Today’s festivities began at Kalama Park in Kihei for the Maui Whale Festival, hosted by Pacific Whale Foundation.  This annual event helps bring awareness to locals and visitors about the Humpback Whales that visit Maui every winter.

The day began with a keiki parade and Eco-Day Conference for the kids.  Throughout the day visitors enjoyed arts and crafts booths, local restaurant food, live music, and plenty of jumping houses for the kids.  Tonight “Laugh @ Da Park” will commence under a large tent where locally farmed food will be served with live jazz from the Fulton Tashombe Quartet and a comedy show to top it off.

This marks the 30th year of this fun festival.  If you get a chance to go tomorrow, you won’t be disappointed.  Make sure to wear sunblock and maybe even bring a chair.  Scripts can be purchased for food and drinks (no alcohol).  Vendors selling crafts accept cash.

MAUI WHALE WATCHING

If you plan on doing a whale watch in Maui, check out this comprehensive list of Maui Whale Watch Tours. There are many boats leaving from Lahaina Harbor, Maalaea Harbor, Kihei Boat Ramp, and on the beach in Makena.  Humpback whales visit every winter from December to May and it’s a wonderful thing to experience up close.

Bring some friends, a camera and some sun screen and enjoy the sights and sounds of surface behavior from our visiting Humpback Whales.

Maui has a new web camera, which is pretty exciting for all of us addicted to Maui.  It’s attached to the Makena Golf Resort and is owned and operated by Kai Kanani Sailing Charters.

You can see it live here: Makena Web Camera

The camera switches views from multiple locations on an automatic basis.  The camera is located in a prime location, high up on the Makena Beach & Golf Resort, which gives it a great number of potential views.  These are the views that it is set on right now:

• Mooring of the Kai Kanani II
• Molokini Crater (Close Up)
• Molokini Crater from the Beach
• Beach Check in area for the Kai Kanani
• Lanai Island
• South Maui area (includes Puu Olai and Kahoolawe)
• The Beach in front of the Makena Resort
• Surf Conditions for Beach Loading (2 views of this)
• Maalaea Harbor and West Maui Mountains

Below is an animation showing sceenshots from each view.  We know you must think we’re a little crazy about this, but we don’t have that many webcams on the island, and it’s nice to have one that has so many views.  it’s like having 10 cameras in 1.

Maui Zipline

We’ve been on every Maui zipline tour, and we strongly feel that Piiholo Zipline offers the best tours.  Below we outline exactly why we feel this way:

• Safety - We like that you don’t have to use your hands.  Some zipline courses use trolleys that necessitate you using your hands to slow down, and/or keep yourself from spinning around.  Piiholo trolleys keep you zipping facing forward the entire time without fail.
• Length of Ride - Their 5th zipline in the course is the longest side-by-side zipline in Hawaii.  That means you’re moving fast and high for the longest time.  It’s really nice to have the time to look around and appreciate the scenery and realize exactly what you’re doing.
• Side-By-Side - Piiholo offers lines side-by-side, so you can zip at the same time as your friends.  It’s fun to try racing others while flying through the air. It also speeds up the tour and minimizes wait time.
• Suspension Bridge - To enter the zipline course you cross a 317 -foot long suspension bridge.  This is a great way to start your adventure.
• Tango Tower - What is a Tango Tower?  It’s a 6 sided climbing tower with all kinds of challenges from rock wall to rope climbing.  This is a wonderful place to work on Team Building exercises. (contact to reserve.)
• HorseBack Riding – Piiholo is a locally owned ranch with other tours including Horseback.  This means you can do more than just zipline and rope climb in the same day without wasting the time to drive out again.

Piiholo Ranch Zipline is located in Makawao, Maui, Hawaii.  You can book their activities at the best price by calling (808) 572-1717 or online at Zipline Maui.

Thank you Greg Hoxsie for your excellent Maui commercial Photography. Your photos help enormously in telling the story!

If you haven’t already seen it, you will.  Stand Up Paddle boarding and surfing is the latest retro craze.  For years, we we’re reluctant to give it a try because we feel tied to our own roots of surfing.  But, finally we gave it a shot and rented some boards from Boss Frog’s Dive & Surf in Kihei, Maui, Hawaii in Dolphin Plaza (ask for Benjammin.)

And WOW!  It’s a lot of fun!  Now we’re all hooked.  It’s like going snorkeling without getting wet (if it’s calm and you don’t fall.)  From looking down over your board, you can see the reef clearly as well as any sealife.  Turtles are everywhere!

Not only is it fun for the views of Maui and sealife, we enjoy it because it’s great exercise and a lot of fun.  Sometimes we’ll put some snorkel gear on our board (attached to the leash) and go out to spots that are difficult to access.

When it comes to surfing, it can make a really bad day good.  I don’t recommend taking them out in big waves, but riding tiny waves is really fun.  I feel you have more of an advantage in surfing larger waves with a short board or regular longboard.  Some would disagree, but we suggest only riding the SUP boards in really small waves or just for distance exploration.

Here’s a video from the boards the last time we went out.  We rode from the Makena Golf Resort to Little Beach and back.  We got up a little late, so it had a bit of bump.  It was still a lot of fun, but we suggest going out before the wind hits around 10-11 in the morning while it’s still glassy.  If there is wind, make sure to go up wind to start.  Save going down wind for when you’re tired and coming back. Also, always be safe and don’t ride over shallow reef or areas you don’t know. Be careful!

