Hawai’i!

Pristine beaches, warm white sands, crystal clear blue green waters, lush green tropical rainforests and temperatures not soaring above 80 degrees F… Sounds like the ideal holiday ain’t it?

Hawai’i is a transcending Polynesian beauty, a celestial piece of the earth in the middle of nowhere.

Surrounded by heavy volcanic activity, that was responsible to create this island in the first place, continual magmatic eruptions under the Pacific ocean are responsible to create and add more fresh land, to this ever expanding island.

We planned our trip with much vacillation between Cancun, Mexico and Hawai’i; with the former being more financially plausible, as we were getting all inclusive deals for Cancun, as opposed to barely making a round-trip airfare to Hawaii in that amount. We arrived at a decision, when with a bit more of research into our miles account, we were able to cover the airfare for Hawai’i; and decided to thus venture into a more unconventional jaunt. Being big fans of the series “Lost” too aided our decision, which was btw shot almost entirely in Oahu 🙂

We started our week long vacation, by boarding a direct flight from Phoenix to Maui, that took about 6 hours to get there. Hawai’i Standard time or HST lags by 3 hours from PST, which gave us an early headstart when we landed, at 1pm HST.

A key thing to note while vacationing here, is to get up by 4:30 am and enjoy the day till about 7pm. The city is not well lit after dark and there are no skyscrapers as well 🙂

Exploring the city of Kihei: Maui

Kihei is the southern part of the island of Maui. We booked a condo on the beach, which was fully equipped with a kitchenette, cooking condiments, vessels et all… We were in for a surprise when we saw beach chairs, umbrellas, floating noodles, tennis racquets and a beach volleyball.

We stayed at the Kihei Bay Surf, right opposite the beach and a high priced Indian restaurant called Monsoon India, which had a stunning view facing the ocean.

Renting a car is a must in Maui, especially if you are self exploring wanderlust and haven’t booked guided tours. Ofcourse, guided tours are good, however it costs anything between $30-$50 extra, for them to pick you up from your choice of place. We rented a car from the airport, and it took us 15 minutes to get to our abode.

Our twitchy feet got us exploring the parts of Wailea and the posh golf resorts around after we freshened up; we were originally booked for a Luau at Grand Wailea resort, but due to a sudden downpour, the event was cancelled and it was rescheduled for us the following day…. and we’ll get to that part soon 🙂

After a tiresome exploration (6 hour flight, followed by jetlag with the 3 hour time difference), we shopped for groceries, to inaugurate our cute kitchen.

Spectacular sunset by our beach awaited us, followed by which we decided to head to Monsoon India for a rather expensive meal. Although the view is definitely breathtaking from the restaurant , my recommendation is to get your own beach chairs and food, or barbecue some hot food and enjoy a sumptuous meal besides the beach.

Snorkeling & Snuba diving in Molokini crater & Turtle town

Our day kick started early in the morning at 6am, where we reported at the harbour to take off on a day long cruise exploring the ocean, snorkeling in 150 feet deep blue waters, with a 100% visibility down till the ocean bed thriving with rich marine life and corals at the cresent shaped, partially submerged Molokini crater. The crater is infact a seabird sanctuary. The interesting part about rich coral reef here, is that there is no barrier reef supporting it.

Luau at Lahaina

We witnessed some of the best performances by the Hawaiians through the luau, followed by roasting a big boar, which is served as the feast for later in the evening. Don’t worry, there is plenty of vegetarian options to choose from, but this is truly a meat lovers paradise!

Surviving the Road to Hana

What a trip! I recount my experiences to Hana every second day, through the winding roads that challenge your attention at every nook and corner. We were advised to buy the CD that talks about your journey while on this road, and makes recommendations for pit-stops. I must say – the waters are the same, but every pit stop was unique in its own way!

I will never forget the black sand beach with rich blue waters sweeping you off your feet or the beautiful waterfalls that were a treacherous trek alright! But what a beauty!!!

Nature has its ways of making you feel like a small fry, in this large world, by amazing you with beautiful wonders. Hawai’i is the place to see new land being born, and I must say- it is awe-inspiring to say the least!

The black sand beach is nothing but the lava that just cooled down to form new land! What an array of contrasting colors to start with!

I will let my pictures speak for themselves.

Black Sand Beaches

Haleakala Crater

We drove to this mindblowingly breathtaking crater early in the morning at 4am; only to catch the first rays of the sun peeping and bursting through the clouds and painting the skies with spectacular colors. Now yet again, Hawai’i manages to surprise one, as imagine an island, having snow and ice on top of a crater! Snow, Ice, Heat all in once place!

We spent a few hours here before driving back to our resort and were left in amazement.

Island Hop: Big Island – Hilo and Hana, Oahu – Honolulu

First of all, the flight from Maui to Hilo is the most scenic ride ever! We were cruising at a low altitude, that gave us the privilege of watching beautiful waters, mountain ranges and volcanic craters over an hour’s ride. Upon reaching Hilo, we were taken to Kona, and served pure Kona coffee. If you are a coffee connoisseur, this one is a must-buy!

Then we had lunch and drove to Hawaii Volcanic National Park, to experience live volcanoes, see lava flow, steam vents, mind boggling volcanic activity at every nook and corner and lava glow. This has to be my be my best trip ever!

Live Lava flow, Ash Plumes, Steam Vents ands more…

Sunbathing & Swimming in the divine Beaches of Hawai’i