Maui Birds

While on Maui, I tried to photograph every animal I could find. I was disappointed that I could never find any sea turtles. And I saw some birds that I just didn't have the opportunity to photograph because they appeared when I didn't have my camera. So here's the list of what I saw.

• Nene geese visited us in Haleakala crater.
  
• Mynah birds are everywhere.
  
• Sparrows are common. Nothing special about them, so no photos.
• Finches showed up now and then. Nothing special about them either.
• We saw coots in 2 places.
  
• Black crowned night herons were common in coastal waters.
  
• Stilts were easy to find at the Kealia Pond Wildlife Refuge.
  
• Cardinals and red crested cardinals were sometimes around.
  
• Japanese White-Eyes were on the Ohai Trail.
  
• We saw the occasional Gray Francolin. But not when my camera was handy.
• Cattle egrets, aka cow birds were all over the golf courses. No photos.
• Spotted doves and zebra doves were pretty common. They showed up all the time, but not when I had my camera ready.
• Rock doves showed up now and then.
  
• I saw Java sparrows hanging around a building in Lahaina. I was eating dinner, so no photos.
• Wild chickens are plentiful. Why take a photo?
• Mongoose would zip by. It was always fleeting; no photos.

To Hana and Back

One of the tourist activities on Maui is a drive on the Hana Highway to the tiny town of Hana. The saying is that it's about the journey, not the destination. This is a drive that we did years ago on our first visit to the island and it was kind of fun. There are waterfalls and glimpses of beautiful coastline sights. The highway is on the windward side of the island, meaning it's a jungle. There are dozens of sharp turns and one-lane bridges, so it's a slow slog out to Hana.

We made the drive again because I wanted to do a few things that we didn't do last time. So we headed out along the coast.

North Coast of Maui Looking Toward Hana

We stopped at a couple of waterfalls, of which there are quite a few.

Along the Hana Highway

During our last visit we looked for, but didn't find, the red sand beach. This time I was better informed about its location and I found it after a brief walk along a path with steep drop-offs and loose footing. It's small and known as a clothing-optional beach. There were a couple of couples who were there without clothing on, so I tried my best to take photos without them visible, and I tried not to look like a gawker. Anyway, here's a photo.

Kaihalulu Beach with Red Sand

We also visited the Hana Lava Tube, which is dark, cool, wet, and grimy. The colors and rock formations are kind of cool. But I took no pictures because it's very dark in there.

And we visited Waianapanapa State Park. This is now my favorite beach on Maui. There are only a couple of small beaches nestled among lots of rock, and the sand is a rather coarse black color mixed with rocks and pebbles. And the surf crashes in. So it's not a sunbather/swimmer beach. But the crashing waves and spray make this place a lot of fun.

After leaving the park, we continued past Hana via the Piilani Highway. Calling this a highway is a joke. It's narrow, curvy, has one-lane bridges, and is a cool trip to make. There are blind one-lane turns around cliffs. Thankfully there were very few cars going in the opposite direction and they appeared in places where it wasn't all that difficult to squeeze by. Between two of these one-lane, blind turns on cliffs, we stopped at an amazing beach. I couldn't find a name for this beach, but the coordinates are 20.651102, -156.079773, on national park land.

Beach on the Hana Highway

After more miles of teeth-jarring bumps, cattle guards, cows, and narrow roads we emerged on the leeward side of the island, and we drove for miles through a desert, with brown grass and ocean views as we climbed. We passed the Auwahi wind turbine farm.

Wind Turbines on Maui

Little by little the road improved, and eventually we finished the loop in Kula. It was a long drive, with some curves on the road that were a little too interesting, but well worth the trip to see a part of Maui that very few tourists ever visit.

Haleakala

During a recent visit to Maui, we made the trek to the summit for sunrise. Twice.

Back up... Years ago we went to Maui. While there, we made the 2AM drive in total darkness to visit Haleakala to watch the sunrise. We drove from sea level, up lots of switchbacks and steep mountain roads, finally reaching the crowded parking lot at 10,000 feet of elevation. Like everyone else, we were shivering in the darkness and 50 degree wind as we watched the first glimmers of sunlight appear on the cloud deck below us.

A Glimmer of Light as the Sun Approaches the Horizon

Little by little, it got brighter. It seemed to take forever for the sun itself to appear, finally peeking above the undercast. The clouds in the crater flowed over the ridges.

Streaming Clouds in Haleakala Crater

Then, in the space of just a few minutes, the sun became blindingly visible, it warmed up, and we all left.

