Aloha, Hawaii *Maui & Kauai*

MAUI

March 19

ALOHA! Hawaii here we come! Everly totally rocked the 9 hour flight from Toronto YYZ to Kahului, Maui! We lucked out with a nearly empty plane so Everly and Mama got to spread out and sleep for most of the flight! Upon arrival to Maui we picked up our car and drove 25 minutes to our Air BnB in Kihei. We enjoyed settling into our ‘home away from home’ and naturally awoke by 3:00 a.m. (Canada’s 9:00 a.m.) the next morning! 

March 20

We were excited to start our first hike in Hawaii and to use Everly’s backpack carrier for its maiden voyage. We headed to the northwest part of Maui to the Waihee Ridge Trail and basked in the 27C temperatures. All of the carrying credit goes to Daddy who carried Everly around for 2 weeks! The backpack was a hit and the hike was hot; or at least it felt hot after climbing uphill through brushy guava thicket, a wet native scrub forest, and slightly muddy terrain from rainforest climate. We had spectacular views of a green ridge that seemed to be almost folded like an accordion and we felt very accomplished by noon of day one! We spent the rest of our day exploring the eclectic town of Paia with ‘earthy’ local residents, cute eateries, and speciality shops. We even had our own private concert! Everly’s magnetic smile drew the attention of a small band playing outside of our coffee shop and the singer incorporated Everly’s name into her songs; all while Everly clapped and smiled along with the band. By the time 5 p.m. rolled in, we were all spent and ready for an early bedtime. 

March 21

Today was intentionally an early morning rising for 3:00 a.m., but this time for a very good reason! We were heading to Haleakalā National Park to watch the sunrise from the top of the dormant volcano. Haleakalā peak is over 10,000 feet and is translated to English as the ‘house of the sun’ for good reason! We had packed some winter clothes for this adventure as we were aware that temperatures could swing 30 degrees from day time/sea level temps. With toques, mitts, and coats, we anxiously awaited the 5:30 a.m. arrival of the sun peeking up above the clouds; it felt as if we ourselves were rising with the sun out in the universe. After warming up in the car for a little while and seeing the world around us wake up, we began our journey back down the switch back roads (but in daylight this time) to see some views of the craters that looked a lot like what we would imagine the moon’s surface to be like. Within the national park we also spent some time at Hosmer Grove, dubbed one of Maui’s best bird watching havens. This wasn’t just a bird’s paradise, it was also easy on the eye with 86 different species of trees that tower over you in a canopy like setting. Eucalyptus trees overpowered our nostrils and it made us feel like we were in a naturally occurring spa! Mama and Daddy took turns hiking through the trees with binoculars and a camera to spot Hawaiian birds such as: the bright red Apapne, the long beaked ‘I’iwi, and the masked bandit ‘Amakihi. Later that day we had lunch at a food truck in a small, historical town and Mama got to snorkel with some green sea turtles while Everly and Daddy played on a blanket in the sand!

March 22

Today was a very long, yet breathtaking day of driving along the Road to Hana, Maui’s eastern coastline. The 104 km, 620 curves, and 59 one-way bridges led us through flourishing rainforests, flowing waterfalls, plunging pools, and dramatic seascapes. Daddy did an INCREDIBLE job driving this difficult highway and we began our adventure at the end and worked our way back. We embarked on a 6km hike in the southern part of Haleakalā National Park along the Pipiwai Trail. We were in awe walking through the multiple bamboo forests that towered over us; bigger than any bamboo shoots we could ever imagine. It felt like we were in a fairytale setting. We also marvelled at a massive banyan tree whose limbs stretched out overhead, looking like an upside down tree with roots stretching high above. We made our way to the magnificent Waimoku Falls that plummeted from 400 feet. Later we hiked past 7 sacred pools of ‘Ohe’o through jungle foliage in a large ravine. We started to make our way north again along the windy road and made several stops to see various waterfalls and a blank sand beach with lava rock formations. Our day ended at the Maui Brewing Company with some well deserved nachos, pizza, and craft beer. 

