Maui Travel Guide- Part 2

Day 5- The Road to Hana had an absolutely beautiful drive, but be prepared because it takes all day. We left the condo at around 8:15am and headed towards the east side of the island. Our first stop on the Road to Hana was a town called Paia. If any of you are familiar with Mama’s Fish House, this is the small town it is in. Side note—I am so bummed that we were not able to eat here. I made a reservation back in August because I was told they would book up months in advance. Unfortunately the stomach bug hit our condo for 24 hours. I tried changing our reservation, but they were completely booked the rest of our stay. This is something I highly recommend even though I wasn’t able to eat here. The reviews are unbelievable. So if you are visiting Maui, you need to call months in advance and make a reservation!

We then stopped at Ho’okipa Beach Park. There were numerous surfers trying to catch a wave. Pretty entertaining! While watching the surfers, I can’t remember who said it, but all I heard was “Sea Turtle.” Y’all, my trip was made at this point by just seeing one turtle 250 feet away. Out of all of my tropical destinations, I have visited (Kauai, St. Lucia, Cabo, Key West, the Bahamas, etc.), I have NEVER seen a sea turtle! I could not believe they were in the middle of the surfers just swimming! SO to say the least, I left feeling confident about the day. As we were driving away, a beautiful double rainbow appeared over what looked like all of Maui. 

The Road to Hana is famous for being 64 miles long and having sharp hairpin turns and switchbacks. It is also known for its scenic views, rain forest, and numerous stops along the way.  Since day 1, we lucked out and had awesome weather, but on this particular day, it was raining on and off all day. If the weather had been better, I think we would have stopped and seen more, but we didn’t let the rain stop us. Our first stop was at Twin Falls. It was a small hike to a beautiful waterfall—well actually two hence the name Twin Falls. Pretty cool little spot!

Twin Falls

Swimming Hole

We then went on and stopped at a couple of pretty scenic views. The Garden of Eden is on The Road to Hana, but they charge you $15 per person to enter. We decided to skip that and move on. We stopped at a couple of other waterfalls and swimming holes. My dad was on a mission the whole time to find this guy that was cooking on the side of the road. My mom and he ate here the last time they did the Road to Hana. A year later, this guy was still there. He had not started cooking yet, so we actually came back later. They served us pork, chicken, white rice, grilled banana, and something that was green and tasty that we literally saw him pick off the side of the road. We also decided to have a coconut. I mean why not? You’re in freakin’ Maui! It was a really cool experience to see the locals cook you a true Hawaiian meal.

Our last stop was another highlight. We finally got to Hana and what a neat little town. We were on the hunt for the Red Sand Beach. The directions told us to walk through a schoolyard, and you would see the trail. They were absolutely right. We walked through this schoolyard and saw a beautiful black rocked beach. As we continued to walk around the corner, it was a beautiful red sand beach. It was the ending to our excursion and couldn’t have been more perfect. If you have the time, just past Hana is the Bamboo Forrest and the seven pools. We didn’t have time because we had dinner reservations with some friends that were actually in Maui. My parents met her last year while in Australia and kept in touch Via FB. Isn’t traveling so cool?! I mean you run into friends from AUSTRAILLA.

Day 6 –Eric and I had a beach day and went for walk, did a little snorkeling, and just relaxed. While on our walk, we came across a sea monk. He was just on the beach taking a nap. I was talking with one of the lifeguards, and they told me anytime an animal comes on the beach, they call the wildlife rescue to come check on them. They also put caution tape up so no one will get to close to the animals. That made my heart happy to hear that they do so much for these animals.

    

We were back at the condo by 1pm and relaxing before the big game (The National Championship) that afternoon. My dad had picked a cool sports bar that was near Front Street to watch the game. For those of you that don’t know, Eric is a HUGE Georgia fan, and of course, my family is made of big Alabama fans. So this was definitely a house divided game! Eric thought he was being funny and hung his Georgia flag in the condo. My dad was less than amused. 3pm finally came and off we went to the bar. I have to say that I leaned over to my dad and asked him if he picked the Georgia bar because no one was pulling for us. That was until half-time when Tua (the Hawaiian) came in. Y’all the place went NUTS! The bar was more like 50/50 instead of 90/10, thank goodness. But we all know how this game ended! Roll Tide!

Day 7—Snorkeling with Sea Turtles: We started off our early morning with breakfast at Front Street with the family! Eric and I chowed down and left early to begin our adventure on finding sea turtles. Eric and I had gotten all of our rental equipment the day before. This is where the guy at the dive shop told us where and when to go. We knew we had to be on the beach by high tide (9:30am). The minute we pulled up, I was that person jumping out of the car and running down to the beach. Eric was yelling at me the whole time to wait for him. Sorry Charlie, I’m on a mission. The minute I stepped on the beach, we saw a turtle’s butt straight up in the air. The area we were snorkeling in is significant because at high tide, they can eat all of the vegetation off the rocks, and when its low tide, they cannot. So Eric and I quickly put on our gear and got in the water. Actually before I got in the water, I texted my mom and sister and told them to come to the beach after they finished up with breakfast. So off I went into the water after Eric. 

I snapped this before I got in! Eric and the Turtle! 

I have to be honest, I was really freaking out when I started to get close. There is something so amazing about seeing these turtles in their natural habitat, but at the end of the day, these are wild animals. I wanted to be respectful and feel their demeanor before just swimming up close and personal. Eric actually had to take my hand at first to get near. Wow just wow!! What an unbelievable occurrence. We counted 8 turtles that were all around us. I cannot articulate how cool this experience was, but it by far has been the best moment in 2018 so far.  Also side note—I think this excursion had so much meaning to me because my husband went above and beyond to make sure I saw these dang turtles and also it only cost us $14. So cool! I hope everyone at some point goes on their own adventure instead of feeling like they have to pay $185 a person to go on an excursion where you aren’t promised to see anything.

Day 8—This was our last day, and we were flying out that afternoon. We got up and took our rental gear back to the dive shop. On the way back to the condo, Eric pulled over to where we went snorkeling. What do ya know? The turtles are there again. It was a good thing I was fully clothed, or I would have jumped in again. Eric and I sat on the rocks for a while trying to soak in every last view. I truly did not want to leave. I made the mistake of looking at the forecast back home, and it was 20 degrees and rainy. Talk about a warm welcome home—that wasn’t happening. We grabbed lunch on the water and soaked up every last minute we could until heading to the airport! Eric and I had a small flight from Maui to Honolulu and then a direct flight to ATL (another reason we fly out of  ATL). I was so thankful for this because it was a redeye. We made it back to ATL safe and sound and then headed home. I missed those two boxers like crazy. No matter what, there is nothing better than coming home to your bed!

Maui, thank you for the great family memories, the incredible views, and a trip that was hands-down awesome! We will be back!