Maui no ka oi.

Aloha! I just came back from the land of beautiful sunsets and even more beautiful sunrises, and the experience leaves a lot to talk about..so here goes.

While flying in, the hawaiian islands seem to rise out like an oasis in the middle of the sea, the first sight that greets you as u land in Maui is the warm sunshine, the amazing surf, and everything oh! so green..in January too !

First, we rented a Jeep convertible (perfect for 2, and I might add it seemed to be the car of choice of a lot of couples on the island). The drive from the Kahului Airport to Lahaina (where we were staying) was breathtaking, a neverending stretch of sea and sand on one side and green mountains and fog on the other side. We stopped a number of times on the way just to drink in the view.

We reached our hotel, the Royal Lahaina, soon enough and got checked in. Our room was one with a view.. the gardens below and the sea and sand directly ahead and cold champagne as a welcome drink!

After settling in we went down to check out the activities, we were registered for the Royal Lahaina Luau that evening, and since we had a couple of hours before we needed to get ready for that, we decided a quick dip in the ocean was called for. The water was perfect, or at least to us..after the cold LA water it seemed perfect !

The Royal Lahaina Luau is supposed to be one of the best on the island..we were given shell Lei's as we stood at the enterance, the evening started with an explanation of what a Luau means, the traditional removing the pig from the underground clay pit ceremony, and some Hula lessons (Hula btw is a very very difficult dance unless your hips can jiggle like jello). By then the sun was setting and we enjoyed our very first Maui sunset..By now, the Mai-tai's were flowing freely.. the food was ready..and while we started to enjoy dinner..the show started! the various different forms of the Hula, followed by a stunning fire show brought the evening to a beautiful end.

The next morning we left for the town of Hana, for all first time goers, I higly recommend the Road to Hana CD (also available in a cassette format), we got it from the expedia activity center right below our hotel. You pop the CD in as you start, and it tells you of all the points to see along the way, it also tells you when its time to stop and restart the CD (there are no road signs on the road to Hana, so the CD uses mile markers which is extremely handy), also leave early..since its a full day trip (unless you plan to spend the night in Hana).

The road to Hana is one with over 600 turns and there are many parts where the road only allows one car to pass @ a time, the drive starts with the Twin Falls , accessible after a short trek, when we reached the first fall, we were the only ones there! so it felt like being in a movie, where the honeymoon couple has their own private waterfall surrounded by raw nature..it was so very romantic..it was perfect (for lack of a better word) .

Furthur along the way, enjoy breathtaking views, breathe in the fresh smell of wild flowers as you drive past rain forests, stop to look at water crashing against lava rocks, enjoy black sand beaches and explore caves..if that isnt enough..once you drive a little past Hana..you reach the final "point" of the day..the 7 sacred pools, these are basically 7 waterfalls, each with their own "pool", feeding into one another.

The Pools are part of the Haleakala National park and there's a small fee involved for visiting the park, however the entry is valid for 3 days, so if you plan on visiting the Haleakala Volcanic craters as well, keep the entry ticket and you can reuse it when you go to see the craters!

The first of these 7 pools is about 2 miles inland and is supposed to be the tallest fall, unfortunately we reached the spot a little late for making the 2 mile trek, so we took the shorter treks, which take you to the pools near the shoreline, and as the pictures depict it was lovely!. However, do try to make it in time for the 4 mile trip (2 miles each way), its supposed to be the best trail on the island, replete with Bamboo trees!

The next day was our snorkelling trip! it was our first time ever..so that in itself had us excited, but nothing could have prepared us for how truly amazing an experience it was. There are many snorkelling tour operators out there, we took the one organized by Pacific Whale Foundation, the guides were amazingly knowledgeable and extremely friendly, they had a crash course in snorkelling for us first timers, and they even had a guided underwater tour, where they pointed out all the fishes and corals of interest to the group. Besides the great guides an added advantage is all the money goes towards saving Whales!

Now, for the snorkelling itself..what can I say..its like swimming inside an aquarium tank..but better! the fishes come right upto your face...the corals are a thing of beauty. We first went to Molokini, a small horse shoe shaped island, and enjoyed the snorkelling there, at Molokini we found many different varieties of Fish, and also the currents were not too strong, so it was a great way to start the trip. After Molokini, we went towards Lanai, a bigger island, on the way there, we spotted Dolphins!, these lovely creatures playfully swam along the boat, they love the waves the boats create according to our guides..and they jumped and swam and gave us a lovely show. We also had the pleasure of seeing humpback whales! These whales known as "gentle giants" due to their non hurtful nature, migrate to hawaii in january to give birth to young ones, and you can also see them from the beach in clear weather!

Snorkelling in lanai was a great experience too, bigger corals , you could almost touch them without going too deep, and you really felt like you were right in the middle of the ocean there! After all this swimming we were extremely hungry..and the tour also included a BBQ!!..so while we snorkelled, the guides got to BBQing the perfect burgers for us! did i already say how great it was? well..it was awesome!!!!!

On coming back to the hotel, we relaxed a little, since the morning had us tired, and then dressed up for a night in Lahaina Town. Its a lovely town, and offers many places for a romantic sea side dinner. The shops are great too for a little shopping spree.

The next day, was our last day in beautiful Maui..we checked out from the hotel in the morning, and drove up to the Haleakala Crater. The drive again is beautiful, extremely different from the Drive to Hana, but as you climb the mountain, you seem to rise above the clouds..and eventually the clouds form a blanket below you and you feel like you're in heaven!

Mount Haleakala is a volcano which last erupted sometime in the 17th Century. Its home to a wide variety of endangered plants and the craters themselves offer some of the most stunning sunrise views. Again, unfortunately we missed the sunrise, but what is recommended is go up to see the sunrise, and then bike down the mountain, there are many tour operators who offer to take you up the mountain in a van to enjoy the sunrise, and then bike down!

After spending some time to take in the dead beauty of the craters we drove down towards the airport. It was time to say good-bye Maui sadly..we brought back a whole lot of memories and promised each other we'd be back..soooon! Till then ppl..as they say in Hawaii .."Hang Loose"!