The Sun begins to Appear

We visited a couple of overlooks on the way down, checking the crater out. Then we had breakfast in Kahului, and we were done. The typical Maui tourist experience.

OK, years later, we're back in Maui, and this time I had bigger plans. Now, permits are required for sunrise viewing. I got the permits 60 days before we used them, the earliest that they were available. It worked like a charm; the ranger asked our name at the gate and verified that we were on the list and sent us through. I got permits for 4 consecutive days, at $1.50 apiece, knowing we wouldn't use more than 2, but I just didn't know which 2 days we would go. We wound up going there on our first morning on the island (while we were still jet-lagged), and again on the 3rd morning.

The first visit was a repeat of our visit years ago; watch the sunrise, go back down the mountain. The second visit was to again watch the sunrise, but then my son and I spent the day hiking in the crater.

We descended from the summit visitor's center via the Sliding Sands Trail.

Sliding Sands Trail

It is the most desolate place I've ever seen. Nothing grows there. It was quiet, except for the steady wind. I saw only four other people, aside from my son and me. The trail was (mostly) packed sand, and footing was good. Eventually we reached rockier, flatter terrain where we started to see some vegetation, but not much. It was here that we passed a small patch of endangered Silversword plants, one of which was blooming.

Blooming Silversword

Down, down we went, via switchbacks, rocky lava, past cinder cones, finally reaching what looked like the crater floor.

Browns and Reds of a Cinder Cone

We turned left to head toward the Halemau'u Trail, walking on the rim of a cinder cone, then descending to another trail junction between two cones. There we turned left again, toward Holua cabin, and followed the trail as we started to see more and more vegetation. It was warm; there was no shade, and our packs were heavy with water, so we were very glad to arrive at the cabin and rest.

At the cabin, we sat for a while, ate, drank, and watched some Nene geese who came to see us. They were very curious and approached us to within just a few feet. I think they were hoping for food handouts, which we did NOT provide. We also got some entertainment when one Nene chased another one away. The chased Nene flew away, honking, circled back, and crash-landed in the bushes on the cliff above the cabin. I've seen some very graceful birds in flight. This bird was not one of them.

Hawaiian Nene Goose

Eventually we decided it was time to move on, so we followed the trail toward the park road. Along this stretch, it got foggy as we walked through an area that was green with bushes and grass. We saw another pair of Nenes standing on a lava formation, then three more passed overhead in flight. Then it started raining, a steady light drizzle. In the fog, we made the 1000+ foot climb via switchbacks up the crater rim, in the rain, and made it to the parking lot for hiker pickup. It didn't stop raining on us until we were within sight of the parking lot.

It was a long day of hiking. It started out cold, and got warmer as we descended and as the sun rose. We wore long pants and long sleeve shirts to keep from sunburning. We had hats and we reapplied sunscreen regularly to our faces and necks. Even so, my son's face got red, but fortunately he didn't sunburn. We overpacked water, and I didn't eat enough, making for an exhausting final 2 miles of climbing in the rain. With the exception of that wet climb in the clouds (which prevented us from enjoying the view), it was a lot of fun. Including brief stops to sit, drink, snack, rest, and enjoy the scenery, along with about an hour at the cabin, the whole walk took eight hours. The GPS tells me that we hiked more than 11 miles, with significant changes in elevation. Here are some graphics from the hike.

Haleakala Hike Elevation Profile

Google Earth Display of Haleakala Hike (Track Colorized by Altitude)

I didn't take my DSLR; it's too heavy. The photos here were either taken with my phone camera or by my DSLR while we were still with the car.

This was an amazing hike through extraordinary terrain and I'm so glad we did it. It was an especially rewarding thing to do with my son, who is a teenager now, focused on sports, and in great shape. I'm so proud of the way he handled this strenuous hike in hot, cold, and rain without complaint.

N777UA

During a recent visit to Maui, we arrived at the gate and waited for our return flight to the mainland. I was expecting a Boeing 737 like the one on which we arrived on Maui. But I was surprised to see a Boeing 777. OK, it's a bigger plane, and more comfortable. But then I noticed its tail number: N777UA. The N makes sense; it's a US-registered aircraft. The UA makes sense; it's a United Airlines aircraft. But N777UA for a 777? So I looked it up. This is the launch aircraft, the first 777 delivered by Boeing to any customer.

United Airlines N777UA, a 777-200 model, the first 777 ever delivered.

Bee

I got a new lens and had to try it out in the back yard...

Bee on Azalea