Monday – Transit to Maui. Didn’t start well with the booked Uber driver being 25minutes late to pick us up then we lined up int the wrong check- in line then line through security was 200m long and we thought we’d miss our flight for sure but it moved surprisingly quickly and we arrived at gate in good time. 😅. Then flight was delayed once we were all boarded due to ‘a minor technical problem’. Eventually got away for the 45 minute flight.
We had a much smoother experience with renal car this time when we arrived. Good old Avis. Very slow drive to accomm due to an amazing amount of traffic, in both directions. Arrived about 4:15pm. None of us had eaten since breakfast so we headed straight to the nearby Dollies Bar & Cafe for a feed before driving back down the road a bit to Safeway for groceries for the week. Exploring will start tomorrow.
Tuesday – First up an exploratory walk to check out the nearby beach and shops then a visit to the Activities Outlet (Snorkel Bob’s) to see if we can book a Luau but amazingly nothing available locally until August🤷♂️. ‘Cloe’ was very helpful though and found a lunchtime one available in Hana on the other side of the island, about a 2 1/2 hour drive away. That will suit us nicely as we planned to drive to Hana anyway. She recommended it as a better option too as it would be more ‘genuine/authentic’…. we will see on Thursday😊
Early afternoon we headed into Lahaina about 15 minutes away. Originally a small fishing village Lahaina became the capital of the kingdom of Hawaii back in the early 1800. It’s now a national historic landmark district. It’s also a much more vibrant and touristy area than where we are staying. Heaps of shops, waterside pubs and dining and where all the water based activities leave from. Also famous for the huge Banyan Tree which reaches 20m high and shades an area of almost an acre of a beachside park. It has 16 aerial trunks in addition the the original central trunk which help support its branches
Quick stop at Safeway on the way home to top up supplies for our Taco dinner tonight.
There have been a few squalls of light rain today but nothing to stop us exploring. The hills behind us have had their heads in the clouds all day and you can see it raining up there but only a few miles to the beach and coast and it predominantly fine and sunny. Quite a contrast.
Wednesday – We made a visit to the Lava Fields today, about a 1 1/2 hour drive away along the coast. Resorts along the coast nearly all the way. It is obvious Hawaii survives on tourism these days. It was sugar cane in earlier days
Thursday – Road trip to Hana today to have a look around and go to the lunchtime Luau (Cultural Show). We left nice and early to account for the slow traffic and any stops we might need to make for Hendrix and got there with 1/2 hour to spare. Only one stop needed. The last 60kms is very slow and windy with a 15 & 20 mph speed limit. Some sections are only one lane so lots of stops to let traffic on opposite direction pass. On top of that it rained most of the last 60 kms.
As it turned out we got a personalised show from the husband and wife hosts as the tour group who were also booked had cancelled. It was a great 2hrs. Very informative of local culture and very tasty local food. Hendrix was very intrigued by the dancing and the lady was very taken by Hendrix. The whole facility is relatively new and has been developed by the husband and wife over the last two years. They not only preformed but cooked and served the food. The show has only been running for 7 months. We felt very privileged and were very impressed. Highly recommended.
The drive back was very slow as there is nowhere to pass and the driver in front of us did not seem confident driving on the windy narrow roads in the wet conditions.
Friday – Quiet day at condo today as it our last full day before travelling home. Justin’s playing golf, the girls are planing on shopping for a while at Whalers Village before we pick up Justin from golf and I’m just taking it easy and exploring.
Dropped Justin at golf at 9:00. We all went back to Whalers Village (next to golf course) at 11:00 and shopped/wandered there for a while. I went and had a beer with him when he finished about 1:00. Afternoon spent at the beach (me and Hendrix) and relaxing at condo before dinner at the local Kahana Brewery.
Saturday – Transit day to Honolulu. We were organised and left accom at 10:00. We thought that would give us plenty of time for our 1:00pm flight as it is only a 1hr drive to airport, but not so🤷♂️. Drive was ok with only one ‘jammed’ and slow section (which we expected and had planned for). Filled car up and dropped it back at Avis in good time. Then ‘shuttle tram’ to airport. Then there were people everywhere, and I mean thousands of people. We checked in ok just before 12 noon then the problems started. We had to line up in a loooong bag drop line. Then after bag drop a massive long security check line that started on the footpath outside the airport and wound it’s way back and forth into security. It took 1 1/4 hours to get to & through security. Ridiculous. Consequently we, and others, missed our flight. Luckily Hawaiian we’re able to get us onto the next flight. Flights leave every hour to Honolulu and they’d need to to clear the amount of people at the airport. So we arrived in Honolulu and our bags were waiting for us as they made the first flight😆. Shuttle to airport hotel and we were checked in by 4:00pm. Dinner at 5:00 and an early night. 4:45am start tomorrow to give us plenty of time to get through security in Honolulu for our 8:30 flight home. Fingers🤞.
Canada 2022 