The Maui Goodness

“The Tsunami sirens are blaring!  What do we do?”

If you hear the Tsunami sirens going off, make sure to check the time and date.  Every month, Hawaii Tsunami sirens are tested at 11:45am on the first weekday of the month for around 1 minute.  They do this to test them and make sure they’re working.  If you hear them at this time, don’t worry!

If you hear them at any other time, it would be wise to move safely up from sea level.  The photo below shows the coastal sirens on Maui.

If you’d like to learn more, read about Hawaii Tsunami History.

Unless you don’t plan on leaving your resort in Maui, or any island in Hawaii, renting a car is crucial.  Having traveled inter-island again and again, we’ve grown accustomed to renting cars from all kinds of companies.  After much research, Discount Hawaii Car Rentals comes up over and over as having great rates and a large selection.  They will rent you a car from most of the major rental car companies.

Check them out at Discount Car Rentals in Hawaii or call them for the best rate.

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 traveled on Island Air many times, which is our fault.  They often have the lower prices, and that’s what sucks us in.  Never again will any of us fly between any Hawaiian Islands with Island Air.

HISTORY

In the past, we’ve flown with Island Air and incurred long delays lasting up to 6 hours!  If you’re deciding between another carrier and Island Air, you will probably get there faster with a stop over and 1 hour layover than with a direct flight on Island Air.

RECENT EXPERIENCE

Our flight to Kauai was delayed by 2 hours without notice.  I mean, no one told us anything and instead had us sit and wait with no idea of what was going on.  Then, on our flight back to Maui, we arrived at the ticket check in counter to find a sign saying our flight was cancelled and that no one could check us in for an hour and 20 minutes.  We sat and waited and couldn’t go into the airport till we had a boarding pass.  Finally, we got checked in and got to our gate with no one there.  25 minutes after our flight was supposed to leave, a message over the intercom explained that our flight was delayed by over 4 HOURS!  Meanwhile, other flights with Island Air to Maui continued to board in front of us throughout the day.

We spoke with a supervisor (a major ordeal to obtain an audience with, but we had the time.)  The only solution he came up with was to buy a ticket with a rival airline!  Yes, it’s true!  The supervisor of Island Air told us if we really need to get to Maui in a timely manner, we should consider buying a ticket with another airline.

We also overheard a TSA employee mention that most locals know to use Hawaiian Airlines because of their punctuality.  He said, “It’s worth the extra few bucks to make sure you get there.”  So our day concluded with over 6 hours of delays and cancellations.

THE FUTURE

It pains us to watch Hawaii businesses go out of business in these harsh economic times, but if Island Air dies, (with a smile) I’ll chalk it up as Economic Darwinism.

Like most of the nation, our economy in Hawaii is taking a hit. Hawaii Real estate prices have steadied, but not fallen like those on the mainland. Thanks to the bankruptcies of both ATA and Aloha, the cost of flying to Hawaii has dramatically risen. This, combined with the rest of the nation’s belt-tightening, has had a major effect on our level of tourism. Hotel and resort capacity is down and projected to stay down through the summer. Concerning Hawaii and Maui in particular, there are definite good and bad factors involved in our present economy.

THE BAD
Hawaii is the most oil dependant State in the most oil dependant Country in the World. The rising fuel costs affect everything in our lives. With everything being shipped from overseas, Hawaii’s economy is a slave to the oil industry. Signs of this changing are slim to none. With the rising costs, Hawaii is becoming ever more expensive to live and visit.

THE GOOD
Hawaii seems to get hit by a slumping economy a little later than the rest of our Country. Hawaii real estate is still highly valued because the people that can afford to buy here are of a different breed. Wealthy people tend to weather storms better than the masses, and the wealthy are the ones buying second homes in Hawaii, especially when the economy is struggling. Decreasing value in the dollar can only help Hawaii tourism and industry. A huge portion of visitors to Hawaii come from Canada and Japan. With the dollar becoming worth less, tourism will rise with international visitors. These visitors will help us grow and stay afloat through the rough times.

WHAT WE CAN DO
American visitors and residents of Hawaii both need to concentrate on buying American, and traveling in America. Keeping money in this country will ensure our prosperity. As the dollar falls, local production is more attractive and will help our economy. Signs of this are already present. The film industry rushed to Canada to save money in the last 5 years. Just in the last year, we’re seeing filming move back to the USA. With major tax incentives, the state of Hawaii has enjoyed industry revenue with recent filming on Kauai, Oahu, and Molokai.

