Wai'anapanapa Wailele

Friends of mine decided to have a destination wedding in Hawaii and my husband and I were fortunate enough to travel and witness their special day. We thought it would feel like a mini honeymoon getaway for us. My husband and I boarded our Air Canada flight from Vancouver Airport for our tropical destination of Maui. Our travel agency, Walnut Grove Travel made all our arrangements, including booking the rental car, hotels and making all the arrangements. At our first hotel, we found a beautiful fruit basket in our room.We had wanted to visit Maui and Hana in particular because we love to hike and we love waterfalls! The road to Hana is filled with amazing waterfalls at almost every turn. I was very grateful that when we were driving out to Hana, we were on the mountainside of the road. With all the curves and turns, I would rather be on the inside lane. We had heard that at Seven Sacred Pools, which is inside Haleakala National Park, you can hike up along Waimoku Falls and swim in the pools, called Ohelo Gulch. We had fun playing in the water! The drive to Hana took us about five hours, with stopping and taking photos. When we finally reached Hana Hotel, we were ready for a shower and a clean bed.

Waianapanapa

Wailele Oheo

There were some beautiful black sand beaches. We stopped at Wai`anapanapa State Park and had a picnic down on the beach. The colors were so bright there, unlike in Vancouver, like Kansas versus Oz. Black and white to Technicolor. The beach was actually small black pebbles and a great contrast to the turquoise blue of the ocean.
After spending two glorious days at the Hana Hotel, we drove along the coast toward Kipahulu and Ulupalakua, where we stayed the night at a very quaint bed and breakfast. We hoped to meet up with friends from home who now live in Kipahulu, but they were at work so we decided to get together in Ulupalakua at the Winery after work so we could sample some wines. My favorite was the refreshing Maui Blanc, made from pineapples. My husband’s favorite was Ulupalakua Red. Who knew you could make wine from pineapples!
The next night, we stayed two-nights at the Grand Wailea on Maui’s South Shore. Once again Walnut Grove Travel had arranged for a suite and another tropical fruit basket. It was heavenly, lounging around the pool, getting fabulous couples’ massages, eating locally caught fish and devouring amazing chocolate desserts!
After we left Grand Wailea, we traveled along Maui’s South Shore to the Westin Maui in Ka`anapali where we stayed for two nights. We went on a whale watching trip out of Lahaina and walked around sightseeing and learning about local culture and history. Our last night we drove out to Kapalua. I had heard from friends that Merriman’s in Kapalua was simply divine. We were not disappointed! The soothing seascape, the relaxing ambience and remarkable food created a wonderful memory of our trip to Maui.