm sitting on a nice warm piece of real estate and the steam behind me is the super heated rain and ground water.


Don't go to hawaii expecting massive explosions of lava rock into the air. When we went most of the volcanic activity was vog (yes vog - that's not a typo). Vog is kind of like rather intense air pollution. Behind me here you can see a nice little hole spewing out a nice thick amount of sulphur and other good stuff - but the super heated rock does make for a pretty picture at night :)

Volcanoes - Present - Part2

No visit to Hawaii would be complete without seeing a big active volcano - and there is really only one way to see it...



Here you can see the steam and sulphur rising from cracks in the ground above the lava tubes.

Oh look...lava! (you'll have to squint to see it...)

Finally the lava meet the ocean and creates new land.

Highlights of Hana

Most people going to Maui will drive the road to Hana. It's a very windy road with fabulous views. The tourists drive it at a very slow pace with their convertible tops down and the locals drive it at top speed in their pickup trucks. Here are some highlights.

Bamboo Forests


Rugged Coastlines




Waterfalls and Swimming Pools




Painted Trees

Picturesque Valleys

Big Island Highlights

As much as the big island does have an active volcano there are other things to see. Taking a helicopter tour is an AMAZING way to see the valleys on the north part of the island. It's almost as if you're in a National Geographic special!

Waikiki

Waikiki is an experience to say the least. A typical day could go like this, you get up and have breakfast on the beach, then you go offshore and surf for a few hours. When you're tired of surfing - endless waves might get a bit boring after a bit - you can come in and go shopping at the various dior, coach, prada and cartier stores located on whichever particular block your hotel is located on. If they don't have the particular colours of stuff you want just go to the next block and try those stores. After a busy day of surfing and shopping you kick back and relax and have dinner overlooking the ocean and watch the sun go down. It must be a really tough life living in hawaii...I can't wait to go back!!!