Hawaii - Maui
Hawaii was almost an afterthought - bless it- and has turned out to be one of our best stopovers. We love the place and the people.
In order to achieve this we had to take 5 flights. We flew from Aitutaki to Rarotonga, capital of the Cook Islands, and a "day room" till the early hours, then back to Auckland and an 8 hour connection time to fly to Nadi in Fiji where our flight was delayed, and we were put in another "day room" at a local hotel because of the delay. We then set off again at 2.00 am.. expecting to connect with a flight at 10.00am.
Never mind delays, there was also the time differences, and even day differences because we kept going back and forth across the date line.... we honestly did not know what day it was!
We were absolutely exhausted whe we flew into Honolulu and not at all pleased to find that the flight we were supposed to be on did not include us... so a further delay. As mentioned previously, a total of 59 hours to get there from Aitutaki which granted included 6 hours sleep in 2 hotels along the way... but we were very, very pleased to reach the Pioneer Inn at Lahaina in Maui at about 5.30 pm, straight out to dinner, and then to bed by 8.30 pm!
The Pioneer Inn is the oldest hotel in Maui, dating from 1901 and built by an Englishman, built in a
plantation house style. Very central, but right on the quay and walking distance to anywhere in the town.
When we eventually came to next morning we went for a long walk, picked up all the tour brochures and had a big breakfast whilst we considered our options. Whilst wandering around
we came across this Banyan tree... these three photos only cover perhaps a quarter of its span, because in total it shades over an acre from one tree. Doug is standing in front of the main trunk. All the other "trunks" are in fact air roots which find their way down to the ground in seach of water and nutrients to support this massive tree.
It really was quite touristy, but in a gentle way, and most of the other tourists were gentle and about the same age, too! We certainly felt at home!
The first trip was a cruise to search for more whales... success! This time Humpbacks, but we have saved them for the next posting.... watch this space. We love whales and have resolved to sponsor one when we get home. Not many people get to see one, let alone dozens and of two different varieties... Sperm and Humpbacks... aren't we privileged?
We attended an evening "luau" which is a Hawaiian dinner and entertainment, including hula girls, of course. Sorry guys, no photos... forgot to take the cameras.
We also hired a limousine (a Lincoln Navigator) and a driver to take us right around the island to Hana along a really twisting and turning coast road which just about managed to hang on to the cliffs.
In fact, the first highlight of the day was for us to be able to see whales from the coast road... again refer to the next posting.
We saw lava flows that had reached the sea and been frozen! We saw waterfalls and magnificent vegetation and had a great driver, Paul, who provided us wi
th goodies along the route by stopping off to 
buy from various stalls including banana bread, candied coconut and a big bouquet of flowers. He was a great guy to have found as he was local and knew all the history, culture, fables and traditions - very informative. On the way back 
Paul drove us down to the 
beach at Pa'ia to watch some serious surf activity - both boards and windsurfers. 
Thanks Paul we had a really great day with you!
Needless to say we frequented a few shops and bars... and managed to find one in particular where there was some good jazz. More beautiful sunsets, too.
Another day we headed off to Ka'anapali for a day
..... (well an hour or two anyway) taking a lok at a whaling museum and a snatch of sun on the beach. In Ka'anapali and Lahaina we saw so many Mustang Convertibles we lost count - apparently they are all hire (rental) cars - no-one in Maui would buy one because the soft tops rot in the sea air.
Lahaina is somewhere we would recommend.....
and wished we could have stayed longer, but it was time to pack again and head off to Honolulu and Waikiki Beach.
But don't forget our next posting ..
A Whale of a Tale.
In order to achieve this we had to take 5 flights. We flew from Aitutaki to Rarotonga, capital of the Cook Islands, and a "day room" till the early hours, then back to Auckland and an 8 hour connection time to fly to Nadi in Fiji where our flight was delayed, and we were put in another "day room" at a local hotel because of the delay. We then set off again at 2.00 am.. expecting to connect with a flight at 10.00am.
Never mind delays, there was also the time differences, and even day differences because we kept going back and forth across the date line.... we honestly did not know what day it was!
We were absolutely exhausted whe we flew into Honolulu and not at all pleased to find that the flight we were supposed to be on did not include us... so a further delay. As mentioned previously, a total of 59 hours to get there from Aitutaki which granted included 6 hours sleep in 2 hotels along the way... but we were very, very pleased to reach the Pioneer Inn at Lahaina in Maui at about 5.30 pm, straight out to dinner, and then to bed by 8.30 pm!
The Pioneer Inn is the oldest hotel in Maui, dating from 1901 and built by an Englishman, built in a
plantation house style. Very central, but right on the quay and walking distance to anywhere in the town.When we eventually came to next morning we went for a long walk, picked up all the tour brochures and had a big breakfast whilst we considered our options. Whilst wandering around
we came across this Banyan tree... these three photos only cover perhaps a quarter of its span, because in total it shades over an acre from one tree. Doug is standing in front of the main trunk. All the other "trunks" are in fact air roots which find their way down to the ground in seach of water and nutrients to support this massive tree.It really was quite touristy, but in a gentle way, and most of the other tourists were gentle and about the same age, too! We certainly felt at home!
The first trip was a cruise to search for more whales... success! This time Humpbacks, but we have saved them for the next posting.... watch this space. We love whales and have resolved to sponsor one when we get home. Not many people get to see one, let alone dozens and of two different varieties... Sperm and Humpbacks... aren't we privileged?
We attended an evening "luau" which is a Hawaiian dinner and entertainment, including hula girls, of course. Sorry guys, no photos... forgot to take the cameras.
We also hired a limousine (a Lincoln Navigator) and a driver to take us right around the island to Hana along a really twisting and turning coast road which just about managed to hang on to the cliffs.
In fact, the first highlight of the day was for us to be able to see whales from the coast road... again refer to the next posting.
We saw lava flows that had reached the sea and been frozen! We saw waterfalls and magnificent vegetation and had a great driver, Paul, who provided us wi
th goodies along the route by stopping off to 
buy from various stalls including banana bread, candied coconut and a big bouquet of flowers. He was a great guy to have found as he was local and knew all the history, culture, fables and traditions - very informative. On the way back 
Paul drove us down to the 
beach at Pa'ia to watch some serious surf activity - both boards and windsurfers. 
Thanks Paul we had a really great day with you!
Needless to say we frequented a few shops and bars... and managed to find one in particular where there was some good jazz. More beautiful sunsets, too.
Another day we headed off to Ka'anapali for a day
..... (well an hour or two anyway) taking a lok at a whaling museum and a snatch of sun on the beach. In Ka'anapali and Lahaina we saw so many Mustang Convertibles we lost count - apparently they are all hire (rental) cars - no-one in Maui would buy one because the soft tops rot in the sea air.Lahaina is somewhere we would recommend.....
and wished we could have stayed longer, but it was time to pack again and head off to Honolulu and Waikiki Beach.
But don't forget our next posting ..
A Whale of a Tale.
posted by Doug and Diane at 6:28 PM
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