Last day in Hawaii

We toured the west part of Molokai and found it to be quite dry.  Some remote and beautiful beaches.  There was more development on this part of the island prior to 2008 but in 2008 the land owner that owned a ranch which covers approximately 1/3 of the island closed up shop.  Looks a bit like a ghost town now but there are a few big houses that have been built recently so perhaps things are starting up again.

The post office.

Stop for coffee on our way.

Along the west coast of Molokai there are several Fish Ponds.  These were built 700 to 800 years ago. They were able to keep fish in these ponds which were originally reserved for the Chief.  This one was just to the west of our resort.

On our last day we went to a secluded beach approx. 20 miles west of our resort.  How nice is it to have the beach to yourself?

That evening we went to Paddlers Restaurant as they were having a Hula show.  It was great entertainment but I think the restaurant was overwelmed by the number of people.  

The following day we were having a leisurely morning as our flight wasn't leaving until noon.  Thankfully I decided to check on the flight and our flight had been moved up an hour and a half and we didn't know!  We barely made it to the airport.  If we'd missed our flight we would have missed our connection in Maui for our flight home!  As it was we had a wait of four hours at the airport in Maui then we were on our way home.

View of the cliffs as we fly past the north shore of Molokai on the way back to Maui.

Wonderful trip.  Goodbye Hawaii....until next time!

Touring Molokai

Molokai is a small island.  Doesn't take long to explore.  Feels more Hawaiian and less commercial than the other islands.  Hopefully there will never be a Costco here however saying that it is very expensive here.

We first head to the east part of the island.  It tends to get more rain and is more lush.  There are some beautiful beaches, some of them protected by reefs so you can swim/snorkel there.

We stop by and view a few churches.  Father Damien built several buildings on the island when he arrived here in the 1800's to help the people that had been literally dumped here because of having leprosy.

This is the Kalaupapa peninsula in the north where the people first settled and developed the 'leper colony' in a town called Kalawao.  Later they moved to the other side of the peninsula which was more sheltered and named the town Kalaupapa.  People still live in this town who suffer from leprosy or Hansen's disease.  Access to the area is limited to protect their privacy.

The cliffs dropping down to the water are dramatic at this point.  This is the side of the original volcano.  The front of it fell away forming the cliffs and the peninsula in front.  This also caused huge tsunamis but this was thousands of years ago.

Molokai

We say goodbye to Maui after two weeks and catch a nine seater plane to Molokai.  The flight over was amazing.  To get the different perspective from the air was so worth the trip alone!

Just a wee plane.  We sat in the first row and of course we both had a window seat.

The pilot and copilot looked so young I didn't know how they had gotten to the airport because surely they were too young to drive!  Yikes!  (They proved to be very competent....best landing ever!)

Leaving Maui....

Arriving Molokai...

Highest cliffs in the world!  It's the edge where the side of the volcano fell into the sea thousands of years ago.

View from our lanai at the Molokai Shores

We wake up to this every morning!!!  How lucky are we!

Funky town of Makawao

We took a side trip to a great small town called Makawao.  It is in north, central Maui.  You could combine this with Pa'ai easily in a day.  Don't waste your time shopping at the resorts or even Lahina.  The shops in these towns have wonderful, quality goods.  Something you would buy and still wear at home!   Photos just can't capture the ambience in this town.

Lots of history.

Wonderful bakery.  You have to get here early and unfortunately it's closed on Tuesday's - of course the day we were there.

Glass blowing while you watch.  The works of art in this shop were breath taking.  Unfortunately, so were the prices!

They were trimming the palms early one morning at our resort.  Didn't want anyone getting beaned on the head!  These guys scampered up and down the trees so quickly I barely had time to point and shoot.

Trip up to Haleakala Crater

The day we chose to ascend to 10,000 feet unfortunately wasn't the best.  Lots of cloud prevented us from seeing the real thing.

This was the best we could do as the cloud shifted and we got a brief glimpse before the clouds closed in again.

It's like flying when you're up this high looking down on the clouds.  

Some very unusual plants up here.  Endangered species.

The road to Hana

Hana is located on the east of Maui.  The rainier side.  The road along the coast is very narrow.  One lane on a large portion of it.  Quite the challenge to drive it but beautiful.

First we explore the small town of Pa'ia.  Interesting little shops and some really unusual characters in this town.  A surf town as a nearby beach is famous for the surf.

Popular surf beach outside of Pa'ia.

Halfway there....it's after Hana that the road gets challenging.

Rugged but beautiful!

Not for the faint of heart!

Beautiful waterfalls.  Very lush.

And so ends another day.....

Down to the south side!

We head down to the south of Maui.  Down to Kihei and then further south past Wailea to Makena.

Walk along the coast at Wailea.

The foundation is all that is left of the houses that were here.

Gorgeous!  

Then back to the Marriott for the nightly Hula show which we can watch from our lanai.

Beautiful rainbows are common.  Here is one over the resort.

Up to the north side

Today Marlene and I head up the west coast to the north side of Maui.  The coast line is beautiful. So many beaches.

There were surfing competitions taking place at Slaughterhouse Beach.

We then proceeded to drive further around the northern part of the island however the road becomes a one lane, curving, no place to pull over monster.  SCARY!  After encountering our first car coming the other way (he had to back up a long way) we decided it wasn't worth the stress and turned around.  We went to the Olivine Pools which were similar to the Queen's Bath on Kauai but larger.  Unfortunately the pools weren't full of water so rather unremarkable.  Sometimes you just can't control Mother Nature.

We then went to Nakalele Blowhole.

Fantastic scenery.  This large rock reminded me of the Rock of Gibraltar.

We finished the day with a late lunch at Duke's Restaurant on the beach.  Fantastic food and we finished it off with a famous Hula pie!

HUGE Macadamia nut ice cream with chocolate fudge and whip cream!  Low cal, low fat!  LOL!

Lahaina!

Marlene and I made a trip into the town of Lahaina.  I haven't been there for years.  It has definitely grown but not as bad as I anticipated.  The old Banyan tree is still there along with the Pioneer Inn.  

Lots of restaurants.  Pretty touristy!  Back to the Marriott for dinner out at the Beach Walk.  Ribs!  Lovely evening!