Hawaii: Maybe Not the Maui You Had in Mind?

A few times during this trip I had to stop, rub my eyes and ask myself where were we? Were we in Maui when I encountered a cow on the side of the road? Were we in Maui when the road became narrow, unpaved and deserted? Were we in Maui when already on the first day we found a hole-in the-wall place for our first poke bowl, or when we climbed out of the city into the countryside, with beautiful views and very few people? This is definitely not the image of Maui that I had in mind.

We booked our tickets to Maui a couple of months before since the price was great, but as the trip became closer I started to worry. What have we gotten ourselves into? I imagined Maui to be a super touristy place, densely populated with crowded roads, and possibly not the best place to go cycle touring. As we dug further we also discovered accommodation was very expensive – definitely not in our price range. So where would we sleep? How easy would it be to camp? And how were we going to survive more than three weeks on this insane island?

First Day
On the first morning Neil and I woke up in the cozy room of our Airbnb. It was the only accommodation we booked, and we only booked it since our flight arrived late at night, and unlike our last trip to Hawaii I didn’t want to spend our first night on a bench at a gas station. Gili was already putting our bikes together and when we went outside we realized it was warm and pleasant and the sky was blue, and even though we were in a typical American suburb there were excellent views of the mountains. We had arrived.

Leaving the town of Kahului was easy, and after a nice cruise along the coast we started climbing. The road became very narrow in some parts, but the traffic was light and the views were breathtaking. There were cliffs below us and the roaring ocean hundreds of meters below. Without noticing we climbed over 500 meters. The first day was so dramatic and beautiful I thought we had reached the highlight of the trip. Luckily, it turned out that every day was dramatic and had a different highlight.

A Night at the Ritz-Carlton (beach)
The second day felt a lot more strenuous than the first. We left our awesome wild camping spot by the Olivine Pools just to encounter more and more rolling hills. My front brake also came loose at one point and Gili had a flat tire. Neil was getting impatient and wanted us to find a ‘cool beach’. We slowly started entering the touristy area of the island (Kaanapali) and huge resorts and hotels started to appear and with them hordes of tourists. Somehow we found ourselves at the beach by the Ritz-Carlton resort.

Luckily the beaches in Hawaii are public (by law) and although the beach was connected to the resort,  anyone could get in. We had lots of fun on the beach but we realized we still needed to find a place to spend the night. A few of the workers said it should be OK if we’ll go to the far end of the beach and pitch our tent there. They even gave us some towels and bottles of water. With their partial blessing we waited till darkness and then when the last person left the beach we went to our camping spot.

In the morning when we left the Ritz Carlton under blue skies and sunshine, one of the workers approached us and asked if ‘you’all know about the storm that is coming later today?’ A storm? It had been paradise so far, was she kidding us? But she was dead serious and told us that by noon we should probably find shelter because it’s going to be a rough one.

Camping on the Private Island of Lanai
The storm didn’t hit the island at noon, and we managed to catch the ferry to Lanai as we planned. However the seas I guess already knew a storm was coming because the ocean was very rough. Passengers were instructed not to move on the vessel and while I thought I was going to throw up Neil thought the ride was lots of fun.

On the private island of Lanai there is a campground for some reason, right by the very luxurious Four Seasons Hotel (rooms from 1000 USD) where one can camp in the woods for $80 a night (!). There is however a loop hole which Gili of course found and eventually we camped for free for three nights right on the beach…

The storm indeed hit shortly after we arrived to Lanai, but for some reason we had chosen to ignore the threat and put Neil down for his nap right on the beach. Somehow I managed to carry him and run to the bathroom to hide, and he didn’t even wake up and slept solid for a couple more hours. That wasn’t even the first time we hid in the bathroom from the rain with Neil.

The next day when the storm finally died down we discovered that Lanai is some sort of paradise and Gili even managed to score a few coconuts for us, which he opened with a machete he borrowed.

In the Eye of the Storm
After our first incident with the storm we were following the weather more closely. We learned that the same storm was about to come back to the area a few days later, after bouncing off the Big Island. We decided to stay in Olowalu campground for two nights since we didn’t want to get caught in the rain on our bikes when the storm hit again. We went on a whale watching tour which was fantastic, and were cycling back to the campground when suddenly strong winds started that almost blew us off the bikes, it was quite scary. We had promised Neil that we’d get him a “shave ice” from the general store by the campground and Neil was in heaven. A local woman was sitting outside looking at the trees. She said she had lived there all her life and had never seen such strong winds…

At the campground our tent was completely bent over, but luckily there was no permanent damage. After eating dinner in the vending machine room we retired to our tent. It poured all night and the wind roared, two kayakers went missing at sea, but luckily were found alive. The next morning we woke up in paradise again, as if the storm had never happened.

