Im so sorry its been a while.
Day 4 was Hana. I do not remember what we ate from pomegranate when we finally got back but it was good. When i get around to pictures, i will add all the food stuff by name, hopefully.
The pictures do it more justice, tbh.
We woke up early and left around 6/630. If i remember correctly, the Shaka guide begins at around Costco, near the airport. You kind of let it operate as your GPS for the day, having Apple Carplay in our rental was helpful for this, as we could listen to music and it would stop when the guide turned on. The best thing about the app is the helpful suggestions of things to skip. They tell you things like, if you've just stopped at that waterfall and you plan on going to the next one, and there are no safe spots to park your car, you can skip it for the following reasons, if you dont care about seeing XYZ, etc. We just felt like we saw everything and did everything we needed to, all with minimal stress. We dealt with a few rainy moments, but overall was superb weather.
Our first stop, we went to the twin waterfalls, they sell coconuts that they chop off with a machete for you to drink out of. Its a nice way to get a good vibe in early on in the day. This was kinda fun, its super muddy so you'll need to be careful and there are some cool trees and waterfalls to see, but they were not big waterfalls. we did not spend much time at that stop.
I feel bad that my life got busy and now i cannot accurately remember every detail. Shortly after this trip, i was offered a job in los angeles, and we ended up moving at the end of 2018. I will try my best at this point to remember the highlights, it is the least i can do.
The best moments of the day were the hike on the "private property" - it is technically private property but 1 out of every 100,000 people actually get in trouble for going. it was so much fun, tons of waterfalls and pools and gorgeous scenery. I will remember the name when i upload the pics. Another cool thing was going to the area near where George Harrison, of Beatles fame, had a house. there are some amazing lookout spots. A couple other hikes i really enjoyed. theres a water hike which is fun and the hike at the end on haleakala with all the big stops, 7 sacred pools, those weird trees, and others. The black sand beach is a must see.
So here is our story for the end of the day. we got to haleakala towards the end of the day and were debating if we should only do part of the hike due to the sun coming down. We both had pretty much a full charge and thought we'd be ok. We also met a super nice indian family of 4 that we became best friends with (for the hike). they were our picture buddies, we took for them, they took for us. and we kept each other safe and the area well-lit. this really made the experience more fun. It got pitch-black halfway through the hour and half hike, we were a bit scared but felt totally comfortable, and we also met some more people closer to the end. We get out and the parking lot is EMPTY, like there were 100's of cars when we went in and maybe 5 when we got out. Oh, now would be a good time to mention that there is no cell reception and that there wont be for at least 40 minutes of travelling. So we had no clue how to get back. It was like 9:15 PM, we were somewhat concerned. Lucky for us, one of those 5 cars was a local. He drove and lead a caravan of 5 cars through the back roads - he claimed this was the only way he knew how to go back to the main road. It was fun, it was an experience we will never forget. We got to the main road and about 15 minutes after following the signs, our GPS kicked in and we got back to the hotel around 11:15 or so. We called when we were 15 minutes out to ask for our meals to be brought to us. For food during the day, we brought coffee and water, we had those metal bottles we brought with us. some whole fruits, and we premade sandwiches. we were able to easily get kosher snacks on the way.
Hana was the best day of our trip. It is the only thing i will ever tell you is a must-do. I can finally say now i understand why its all about the trip, not the destination.
I will try to get the rest up soon. Sorry got the delay. next up is Friday - Scuba Diving
