Category Archives: ‘Iao Valley

‘Iao Valley…the hike going down…

For part two of our hiking in the ‘Iao Valley (after we got down off the ridge and back through the railing), we went down to the stream. This is the same stream we saw from above…

…but now it was up close and personal…



Max’s desire to do his laundry on the rocks (and have the water beat the dirt and sand – among other things – out of his clothes) remains unfulfilled. While it’s not specifically posted that you can’t do this, I’m guessing it falls into the category of “Do we really need to say that is prohibited?”

Both parts our hike were just amazing. It is still so interesting to us how different the geography is from one part of the island to another…for just an hour’s worth of driving!

Aloha,
Jennifer

P.S. – I’d be shortchanging the day if I didn’t mention the great dinner we had at Cilantro. In our opinion (and we know we have a bit of a different view than some on Mexican food), this was amazing Mexican. Sure, it’s not El Patron (what is?!) but this is probably the best Mexican food on the islands.

‘Iao Valley…the hike going up…

Saturday, 7/10 found us all in the car headed to a different part of the island: the ‘Iao Needle and the ‘Iao Valley (‘Iao rhymes with “meow”). Me and the kids had visited with the Gs, but didn’t really get any hiking in. We said then that Mike needed to see this, and this was our chance.

We went up (climbing through the rail to the trail – a one-person wide trail) and headed up. It quickly started feeling like a jungle. A far cry from the blazing sun and sand that we usually see each day (not complaining!). Mike had already learned that Lahaina gets 5 inches of rain a year; Ka’anapali gets 30 inches (a mere 2 mile difference); Kapalua (another 3 miles north) gets 100 inches. And the ‘Iao Valley gets 400 inches per year…400!

This is the view back through the valley (on a clear spot near the top of our climb) back at Kahului (where the airport is).

Check out the next post for what we see when went down to the stream…

Aloha!
Jennifer

Maui Plantation and the ‘Iao Valley

It’s funny on how you can read a guidebook, talk to others and still not really know whether an attraction is going to turn out well. That’s how I felt when we (me, the kids and the Gs) hopped in the car to go to Maui Plantation. I can totally see how it is not for everyone. Our visit was helped along by 2 things: an open air market (flea market) that is on the grounds Sunday and Monday and the fact that we like botanical stuff. Best that Mike didn’t go 🙂

So after breakfast at the Gazebo (this time we got there at 7 a.m. and were in the first seating – out the door by 8 a.m.), we headed off to the other side of the island (toward the airport). The first stop was the Plantation and walking through the flea market. The kids found out their Hawaiian names: Max = Mea Nui (the greatest) and Mara = Hokui Ke Kai (star of the sea) and Max and I got necklaces. We then boarded a tram for a quick ride around the grounds seeing the tree that gives us the flavoring for Juicy fruit gum along the way.

We also saw an outline of the hills we were getting ready to visit. If you look closely, you will see King Kamehameha laying down in his final resting place (start at the left – move to the middle hill which is his forehead down through his chin with the far right hill being his chest and stomach).

After that, we were off to the ‘Iao Valley. It is gorgeous and is definitely be on our list for a longer hike with Mike. It is still amazing to us how much the scenery can change so quickly from looking at the seaside to these lush mountains and streams. You’d think I’d be used to it by now…

Aloha!
Jennifer