On May 9th we woke up at 6:00am (after arriving at midnight) to grab a quick breakfast we prepared in our room (instant oatmeal we had purchased) and then loaded up the SUV to head out on our first adventure, at about 7:30am. The view while driving along CR30 was amazing during daylight since it follows the coastline for most of the route. Our first stop was to the local Walmart to get some food to prepare a picnic lunch and dinner with (we brought our own reusable picnic plates, bowls and cutlery for this trip) - be warned, most things are more expensive in Hawaii than on the mainland. Then we drove over to Iao Valley State Park, which was essentially on the other side of the mountain we could see from our room. Iao Valley is also known to have rain during any visit. When we arrived at the park, there was a guy taking money to pay for parking, although he wasn't in any kind of uniform or anything that would identify him as being official. Later on in the day there is no attendant, but you still have to pay for parking at the automated machines located near the trail entrance - the fee is US$5 per vehicle. We had no problem finding a parking spot, but later on in the day when we were leaving there were people circling the lot, double parking, and making whatever space they could find a parking spot. Get here early if you don't want to deal with that.
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| Iao Needle |
There are a few short trails here and all very easy (our 3 year old had no problem), however, there are several warnings about falling rocks being a hazard. The Iao Needle is the main attraction here and was formed by the erosion of softer rock by streams and waterfalls in between the hard rock which still remains.
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| The trail map at Iao Valley State Park |
The real name of the Iao Needle is KukaEmoku and it is a 2,250ft high peak also known as the phallic stone of Kanaloa, the Hawaiian god of the ocean. The peak was also used as a lookout by warriors and the site was where the Battle of Kipaniwai took place. In the late 1780's Kamehameha I from the island of Hawaii started waging battles to unite all the Hawaiian islands under his rule. In 1790 the Battle of Kipaniwai took place and Kamehameha won since he had the advantage of canons and guns. This battle is known to be the most bitter ever fought in the Hawaiian Islands - there were so many slain, that bodies clogged the stream. This is why it was named the Battle of Kipaniwai (Kipaniwai means damming of the waters - as described on the Iao Valley State Park Reference Boards)
The dramatic scenery left us in awe as we moved through the trails. To observe the movement of the clouds through the mountain and the valley was also a rewarding experience. We got lucky with the weather, as it was only overcast (no rain), although it was very windy. We spent about an hour and a half exploring the area and taking in the scenery, but if you're short on time you could probably get to some good spots and take the photo's you'd want in about 30 minutes.
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| Iao Valley State Park |
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| Iao Needle |
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| Iao Valley State Park |
After having a picnic lunch, we drove over to the Maui Ocean Centre (
http://www.mauioceancenter.com/) which is conveniently en route to the hotel. When we got there, the kids were asleep so we put the big one in the stroller and the smaller one in the carrier strapped to me. We purchased our tickets online and getting in was easy with an ID. As you enter, they'll take your picture and then try to sell you a package as you leave. I didn't think this was really worth it since the photo was taken against a plain blue background with the logo. We took a much better family portrait with the kids awake, using a tripod and in front of the fountain with the dolphin statues.
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| Entrance to Maui Ocean Center |
If you have kids, this is a great place to visit. You can observe and learn about the aquatic life around the Hawaiian Islands, and there are a number of interactive exhibits. Evan had tons of fun running around and looking at the aquariums and different fish, and we were also able to touch starfish in an open pool. Much of the exhibit is indoors (and air conditioned) in various pavilions, however, there are ponds and tanks outside which are great to check out.
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| a Unicornfish |
When you need a snack to cool down, the most cost effective thing to do is get some shave ice. They had a shave ice stand near the middle of the Ocean Centre and they sold what they called Maui Rainbow Shave Ice for US$4. For those of us in the Toronto area, this is basically a snow cone with rainbow stripes of different flavoured syrups.
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| Shark! |
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| a Frogfish |
One of the unique experiences at the Maui Ocean Centre is the underwater glass tunnel. Going through this tunnel gives you a panoramic view of the aquatic life which includes reefs, lots of colourful fish, and sharks. We spent about 2.5-3 hours in total at the Ocean Centre and went through everything.
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| The glass tunnel where you can walk under the ocean habitat |
Once we left, we found it worthwhile to check out the Maalaea Harbor Shops located in the same plaza. There's a Pacific Whale Foundation shop if you're looking for anything or souvenirs which support marine research, education and conservation programs (
http://www.pacificwhale.org/), but there's also another location for this store in Lahaina (which is the next town south of Ka'anapali). If you only have a short time to check out these shops I would recommend a stop at Hula Cookies (again, there is another location in Lahaina) - you can pick up some gift items for family/friends from here and you should try the ice cream sandwich.
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| Hula Cookies Ice Cream Sandwich = Yummy! |
They have the best ice cream sandwiches ever - you can choose the ice cream flavour and two cookies (which can each be different) to assemble it, but the flavours are all very unique and taste great. I tried the mango pineapple ice cream with chocolate coconut cookie and macadamia nut cookie - Absolutely Delicious! You can check out their website here:
http://www.hulacookies.com
If your looking for flower hair clips, there is a small shop (Maui Ocean Store) which had the best prices we found - 3 for $5 versus 1 for $3.99 at most other places. We checked out a couple more of the stores which catered to tourists and then packed back into the SUV to head back to the resort about 20 minutes away. When we got there we were a bit tired since we were still getting used to the time difference (6 hours behind Toronto), so we decided to take it easy for the evening just walking along the beach and enjoying the sunset, since the next day was planned to be really long and physically demanding - The Road to Hana and the Pipiwai Trail.
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