A Night by a Graveyard
We left Olowalu under blue sky and with great tail winds. Although we were cycling on the highway for most of that day it didn’t feel like it. The shoulder was wide and clean and the views were spectacular. The only problem that day was again finding a place to camp since we were in a more populated area by the town of Paia.

With someone’s tip we found our way to a Zen temple where it was probably OK to camp for one night. Since no one answered the door we just made our way to their little beach through the… graveyard. We set up camp by the ocean and both of us didn’t sleep too well, the waves were breaking way too close and it was very loud. We got our reward in the morning though. As we peeked at the ocean one last time we found a huge turtle on the shore!

Freezing in the Chapel Upcountry
The flat ride on the highway was spoiling, but we were back to doing some real climbing. In one day we climbed about 700 meters to the small community of Kula. We were now in the ‘upcountry’ and it was a big contrast from the touristy towns by the ocean. People were very friendly to us and they admired us for climbing all the way up.

As for finding a place to sleep, it was much easier there. As we were riding by we noticed a chapel surrounded by lush green grass. We snooped around and then two Mormon missionaries appeared. We chatted with them for a bit and we told them we were looking for a place to camp. They not only invited us to camp there, but said we could sleep in the chapel if we wanted to. We were tempted not to sleep in the tent for one night, but what we didn’t realize was that it was very cold at night, especially given that we had brought a sheet and a blanket instead of sleeping bags. We were more than 700 meters above sea level and it made a difference. We basically shivered the whole night but it was still a neat experience to sleep in a chapel for the first time in our lives.

The Backroad
We heard some horror stories that the backroad to Hana (the Piilani Highway) was unpaved, that there was going to be road construction that wouldn’t let us through, and that it is very steep, isolated and remote. While most of those rumors were true in parts, those are the things that made riding that road more unique and rewarding, and we both agreed it was the highlight of our trip. After we were finally done climbing we had a fun flowing descent to Ulupalakua Ranch where we had some of the best burgers (Elk, in this case) we ever had.

Then there was some more climbing to be done and then a really fun descent back to the ocean with magnificent views at every corner, almost no cars in sight and just a few cows on the side of the road moooing at us.

We camped by the beach, at a spot recommended by locals. It was quiet and relaxing and there was a beautiful sunset. The next morning it was raining, which was a bit worrisome because that road tends to get flash floods. Luckily the road was clear but it was getting hillier, and even less developed, some parts unpaved, others with big potholes.

We stopped for a bit at the Kaupo General Store, and had a nice chat with the owner Linda while she let us have our lunch in the yard, where we took cover from the rain. Then we passed a few off the grid communities, where people live simple lives – a far cry from the touristy resorts by the beach. At a local hangout which was also a fruit stand we met Stephen and his two year old son Oliver. Stephen is a fruitarian, him and his family only eat fruit, most of which they grow themselves, on their property. They looked and claimed to be completely healthy and it seemed like this diet was working for them. I love fruit but cannot imagine not eating anything else.

Neil’s birthday at the National park
We finally reached Haleakala National Park which felt like a big milestone. We planned to camp at the Kipahulu Campground for three nights and had stocked up on food for that time already in Kula, since there were no services or stores on the way. We also celebrated Neil’s 3rd birthday there. At night Gili blew up the balloons we had brought with us and hung them up outside the tent. When Neil woke up he was so surprised and the expression on his face was priceless.

For his birthday Neil got to do his longest hike so far, hiking the Pipiwai trail (he got a kick from the name of the trail). It was a beautiful hike, passing a few waterfalls and an impressive bamboo forest, ending at the Pipiwai waterfalls – a long and narrow stream of water.

The Escape from the Rain
After three nights at the National Park it was finally time to move on and make our way to Hana. However, when we woke up in the morning it was pouring impossibly hard and didn’t seem to stop. Till then it had rained quite a bit but always for short periods and then stopping for a while before starting again. This time the rain did not ease. We were in a bit of a limbo since we had completely run out of food so staying there was not an option. Also, everything was very wet, the area around our tent was flooded, and we really wanted to get out of there.

On bike trips even when things seem very gloomy there is always a solution. This time the solution came from a guy named Gabriel or as we later named him Saint Gabriel. We noticed there were a few people with pickup trucks just getting ready to leave and Gili went to speak with the guy in the yellow truck. That was Gabriel who immediately said he would take us and all of our gear to Hana saving us a miserable ride in the tenacious rain.