We rented our boards at Boss Frog’s Dive & Surf.  You can call and rent boards on Maui, Kauai and the Big Island of Hawaii by calling (808) 661-3333.

We’ve recently discovered one of the best deals in Maui.  For those looking to save some money when doing a private boat charter, check into Maui Fun Charters.  They only allow 6 guests on at a time which makes for an intimate and inexpensive fishing trip.  But if you’re reserving the private charter, you don’t need to fish!  They’re happy to take you whale watching (in season), dolphin watching, snorkeling, or even on a sunset cruise.

Maui Fun Charters specialize in Maui Bottom Fishing as well as Maui sport fishing.  Give them a call at (808) 572-2345. We suggest calling because they have their phone on them on the boat even when out fishing.  Emails, on the other hand, are not recommended.  These guys live and die fishing.  They don’t spend too much time in front of the computer.

Maui Zipline Tours

Founded in 2002, Skyline Eco-Adventures now offers two locations for ziplining on Maui, Hawaii. The Haleakala Skyline Tour is phenomenal with views of the South and North Coast as well as the West Maui Mountains and the Central Valley. You’ll zip across 5 lines while learning about the ecology of upcountry Maui. Each zipline becomes increasingly more exciting with longer distances, bigger heights, and much more speed. Before each crossing, you’re given some insight into the endangered bird that the Maui zipline is named after. A portion of your ticket goes to preservation of these birds as well as other Maui conservation efforts.

Safety is the primary concern of your 2 zipline tour guides of whom personally hook each person up themselves. For those worried about equipment and cables, the lines you cross are strong enough to hold a full-sized car. All of the equipment has been tested for safety.

The last crossing is by far the most fun. Each time you zip across a gulch, or over waterfalls, you’ll find that you want more. You finally get it with the last run when you’re hurled at incredible speeds over a long forest gulch. Besides the adrenaline rush of the Maui ziplines, taking a walk through Eucalyptus forests with incredible views makes this a journey worth making.

The Kaanapali Skyline Adventure takes twice as long with 8 ziplines. You’ll experience views of West Maui, Lanai, Molokai, Lahaina, and some gorgeous waterfalls. A step up from the Haleakala Tour, ziplining in Kaanapali is a half-day trip you’ll never forget.

Make sure to wear good shoes and something warm. Long pants and a jacket are very nice to have when upcountry, especially while zipping at high speeds.

This Maui Zipline Video was taken at the Syline Eco Adventure Kaanapali Course. The terrain is different than the zipline discussed above, but just as fun. You’ll see below!

We recently enjoyed a top notch sailing trip aboard the Kai Kanani, which leaves from shore in South Maui.

Unlike most boats in Maui, the Kai Kanani offers shore entry, meaning you walk from the sand onto the boat.  It’s also the only boat that leaves from South South Maui, in front of the Maui Prince Hotel.  This makes it much more convenient for those staying in Wailea, Makena, or Kihei.  When getting on the boat, keep in mind that you’ll probably get wet up to your knees, and possibly thighs (depending on the surf.)  It’s best to wear shorts.

We left an hour or so before the sun sets and cruise along the South shore by sail.  There’s very little on Earth that matches the simplicity, peace, and relaxation that’s found while sailing in Maui with out a motor.  Maui’s warm breezes helped lull us into a sense of total relaxation (though the Mai Tai’s helped too.)  Being on a catamaran is also nice because it’s less turbulent, offering less of a change for sea sickness.

One of the things we really loved about the Kai Kanani is that they don’t pack the boat like a can of sardines.  It’s a pretty big boat, and they only put on a small amount of people.  There’s plenty of room to sit and move around both in the cabin and on the decks.  Another plus is how new and well kept the Kai Kanani is.  You can tell the captain and crew take pride in their work and love that boat.

Here’s a real quick list of why we recommend the Kai Kanani for your next sunset voyage:

• Convenient South Maui Departure
• Ultra-Friendly Captain and Crew
• New High-Tech Catamaran
• Plenty of Room
• Great Cocktails
• Excellent Pupus (Hors D’Oeuvres)

The food on board is really good.  They have jumbo shrimp, meatballs, assorted cheeses, salad, bread, and vegetables with dip.  Unlike some other boats, they dont’ charge for cocktails, and you don’t have a limit (unless you’ve had too much.)  Mai Tais, Local Beer on Tap, Wine, and Pina Colodas are spun up at your request.

Of course, the sunset over the water is what we’re inevitably after.  Watching the sun disappear between the neighboring islands and into the ocean is something best enjoyed on a boat.  We left feeling warm, relaxed, and happy.  We think you will too.

Book your trip direct by calling (808) 879-7218 or visit their website at Kai Kanani.

Thank you Greg Hoxsie for your photos!

Divers:  When visiting Maui, make sure to do a couple of dives.  We suggest having ProDiver Maui show you the best locations.  For more information, check out their Maui scuba diving page.

A couple of tips: If you plan on diving in Maui, please make sure you don’t go up to Haleakala Crater close to the time because of pressurization.  Haleakala goes up to 10,000 feet, so it acts much like a plane flight for divers.

Also, take a look at some Maui Scuba locations on the Maui Information Guide.  Have fun and be safe!