| People often think of Hawaii in blanket terms: beaches, Waikiki, hula girls, surfer boys, but there is tremendous contrast here. Kauai and Oahu, which emerged geologically earlier than the other islands, are characterized by sharp cliff faces and numerous peaks, carved out over eons of erosion. By contrast, Maui and the Big Island are islands of a few (relatively) gently sloping, if heaven-scraping, mountains. Compared to Oahu, where you seem to be continuously in one isolated spot on the island, I’m struck by how Maui seems always right there before me. Except for when driving the meandering and breathtaking Hana Highway, Maui is spread at my feet like a verdant carpet.
Though hiking opportunities are more varied and plentiful on Oahu, I can’t resist the urge to try a Maui hike. Not well versed in the trails of Maui, I put my faith in Maui Eco-Adventures to take me up into the West Maui Mountains. Just past dawn, and after a light breakfast of coffee, muffins, and local fruit which our guide removes from the back of the van, a small group of us head up into a narrow mountain valley, past small, sleepy looking homes. The place is a Garden of Earthly Delights and we can hardly keep up with our guide Polly as she eagerly points out the feast growing around us: green bananas hanging heavily on rope-like stalks, papaya trees whose fruit look to me like litters of puppies huddled against a mother’s breasts, strawberry guava, mountain apple, mango, and avocado. It is the rainy season but fate has been kind to us; it’s a beautiful clear morning and the hike, though far from strenuous, is picturesque and unspoiled. Polly makes a point of educating us on native plants as well, like the kukui nut, whose oil was used by Hawaiians as lubricant and fuel, the noni, and the ti leaf. At the end of the hike, now deep in the valley, we all make the leap into an invigorating swimming hole, swollen by the rain that falls almost continuously in the interior.
As with nearly all the islands of Hawaii, Maui is a place of remarkable contrast. My first two nights are spent at the Maui Prince Hotel, at the southwest end of the island near Kihei. In contrast to the windward northern coast typified by tropical vegetation and lush greens, here the climate is arid and dusty, the landscape a mixture of keawe (mesquite) trees and a hardy shrub Hawaiians call haole koa. The beaches here are perhaps the finest on the island, and offer the best views of the sunset over Kahoolawe and the small crescent of Molokini Island popular with snorkelers.
|