Friends for Three Days
After we stocked up on food in Hana, visited the ‘secret’ red sand beach which was pointed out to us by our friend Gabriel, and ate some ‘local’ Thai food, we made our way to our next campground at Waianapanapa State Park. At first glimpse we were disappointed by the campground. I don’t know why but we had the idea that we were finally getting to a more organized campground that perhaps would have luxuries such as… a shower.

But no such luck. It was just basically a piece of grass where people pitched their tents without any particular order. The nice thing about the campground was that we were right by a black sand beach and a dramatic rocky coastline. But the really nice thing about the campground was Delphin, a five year old from Quebec who was camping there with her mom. As soon as Neil and Delphin discovered each other, a true love story began. They were so busy playing together that Gili and I could just kick back and relax. Their favourite game was pulling each other on Delphin’s boogie board. 

Humpty Dumpty Sat on the Wall
Hana is a very small community and although ‘the road to Hana’ is one of the most famous attractions in Maui, Hana itself kept its local charm and easygoing pace of life. We visited the local library since I desperately needed a new book to read and by chance there was a story time for kids and Neil was invited to join. At the end of the session he got a present – a Humpty Dumpty toy that starts walking if you wind it – what an attraction! The library actually gets those toys from McDonald’s which apparently sends them tons of toys since they don’t have a McDonald’s there. Weird.

Drumming and African Dance at the YMCA Camp
We were finally on the Hana Highway and it was raining quite a bit. One of the highlights was stopping at Coconut Glen Ice Cream on the side of the road. The ice cream is made with coconut milk so it’s completely vegan, who knew vegan ice cream can be so tasty. Neil even got a free one since he still couldn’t reach the counter.

After 26 wet kilometers we arrived at the YMCA campground at Keane. There I had another ‘where were we moment’ since there was a dance/drumming workshop there. In one of the halls they had a very lively African drumming and dancing class, and it looked like we had landed on a different continent. As much as we were impressed by the drumming there was something else at that campground – showers! All of us, Neil included, were very excited about it.

It was raining so hard there that we decided we were going to escape from the rain once again. This time on our own, but the idea was that we’d make a push to arrive to the dry side of the island the very next day, completing the Hana Highway, and basically most of the loop.

Sea Turtle Paradise
It was interesting how in a single day not only did the weather change completely, as well as the scenery, but we were once again back in tourist land. We started seeing more and more people and as we arrived to Ho’okipa Beach it was almost like culture shock. On the bright side there were about 30 sea turtles lying on the sand.

We got to observe them at different times since we camped at the other end of the beach and went to visit the turtles in the morning too. In general Maui was a paradise for viewing ocean animals in the wild. We saw so many whales from boats, from the shore, and sometimes we even just spotted them jumping in the ocean while riding.

A Relaxing Vacation in Kihei
We were getting back into civilization which had its advantages too. We returned to a few places we knew already, like Mana Foods, the awesome supermarket in Paia. The previous time we stocked up on food there before going upcountry and had discovered their amazing guava mini-croissants, so we made another stop there. I was happy though that this time we were cycling along the shore and not climbing up the side of the volcano.

We reached Kahului for the third time on the trip and by now it felt so familiar that it was almost like we’d moved there. We had lunch at a spot with a few food trucks and ordered too much food, a bit starved after two weeks of eating mainly our camping food.

Then off to Kihei where we arranged to stay with a Warmshowers host for the last bit of the trip. Most of the riding on that day was actually on separated bike lanes along the highways which was very spoiling and easy.

We never imagined that the last few days of our vacation would be so awesome and it’s all thanks to Graeme our amazing host. He did everything he could do to accommodate and help us. Thanks to him we were able to go on a snorkeling tour to Molokoni since he drove us out there at 6:30am and then came to pick us up.

The snorkeling was in the clearest bluest water I’ve ever seen, and even Neil could enjoy it since they had a boogie board with a window. He probably spent more time “snorkeling” than most of the adults who seemed to be more interested in the food and drinks. Graeme also treated us to dinner two evenings, and on the other evenings we took care of dinner, which we enjoyed together on his nice big balcony chatting away. The complex also had a pool and a hot tub and was a two minute walk from one of the most beautiful beaches with great snorkeling.

When the time came, Graeme took us to the airport (the day before Gili and he drove to Kahului to pick up our bike boxes) and sadly we said goodbye to him and to Maui.

After Thoughts
After a day or two back home, Gili and I came to the conclusion that Hawaii doesn’t really exist. It was all a figment of our imagination, or at least so it seemed, when looking back at all those great moments we had.

While it wasn’t the easiest journey at times, it really felt worth it, and it was a special and a big achievement. A few days later we met a neighbour who was going to Maui in a few weeks. She was struggling with the question how do you make Hawaii affordable. I think we found our answer as always – cycle touring and camping!