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Maui - The South Beaches

Tomorrow we are scheduled to fly from Maui to Kauai, the final island on our four-island itinerary.

Our last major excursion on Maui today, January 2, 2008, was to be the so-called "South Beaches" located along the south-west coast of Maui.

It can be safely said that we are not "beach people" in the sense of lying on a beach to soak up the rays of the sun in the quest for that golden Hawaiian tan. Nevertheless the beauty of a beach is something else to enjoy and this 40 km of intermittent beaches has a lot to offer in the way of wide, sandy, beautiful strands not found as often as one would expect in Hawaii.

We started our day as usual driving from our apartment-hotel in Honokowai south through Lahaina and then along the scenic Honoapiilani Highway that skirts the North West coast of Maui . It is a beautiful drive with the glistening blue waters of the Auau Channel to the right and the beautiful green folded mountains to the left. It is a drive we had made for practically every outing in Maui but it was enjoyable every time.

Our first stop was at the Maalaea Bay Small Boat Harbour located on the south end of the isthmus that separates West Maui from East Maui.

The harbour is a great place to hang out and enjoy the scenery and dream of the endless possibilities available to those equipped with a boat or yacht.

This is also a point of departure for diving and snorkeling expeditions to the small, barren island of Molokini. It is renowned for the underwater activities due to its clear, sheltered waters in the bay formed by the crescent shaped island. It is an opportunity we should have taken and would have taken if Barbara would have shown a stronger interest. As for myself, I was still somewhat reticent about snorkeling in waters which looked to me as being in "the middle of the Pacific Ocean" and thereby surely "shark infested" .


Our drive south from along the Kihei Road which skirts the Pacific alternated between luxury resorts, lively tourist towns, golden beaches and beautiful scenery.

Whenever possible, we stopped and strolled, for example in Kalama Beach, to soak in the atmosphere and perhaps to find something unique in our travels.
Photography plays an integral part in this process. If the senses are stimulated by the surrounding beauty or something of interest, there is an automatic response to raise a camera to eye level and press a button in the hopes of preserving this moment forever.

Therefore the attached photos are a collection of such special moments.

Our stop at the Bad Ass Coffee House was one of those moments. I have often thought that if I was organized enough, which I am not, it would have been great to create a blog on all the different imaginative names for coffee shops and houses that we have seen in our travels . It would make for an interesting blog to see the various directions in which the minds of coffee entrepreneurs have taken them. Often of course the names play around with the word "bean" as in coffee beans. My only addition to the list would have been "Bean there and Done That". Now does that name have potential or what? I am sure that Starbucks is shaking in their boots!

At Wailea Point we left the souvenir shops, markets and coffee beans for luxury time share resorts and beautiful golf courses. This is the Hawaii that is available to what I call "the decimal movers". That is a phrase which I have coined to describe people for whom $1000 is like $10 for me. The decimal movers have a whole different attitude on life and Hawaii is full of them. But is that unusual, would "paradise" not attract the big money?

Makena is another community for the "decimal movers" as it is liberally sprinkled with gated luxury homes in ideal surroundings.

The highlight in Makena was not the gated luxury homes but the simplicity and beauty of the Keawali Church . I have a deep affinity toward older churches not for religious grounds but for historical and sociological reasons. They are such a peek into the past of people and society in general.

Therefore Barbara had to drag me out of the grounds of the Keawali Church founded in 1832. It just felt right being here.

As the photos attest, south of Makena we hit pay dirt by finding the golden beaches of Hawaii that are imagined everywhere in Hawaii but which in fact have to be sought out and are not that common.

I am sure you have experienced it as well, a moment in the late afternoon sun which is so beautiful and precious as to produce illogical thoughts such as "I wish this would go one forever".

Well as you know, we could not stop the rest of the day from slipping away but we were rewarded with a beautiful sunset.

So it was that we drove back, in darkness, the hour and a half it took to get back to Lahaina for supper .

Coming Soon:

Maui to Kauai - The Best Flight of All

Coming in October

Video Blog - My Search for Scenery in the Americas (Canada and the U.S.)