Hawaii Day 6

The hotel in Hana was really nice. We had two big beds and a roll-away, but the space was amazing. There was a large bathroom with both shower and tub. We've actually stayed in hotel rooms smaller than that bathroom (looking at you, Tahoe). There was also a sink and dining area, couch with coffee table, and a back deck with four lawn chairs facing the sunrise. The entire property was lovely with beautiful grounds, pools, and more. We could have stayed there for weeks, but we only had that one night. 

The sunrise was beautiful.

Mom and Dad enjoyed it from the porch. 

We woke up early and started the day out right with a fancy breakfast in the hotel. The food was really good, and the boys ate well. The sunrise coming up over the ocean to the east was by far the best part. Then we drove out past Hana to the small section of Haleakala National Park. This was our 37th national park, and the main reason we came to Maui. The boys picked up a junior ranger booklet, and we started the two hikes we had scheduled. 

The view from the front of our hotel room.

Breakfast views were amazing.

All decorated for Christmas even though it is 80 degrees in Hana!

Fun waterfall stop on the way to the National Park.

The first hike went 1.8 miles up the mountain to Waimoka Falls. The trail was pretty cool, because it climbs steeply over the first mile, passing a much smaller waterfall. Then, it went into a bamboo forest. We crossed a bridge and entered what appeared to be a tunnel, but was actually thick, overhanging bamboo stalks. The bamboo was really tightly knit and made it seem almost like twilight. There was a raised walkway that took you through the narrow trunks. Best of all, the path had leveled out a bit. 

When we finally reached the waterfall, we were surprised at how tall and slender it was. We had a difficult time getting it all in a photo. We did manage a few good pictures, and then we started back down the trail.

There was a cool banyan tree on the trail.

This hike was fun with so many different parts to it.

Little waterfall on the way up.

Heading up the bamboo forest.

Seth is a ninja.

Mom and Dad are still good hikers.

The waterfall was so tall and skinny!

Near the bottom, the trail split and we took our second, much shorter hike, to the seven sacred pools. These pools are stopping places for the water far above. Little natural pools, many with their own small waterfalls feeding them, overflow like terraces as they near the ocean. It was a pretty spot, and we liked the much shorter half-mile trail.

There are 7 waterfalls and pools. It's hard to see them all in one pic.

There is also a nice view of the ocean here.

Another waterfall.

That was the furthest south we went on Maui. We turned and headed back up toward Hana. We stopped at a red sand beach called Koki Beach. This one was much less busy, and there was plenty of space for Seth to play in the sand. Mark stayed on the shore spotting frigate birds. We only stayed for a little while because we had a reservation at a much more popular beach down the road.

Maui's coast is 😍😍

Hoki beach looked super rocky when we got out.

But there was a fun little rope swing.

The island in the background was pretty.

And the waves were crashing in!

And then we found the nice red sand!

Mark loved watching these birds.

Frigate Bird

Hawaii something bird...ask Mark

Waiʻanapanapa State Park, sometimes called Black Sand Beach, was one of the boys favorite places. They explored a lava tunnel on the beach. They saw a sea arch that stretched across a large section of water. They stood atop a blowhole that roared as the waves crashed in. But most of all, they enjoyed body surfing. They waded out in the shallow water and rode the waves into the black sand. By the end of the hour, there was more sand in their shorts than on the beach. We finally had to drag them away for lunch around 1 o'clock.

This beach area was spectacular. 

Look at the color of the water.

Such a beautiful rugged coastline.

The blow hole performed well!

We found a little sea arch, too.

We were loving this beautiful place (and the weather).

The sea cave was so cool.

The boys couldn't wait to get in the water.

There was a turtle out in the water with them, too.

They love body surfing so much.

We drove back into Hana to the food truck park, which is the most popular place to eat in town. Mom loved her fish tacos, and the burgers were good, but mostly we liked the fresh fruit smoothies.

This is the beach back in Hana.

Everyone was starving and so happy for lunch!

Mom and Mark had the best tacos!

With the energy to make the drive back along the Road to Hana, we started back toward central Maui. This time, we didn't have too many stops to make. The first stop was at a small town called Keanae on the coast. We drove down on the flat peninsula and out to the lookout point. Unfortunately, most places were closed because it was Sunday, but we did enjoy the waves pounding on the rocks and the tide pools. 

This beach area had some tide pools, but the waves were enormous!

They really crashed into these rocks.

We hope the boys know how lucky they are!

Further down the road we did a short hike called The Ridge Hike, but it wasn't very eventful. There were two lookouts, but mostly they overlooked the highway, so we kept it short and went back to the rental van. We wanted to return to the surfing beach again before it got dark. We were really glad we did because we spotted the turtles on the beach. There were about a dozen of them, and you could stand up on the seawall and look down at them, which was really awesome. Seth also enjoyed playing in the water as the surfers came in at twilight. It was still around 80 degrees, even though we saw it was 30 degrees back in Lehi.

The hike was super muddy! But no one fell down. Phew!

More rainbow eucalyptus.

There were so many turtles!

Love them!

Mark was excited to see so many!

Dax loved this beach.

Seth took so many cute photos at sunset for me.

He always wants to be in the water!

There were a ton of surfers to watch when we first arrived, but then they all came in as the sun set.

Another perfect day in Hawaii!

We got checked in at Maui Seaside Motel, which had two double beds and a single. That worked okay, even though it was tight. Seth went right to the pool, even though it was dark and he'd been in the ocean all day. We looked at the beach off the back of the property and saw that Grandma and Grandpa's cruise ship was parked just off shore. They decided to stay another week and cruise the islands, but we had to wake up early for our last day in Hawaii.

Seth loved swimming in the pool. It changed colors!

Hi Grandma and Grandpa!