With concentration on continued spending within Hawaii, this rough spot in our economy will be lessened, and we’ll be better prepared for the next wave of prosperity.

Your chances are near to none. You’re more likely to win the lottery than be attacked by a shark. The following statistics come from over 125 years of reports. Over this long period of time, there have only been 15 unprovoked shark attacks resulting in fatalities in the Hawaiian Islands. 113 attacks total occured in this time frame, of which 98 were not fatal. The last fatal attack occured on Maui in 2004.

Maui has seen 36 unprovoked shark attacks in the last 125 years, of which only 3 were fatal. Of the billions of people to visit our islands in the last century, the number of attacks becomes dwarfed leaving your chances of being attacked by a shark near to nothing.

Still, if you’re eager to not be the one in a million attacked by a shark, here are a few things to remember when in the ocean.

Sharks are more likely to attack:

• At night or when the sun is setting or coming up. (Sharks feed primarily at night.)

• Snorkelers and Surfers (Sharks like to attack objects at the surface.)

• Near stream and river outlets. (The murky water attracts smaller fish that they like.)

• Near a shoreline after or during heavy rains.

• Around heavy fishing areas. (Stay out of the water when fisherman are chumming.)

• People with open-wounds. (If you’re bleeding, don’t go swimming.)

• Further out in the ocean in deeper waters.

• People with little respect for the ocean.

Even if you do everything possible to attract sharks, you’re still not likely to be bit. Sharks don’t like to eat humans, and they usually only attack by mistake.

For more statistical information on shark attacks in Hawaii, visit the Hawaii Shark Map.

Is there actually a place where turtles congregate in large groups?

Yes, but there is a bit of misleading going on.
Is there one single place that is known as turtle town?
No. Tour operators refer to Turtle Town to help sell tours. Do they go to places with lots of turtles?
Yes.
The bottomline: Green sea turtles are everywhere in the waters of Maui and Hawaii in general. Some areas more than others. Captains of tour boats generally know areas that have more than others, and will take you there. Commonly, some of these spots are turtle cleaning stations. Sea turtles know where to go where certain fish live that will eat the algae off of their shells, cleaning them. These cleaning stations are wonderful spots to view turtles. Also, areas with less people often have more turtles. Turtles generally don’t like a lot of human attention.The next time someone mentions a magical place called Turtle Town, keep in mind that there might be another turtle town even closer to where you are staying. The best thing to do is to ask a local, or someone who works at a snorkeling/scuba shop where to find the largest concentration of turtles. Most likely, you’ll find a couple right in front of your hotel.

Important: Sea turtles are protected and it is illegal to touch them!
This law was not put into place to just keep from bothering them. humans touching sealife can often cause harm due to the oils and bacteria in our skin. Also, when people come into contact with turtles, they can become quickly exhausted leaving them in stress with less defensive strength. The main reason it can be detrimental to their health is because of all the movies people see of riding on sea turtles backs. With the over-exertion, turtles can drown. They need to breath at the surface just like us. Respect all sealife, and don’t touch anything. When we touch things in the ocean, we put ourselves at risk of being hurt as well as possibly harming what we touch.

After 60 years of travel to and from Hawaii, Aloha Airlines has closed it’s doors. ATA Airlines followed suit shortly afterwards causing enormous travel issues for customers. Those who payed with cash or a check have been left high and dry with no refund for unused tickets as well as many stranded from home. Neither airlines gave any warning before closing shop, while still accepting reservations up until the moment of their announcement. The selfishness of the airlines has hurt its loyal customers, the credit card companies that will have to foot the bill, our tourism industry, and the economy as a whole.

The remaining airlines operating are not without blame themselves. Having to pick up the slack from ATA and Aloha’s lost flights has been done in an under-handed way. Stranded travelers have been forced to purchase tickets costing anywhere from double to 5 times the original price as well as eat the original amount payed. The way all of this has been handled has soured travel for many and given the airline industry in general an ugly image.

The reasons given for the end of these airlines stem from a military contract having been canceled as well as the inflated prices for fuel. These are valid reasons and don’t need to be disputed. What does need to be disputed is whether these companies should be left accountable for their lack of responsibility to its customers, and how this disaster can be prevented in the future.

The State of Hawaii and America has taken a large blow due to the lack of foresight and responsibility by Aloha Airlines and ATA airlines.