Exploring the West side of Maui

View from the top

Recently, we went to explore the West tip of the island. We drove through the center, and then up the coast and around the tip. The road was very bumpy, narrow, and high up in the mountains. This road was not well paved and the car was moving back and forth like trees swaying in the wind. There were sharp turns, and we never knew if another car was coming around the corner. It turned out to be a dangerous road, but we drove carefully and really enjoyed the gorgeous views of the mountains and oceans.

We drove by a Taro field



Hsnging from a tree branch



 As we drove on, we kept getting closer to the beach, and saw a small parking lot that had many cars. It turned out to be one of the best places to snorkel on the island. The beach was called Honolua Bay. It is a protected reserve so fishing is not allowed, which means more fish for us to see. We took out all of our snorkeling gear, and started walking. We had to walk 1 mile and a half to get to a secluded beach. The walk was  through a thick, green rainforest, and we saw many beautiful trees and flowers. We also saw many avocados, apple bananas, guava, and papaya trees.

Honolua Bay

When we finally got to the beach, we didn't dawdle, but quickly put on our snorkeling gear. There were many rocks, and we had to swim past them befor reaching the beautiful coral reef. While snorkeling, we saw many fish such as trumpet fish,, parrot fish, the humuhumunookunookuappua'a with its blue lips, an eel, and of coures the best part, a turlte. As we swam deeper in the ocean, we nearly bumped into this huge turtle. It swam so gracefully, and many people were crowding around it pushing to see it. We had never seen such a big turtle. Hannah, our little sister, was so close to it, she could touch it. Of course, touching wild life is not allowed, and we let it swim by us. 

I'ini bird

After a nice refreshing swim, we sat down for lunch on the rocks. As we sat down, numerous birds began to surround us. Most of them were chickens and roosters making loud noises, nearly taking the sandwiches from our hands. We gave them pieces of bread, so they would move away. We even saw one Red-rested Cardinal. It had a red face, a yellow beak, and a grey and white body. We quickly ate our lunch, and while eating, one lady that was sitting next to us, told us that she saw a small shark. It was a White Tip about 3 feet long!

Red-crested Cardinal

Fleming Beach

After snorkeling, we started to look for a sandy beach to play in the water. We stopped at Fleming Beach park. It had small waves, and very soft sand. We built big sand castles and deep holes. We also went surfing and rode the waves. 

Kaanapali Bay

When we finished our lunch, we continued our drive to explore the island. We came to another beach called Kaanapali Bay. It was surrounded by expensive resorts and the water was very calm. We just relaxed in the water and played Monkey in the Middle with a football. It was very fun. The teams were my Dad, Mom and brother in one team, and Miriam, Hannah and I in the other team. Our team was the one that was mostly in the middle because my Mom and Dad through the ball over our heads.



We were then ready to head back home but we first stopped in the historic town of Lahaina for dinner, and to watch the sunset. This city used to be the capital city of Hawaii during the period of King Kamehameha. The capital was later moved to Honolulu. In Lahaina, we found a nice restaurant that had a spectacular view of the ocean. We were seated and served quickly, and the food was delicious. When we left, our stomachs were full, and we were very hiper. We walked around a little, and went to a famous 137 year old banyan tree that was planted in 1873  . It was a huge tree with many branches for us to climb. 

Banyan Tree in Lahaina

Finally, the sun was almost down and all the people lined the street along the ocean to watch the sunset. Each second, the sun went lower and lower until it disapeared into the clouds. It was a clear day, so there was a beautiful sunset. We took some family photos until it was finally dark. We had a long day, and while driving home, we all fell asleep.

Have you ever been to so many places in one day?

Have you ever climbed a tree?