Our last day in Maui! It was saddening for us… We tried to extend the trip but could not. This morning we were supposed to catch the sunrise at Haleakala. But, we were so tired after our adventures in the weekend that we just could not move a muscle. So instead we decided we would catch breakfast at the Gazebo today! We missed it a couple of days earlier due to rain and the waiting, but this time we decided we will make it. It is located on the banks of Napili bay in the Napili surf beach resort. There was a long wait as usual as expected, but luckily no rain (I didn’t take the umbrella again). After waiting for nearly 45min checking out stuff at the small stall adjacent to it and watching the line behind us grow longer and longer, we were seated at a fairly sunny spot. The menu had only breakfast and lunch! Yes, they close at 2pm. They had all kinds of omelets, combos of pancakes, waffles, salads, burgers and lunch plates. Price was okay for a place so very popular, but the space was sadly small. My suggestion to you all is, please eat quickly and let the waiting customers enjoy this awesome food too! Its not a place where you can afford to sit relaxing and finish your breakfast. I mean you could, but do be considerate of those standing in rain and shine trying to get a seat. The food at this place has no adjectives. It was amazing!! We realized Maui has so many amazing places to eat, we didn’t want to leave!! We shared a shrimp Omlette and a stack of pancakes. This was the best breakfast ever! Not too filling, and too good. And last but not the least was the coconut syrup served for the pancakes. Yummmm….you can also buy some at the restaurant and bring it home! It was a breakfast we can never forget!
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| The Gazebo |
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| Macadamia Nut Pancakes |
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| Napili Bay view from the Gazebo |
We got back to the hotel, and took one last walk on the ka’anapali beach. Just sat there staring into those blue waters, watching kids, parents everyone having a wonderful time… It was heaven!
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| Ka'anapali Beach |
We checked out of the hotel and made one last visit to Lahaina. Had one last Maui Na Ka Oi Shave ice at Ululani’s and browsed some more stores before we headed towards the Tropical Garden of Maui. The Hilo Hattie is one souvenir store you must not miss. This is a huge store with all kinds of souvenirs from Hawaiian dresses for couples to pearls out of an oyster shell right in front of your eyes. Its going to take a while to browse through the whole store, so be patient. I liked the bamboo bags they had. Pretty colours and shapes. The clothes were good quality, and they also had chocolates and all such confectioneries. Tropical Garden of Maui is a botanical garden on the way to Iao Valley. This is a garden that also sells some of its plants but has a larger area dedicated to growing plants for research and other purposes. They do have a large variety of flowering and non-flowering plants and trees. The walkthrough takes about 30min and the entry fee is $5. My husband had a field day here taking pictures of all the flowers! And he got very good ones too! Check out the post Hawaiian Tropical blooms to see the colourful side of Maui. If you are planning to go to a place like this, please make sure you are wearing something that covers your body completely and keep some bug spray too. There are a lot of mosquito like insects in the garden, obviously due to the moist weather, which could give you a rash for days!
Haleakala is a volcanic mountain that last erupted in the 17th century. The road to the summit where the observation deck is located is very curvy and has numerous hair pin turns. Please take a good driver with you. The drive takes about 2 hours from the bottom. The volcano is the reason why the Haleakala national park was started and has the usual entry fee but open 24hours. As you drive uphill, the weather gets colder, and once you drive past the clouds, its sunny, but cold and windy! You will see many ranches, freely walking cows all over below the clouds. There many trails that you could hike if you like and camp too! At the top when you reach the observatory it is so windy you might just get carried away! So hole on to your hats and dress and carry a good sweat shirt. It wont take long to see the whole valley and you can leave soon, but I can imagine how amazing the sunrise might be! They have a sunset watch too, but we had to leave to grab some dinner and catch our flight back!
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| Just below we passed through the cloud above us |
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| After we crossed the clouds |
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| The Haleakala crater |
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| View from above the clouds while returning |
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| Flatbread Company in Paia |
We went to Paia for our dinner. This time we tried Pizza at the Flatbread Company on Hana Hwy. This place also seems to be a local youngsters favourite. As it is Paia seemed to be a place for the younger lot to stay. Its right next to Hookipa beach and has lodges too. Everyone there looked like locals. This place has this huge clay oven in which they bake their pizzas. You can watch them make it and bake it in front of you! We tried a Coevolution pizza with chicken. It was okay, not something Maui could boast about, and expensive! Yes, this place is expensive and is probably more popular for its drinks. And I forgot to tell you. It is an organic restaurant, that is probably the reason for its price range. Well it was a filling meal, noisy night, and kind of a sad one because we were going to the airport after this. Just five days in Maui it seemed like months. We loved every bit of it and cant wait to go back!!
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| The Clay Oven |
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| The Coevolution |
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| Paia Town Square |
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