Day 3 started unbearably early. We all stumbled out of bed at 2 in the morning to get on the road at 2:30 to head up Haleakala [pronounced Ha-lee-ack-a-la] to watch the sun rise. The name “Haleakala” means “house of the sun” and was given this name primarily because of the sun rise that could be seen from the summit. Haleakala is classified as an potentially active volcano, as it is still linked to the lava moving under the island. On day 5, when we went snorkeling, a guide on the boat tried explained the evolution of volcanoes in Hawaii but much of it went over my head. Pretty much from what I remember, volcanoes are most active on Big Island because that is the how the lava is moving under the island - from Northwest to Southeast – which explains why the mountain on the west side of Maui is now inactive, but Haleakala, on the east side, could still potentially erupt. I found this stuff to be pretty cool and fascinating – definitely something you don’t leave in school unless you specifically study it.
The moon
The drive up was pretty cool, though I slept through most of it. The road was pretty twisty and at some parts had really tight corners with a very steep incline. Good thing there wasn’t any one coming down the mountain at that time! I could see the stars and the moon very clearly. You didn’t need a flashlight at all, the moonlight was so bright. As we were driving up, you could see the lights of the cities surrounding the mountain.
The drive itself is about 2 hours and we wanted to make sure we got there with enough time to reserve ourselves a spot at the summit. We arrived just after 5 in the morning and there weren’t that many people there yet. As time went on, more and more cars came and then they eventually closed the gate to the summit. The park ranger came around and said sunrise wasn’t going to be until close to 7, two hours away. We were in for long wait.
Mt. Haleakala is the highest point on Maui at just over 10,000 feet. As the sky got brighter and brighter, you could see we were above the clouds. The light reflecting off of them was so gorgeous. The photos I took can’t capture how pretty it was right before the sun was up.
As soon as the sun started peaking over the horizon, the rest of the sunrise went by really quickly. Sometimes I forget that the Earth is actually turning and its not until I see something like the sun rise or set that I reflect on how fast we are turning each and every day.
Soon after the the sun rose, we headed back down the mountain and drove back to our hotel where everyone went and took a nap. When we woke up, we started planning the rest of our trip and realized that if we wanted to fit in a lu’au, today is the day to do it. We also decided that we definitely wanted to go snorkeling on our last full day. We headed down to the lobby to book everything. Thankfully, the lu’au that we picked out had seats available for us that evening, so a couple hours later, we were headed out again.
A lu’au in the traditional sense is a feast, but of course we went to a commercialized one in Lahaina, called the Old Lahaina Luau. When we arrived, we were greeted with a fresh flower lei and a mai tai. This particular luau was situated near a beach so we were able to watch the sun set as well.
As people were arriving, they encouraged us to walk around and see their display of different Hawaiian traditions in music, crafts and other activities.
(L – R) Cracking a coconut; making jewelry; making animals out of leaves (Click for bigger photos)
Soon after arrival they unearthed the kalua pig from the imu, a traditional underground oven. It has a very distinct smell and I’m not really sure how to describe it. It wasn’t very appetizing, at least not to me.
The process of unearthing the pig (click for bigger photos)
Then it was time for food. There was a huge selection of stuff available including: the Kalua Roast Pork (from the underground oven), Laulau (Pork wrapped in Luau leaf steamed), Poi, Ahi Poke (marinated raw Ahi tuna), Toro salad, Big Island Sweet Potato, Grilled Tenderloin Steak, Chicken Long Rice, Maui Style Mahi-Mahi, Island Crab Salad, and Lomi Lomi Salmon (salmon mixed with tomatoes and onions). My favourite was definitely the ahi tuna and the toro. So good and so fresh. My brother’s piece of steak was pretty good too; mine not so much. I wasn’t too big a fan of either of the pork dishes, but at least I gave it a try.
(L-R, Top-Bottom) Chicken Long Rice, Big Island Sweet Potato, Unidentified green veggie, grilled tenderloin steak, Maui style mahi-mahi, Kalua roast pork, Laulau, watermelon & papaya, ahi tuna, Lomi Lomi salmon, toro salad and island crab salad (+ papaya again)
Dessert were macadamia nut brownies, chocolate cups with mousse, a coconut pudding square and macadamia nut tarts. The brownie and mousse was really good, but I was already stuffed. The whole evening had an open bar and by the end of the night, between my family and me, I had tried almost everything they had to offer.
As we started in on dessert, the dancing portion of the evening started. The dances told a story of Hawaiian history, but to be honest, I wasn’t really too interested in the story. I was too busy analyzing the dancing style. It was pretty cool to watch.
For more photos, click here.
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