March 23

This morning Daddy went to Molokini Crater for some amazing SCUBA diving. Some highlight animals Daddy saw were: manta and banded shrimp, a white tipped reef shark, a banded angel fish, and banded and ornate butterfly fish. Mama and Everly walked along the boardwalk in Kihei. We enjoyed seeing the surfers hit the morning waves and Everly waved to all of the runners and bikers along the path. We said good morning to the copious amounts of roosters, hens, and chicks in the park, parking lots, and coffee shop entrance. We learned that there are so many free-running chickens because of the hurricanes in recent years when the coops were destroyed and they were set free to multiply! Once Daddy returned from his adventure and told us all about the animals he’d seen. Later we explored a fancier part of the island, Wailea. We tried some delicious coconut cream pie at a restaurant called ‘Monkey Pod’ and walked the boardwalk with the fancy hotels before calling it a day. 

March 24

Today we started our day with a beautiful hike that reminded us of an Irish landscape. The rolling hills along the water was a gradual climb was a great way to catch the sun rising in the north along the ‘Ohai Trail. Later Mama and Daddy took turns walking out the lava rock coast to see a geyser of ocean water shooting up out of a blow hole in the rocks. Next we explored a legitimate enchanted forest. The long vines, umbrella trees, and babbling brook made for a perfect and magical setting. At the end of this walk was the best spot for Mama to snorkel with sea turtles all around her. The turtles were very playful and almost bumped into Mama a couple of times as they swam by. Others were busy breaking up coral with their beaks for a snack. They truly are majestic creatures. Mama went snorkelling one more time on this day closer to the town of Lahaina and Everly spotted some turtles near the coast that were popping up to take a breath. To end the day we explored the beautiful coastal town of Lahaina. We sat in the Banyan Tree Courtyard and listened to some guitarists playing under several huge trees which provided so much shade. We tried some famous Hawaiian shave ice (sno cone meets ice-cream sundae) and Daddy had a couple of craft beers at the Maui Brewing Co. 

March 25

This morning we started our day nice and early at the beach before the sun was too hot. Daddy wrote our last name in the sand and Mama dipped Everly’s toes in the ocean! Then we spent a couple of hours hiking along the Hoapili Trail along lava rocks. We were glad that we finished early because it was hot on the lava rocks when we finished at noon. We waited to see if we could see some spinner dolphins, but had no luck so we decided to come back first thing in the morning when they are most active. We decided to check out  the Maui Tropical Plantation in the afternoon, which was green and beautiful! We finally saw the Hawaiian goose, the Nene! It looks a lot like the Canadian goose but different markings. We ended our day with a little hike in the Iao Valley State Monument park to marvel at the emerald peaks and lush valley floor. 

March 26

We tried our luck one more time to see the spinner dolphins at the bay they sleep in and we had success! We saw 3 dolphins jumping up and spinning and several jumping across the water. It was a great way to end our time in Maui before heading to the airport. We took a 45 minute flight to the “Jurassic Park” island called Kauai. The Kauai Brewing Co. greeted us upon arrival with a tasty flight and delicious burgers. We settled into our little village within the city and let the roosters ‘crow’ us to sleep (in addition to Daddy’s 90’s love ballads). 

KAUAI

March 27

Today we explored the north side of Kauai. We started by checking out a big cave, the ‘Queen’s Bath’ which are natural pools carved into the lava shelf, and checked out the town of Princeville. We ended our day at Lyndgate Park where Everly played her first hole of disc golf! Later Daddy found a ukulele and sang made-up songs to Everly in her home-made play area at our home for the week! 

