So to recap, my 46-hour day eventually ended with Pat and Kim taking me out to Thai Chef with the lovely waitress Rose (who gives as good as she gets) and I crashed out at around 11pm, still on the 12th. I was hoping when I woke up the date would have changed.
Not only did the date change, but I missed the entire AM of the day when I finally woke at 12:30pm. Over 13 hours of sleep! I know I told Pat and Kim I wasn't really a morning person, but still... After lunch, Pat took me out to the north of the island to check out the coast, the lighthouse and look for turtles. I also borrowed Pat's Maui Jims sunglasses which let me look through the sea and find a turtle! We then paid a visit to Sean and overheard that Santana might be playing near the local golf course. We went along later after eating to check it out and found that it was actually Huey Lewis and The News. I wasn't complaining, especially when there was a firework display at the end. And all for free!
On the 14th, Kim started by cooking us breakfast - pancakes! Then it was time for the "Commando Hike", a relatively short but tough hike through a river, wading, scrambling and climbing through waterfalls and eventually through an unlit cave where swimming and climbing becomes that much more difficult. It was really amazing and I loved it! I was worried about the lack of grip on my trainers when shuffling up through the canyons but it was all good in the end! The hike climaxed in a climb and jump off a 30 foot waterfall into a freshwater lake. Awesome! To cap it off, Pat showed me the pool and the hot tub back at his place, which I definitely took advantage of.
Next up, on the 14th, was the crater hike. A big old early start this time got Pat, Stef, Wilton and I up to the top of Haleakala in time to start at 9am on the Sliding Sands. The landscape in the crater is just amazing. It reminded me of Tongariro in many ways, but this has a different personality and an ecosystem of its own. Silverswords (native plants) line the track and are weird plants that only exist here. They flower once only then die after years of growing and maturing. What a life! The weather was once again glorious (as every day has been) and we hiked all the way to the bottom of the switchbacks when it clouded over. I shared my lunch in the company of a curious nene (Hawaii's state bird) before we headed to the top and my rain jacket got its first use since I went caving on the Kepler Track.
When we got back home, Kim had cooked for us. Yet another kindness in a growing list! I think she likes the fact that I always clear my plate. Thanks, mum, you've brought me up as a good boy. We then went to the golf course to see if the rumours of the Black Eyed Peas playing were true. They were not. It was still a nice end to the evening.
I almost forgot. A very awesome gift arrived for me that evening. Sean had got me my very own pair of Maui Jims! They are incredibly cool and I now treat them like my first child (though I probably wouldn't polish my first child, wrap them up in a bag and keep them in a tiny hard case). I am at a loss to how generous my friends are!
I thought I'd give Kim and Pat a rest from my company for a day while I went out and did my own thing. I bought some nice beach shorts and wandered along the Lahaina shore, lying on the beach and checking out the incredible banyan tree. This is a single tree with about 14 trunks that are dropped from the branches as the tree grows. It covers a huge area and is really impressive to look at. We decided against searching for the Black Eyed Peas tonight. It's going to be another early start tomorrow!
On the 17th, I got up and out of the house with Pat at 6am to go down to his boat. He'd got me on the Pride of Maui to go snorkelling and do a bit of whale watching. Pat captains the boat and I loved every minute of it. A good breakfast, wetsuit top, sunshine, snorkelling with octopus, eels and turtles, and a barbecue lunch. Who couldn't love that?
I spent the rest of the afternoon with Pat, arranging an impromptu trip to the Big Island. But that's not before I put the finishing (and starting) touches on my plans tomorrow to go to Molokai - a beautiful unspoilt "true Hawaiian" island with almost no affordable accommodation. It's accessible by a boat that runs twice daily and is a nightmare on the return journey, so I'm told. The only trouble I'm having right now is that my ears are starting to hurt. I hope it's nothing.