Maui Travel Journal-Monday

June 12, 2006

Rainforest Hike Day. We were up early again. Tried to take a picture of the moonset but apparently the info that I got off the internet about what time the moon sets was wrong. It was setting much later in the day. Had a quick breakfast of bagels and coffee. We were picked up right in front of the hotel promptly at 8:15 am by Maui Eco-Adventures. Dave was our very funny guide. There were only 3 others on our hike. Jennifer, who lived local and another couple from Michigan. Arrived at Waihe’e Valley at about 9am and Dave gave us muffins, coffee & island fruit. He then gave us our waist packs that had towels in them and 2 bottles of water each. Plus, Matt and I had our backpack with extra water in it. We then headed up into the valley. We had to first walk thru a residential area. We then stopped at Waihe’e Plantation to sign in. You can do this hike on you our but Maui Eco-Adventures is the only guide company that has permission to hike there. This hike is also known as Swinging Bridges. Thankfully there are porta-potties there and best of all they were clean. Off to the trail. Dave was very good about pointing out the different plants and whether they were native or not. He also talked a lot about Hawaiian history. There was only one really steep part of the trail near the beginning. Glad I took my inhaler. We came to an irrigation canal that was built by Chinese laborers that were brought in to work in the sugar cane industry. In places the canals went into tunnels that looked almost like naturally formed caves. After a few minutes we came to the first bridge which is approximately 150 feet long. We bolder hopped across the stream to avoid putting any more strain on the bridge since it has been heavily used in the past. After the trailed climbed a little higher we came to the second bridge, this bridge is 50 feet long. We were able to cross this one. It was like something out of an Indiana Jones movie. After going thru a part of the trail that Dave called the “Kukui & Ginger Forest” we continued to walk along the stream. We finally made it to our destination, which is an old dam. It makes a pleasant man made water fall and there is a deep pool to swim in. Dave got lunch set out for us while we swam in the pool. It was like Oregon cold! Very refreshing after the hike. Not long after we got there a group of local kids arrived with their dogs. They took turns jumping off the dam into the pool. They also tried to get the dogs to jump but they weren’t having it. Smart dogs. The dogs did get in the water to swim though. Next thing we know Dave is jumping off the dam. After the swim it was time for lunch. As we were putting our hiking clothes back on we noticed that Matt’s new Maui Dive Shop shirt had a big smudge of dirt on the back. We couldn’t figure out where it came from until one of the dogs ran across the rocks and right over the shirt again. Lunch was sandwiches, veggies, chips, spinach rolls and cans of juice. Whoever discovered Guava juice, thank you. Props to Dave for hiking all that stuff in for us. After lunch we cleaned you our picnic site and headed back down the trail. We made pretty good time coming back. We passed a few people heading up the trail. When we were almost back to the trailhead we had a great view of the coast. Back at the van Dave gave us ice cold water and cookies which really hit the spot. It was then time to drive back to the resort. The towns of Wailuku and Happy Valley are very poor looking, almost 3rd world. The ocean at Ma’alaea was really calm, no whitecaps at all. We have never seen it so calm. The surf was up pretty good and there were a lot of locals out since it was King Kamehameha Day. This is the only holiday that is celebrated in the United States that honors a monarch. After getting cleaned up we checked in with Jim at the concierge desk since he was curious about using Maui Eco-Adventures. We also signed up for the timeshare presentation the next day since the extra $100 would come in handy. Plus, once we attended the presentation we would get a voucher for 50% off a 5 night stay at any other Starwood property outside of Hawaii. Had a couple of drinks at the Ono Bar then dinner there as well after picking up a book for Matt at Borders. Sat at the Beach Bar to watch the sunset. They also had a hula dancer performing modern hula (not the grass skirt kind). Wiped out after another long day so off to bed fairly early.