March 28

This morning we headed out on a hike beginning at Shipwreck beach in the south of Kauai. We walked the coastal Maha’ulepu trail and saw views of the ocean atop the sand dune cliffs. We made our way to the Makauwahi Cave, which was an impressive amphitheatre-like cave with layers of clay coloured and sedimentary rock. We also had to crawl on all fours to get into the cave itself (taking turns) and learned that it was one of the Pirates of the Caribbean sets. The ultimate surprise was encountering several tortoises within a large, open enclosure. We walked right near them as they snacked on grass and sat Everly right next to a couple of the females. The males were in their own fenced space, while the females roamed a large, wooded enclosure. What a treat! We later cooled down in the shade by the ocean at Poipu beach. We couldn’t believe our luck when we came across three endangered Hawaiian monk seals sunning themselves on the beach. The guards had loosely fenced off space around them as they sunned for likely the whole day. It was cute when they scratched their whiskers! Some shave ice to cap off the day was a perfect way to end it … which also led to Everly’s first sugar high! Oops!

March 29

We got an early start to drive westward towards Waimea Canyon which stretches 23 km long and provides panoramic views of deep valley gorges as far as the eye can see. We beat the crowds at the Waimea Canyon lookout trail and were taken away by the vistas. It seemed like the next view just got better than the previous. The canyon was carved millions of years ago by the rivers and floods from the summit of Mount Wailaleale. Daddy surprised us by swimming in the basin of one of the smaller waterfalls and carried Everly into it as well. On the way back, Daddy had a lot of compliments for carrying Everly on his back with that elevation and technical terrain. He likely could’ve made some money for backpack rides if he’d tried ha ha. Next we made our way to a couple of look out points of the Na’Pali coast, famously known for the Jurassic Park set. The wavy, emerald-hued cliffs were truly a sight to see. It was also entertaining to hear Everly sing, “Mom, mom, mom, mom” all while Daddy carried her around day in and day out! Go Everly! 

March 30

Today was a waterfall kind of day  all near our homebase in the east, the coconut coast. We saw a few from parking lots, which were nothing less than amazing; but our favourite was definitely the hike out to Ho’opi Falls. Daddy gets an award for navigating the narrow trail with Everly on his back, to which she fell asleep staring up at the huge, rainforest tree leaves. We took some time to get down to the base of the falls and Everly and Mama sat in the waterfalls and got sprinkled by the mist. Mama even got a chance to swing like Tarzan into the basin with a homemade rope swing. We made some American friends and sat and enjoyed the scenery. After drying off and cleaning the mud off of our legs at lunch in the park, we decided to end our day with a steep 8km hike up the Sleeping Giant mountain. The gradual climb was no easy feat of strength but once on top of the ‘giant’s nose’ we were rewarded with views of the entire east side of Kauai. What a vista!

March 31

Daddy had one final day to explore the ocean creatures so Mama and Everly walked their neighbourhood, Kapaa, and enjoyed smoothies, coffees, and glorious naps!Later we all met up at a restaurant on the beach to enjoy some Hawaiian mai tais and reminiscing about incredible Kauai!

April 1​​

It was time for us to head back to Maui so that we could catch our flight home; however, no vacation with a baby is ever complete without a diaper explosion (see photo, this was no April Fool!). We spent one final day at a fancy seaside hotel close to the airport. Before diving into the inviting seaside pool, we walked to a community park for Daddy to play a round of disc golf. In the afternoon Daddy and Everly took a long nap in the cozy hotel bed while Mama walked the beach and watched the impressive kite surfers ride the waves into the horizon.

April 2 

Today was our final day in paradise, but with an 11:00 p.m. flight, we certainly had an entire day to hang at our amazing seaside pool and lounge. After a few photos of our Ohana (family) by the ocean in our leis, we relaxed in the warm, shallow pool and napped in the lounge chairs. Later we hit up a Saturday Market and sipped on our final shave ice dessert.  It was a wonderful way to end a perfect vacation. Mahalo, Hawaii, you treated us well!

VIDEO: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ISHA2dM1ls