HI Life - Maui Wowie Pt 1 - Jurassic Park, Bamboo Forest, and Nude Beaches

Over the last few years, my buddy Scott and I have tried to plan at least one cool international trip per year. In 2011 it was Amsterdam and Germany, in 2012 it was Germany again (we had a good time over there), and in 2013...well I was in Central America all year so that doesn't count. This year, our schedules aligned such that we were both free to travel abroad starting July 1. I was set on heading to Thailand later that year but with the political unrest going on there (at the time) and the uncertainty surrounding that, we decided to go a different route. But where?? We were kicking around ideas (Spain, Greece, Australia, etc) but nothing really seemed to stick, until his roomate Rafer chimed in - what about Hawaii??

BOOM! Hawaii! Done!

Why hadn't we thought of that?? It was on the way to Thailand, where I would eventually be going (I am actually here as I type this), has loads of adventurous stuff to do, neither of us had ever been, AND my buddy Ben had just moved out there in the beginning of the year and could show us the ropes. It was a no-brainier. So much so that we started actively recruiting some of our other friends to join us and it didn't take much for our buddy Chris to sign on.

The plans came together in early June and sure enough on July 1 we were all on our way out there. Scott and I arrived on Tuesday the 2nd and with Ben as our guide we hit the ground running!

We stopped by the local beach in Paia, where he lived and where we had rented an apartment, to chill for a bit, meet some of his friends, swim and let it soak in that we were about as far out in the middle of the ocean as you could possibly get. Success.

The next day, Ben swooped us up in the Jeep and we hit Twin Falls, a cool little waterfall close by. Ben chuckled to himself as Scott and I took it all in in awe. Just wait, he said. It gets better. A lot better. Apparently he was saving the really good stuff for when Chris arrived a couple days later.

Twin Falls

Snorkeling was on the docket for day 2, one of my favorite activities, and exceptional here in Maui. It was every bit as agod as advertised and worthy of its own post: World Class Snorkeling in Maui. If you haven't already, you seriously should click the link and check out the videos I put together of our snorkeling adventures. Unless swimming alongside giant sea turtles doesn't sound very interesting to you :)

The next day Chris arrived and our crew was in tact!

The Fearsome Foursome

It was July 4th so we decided to head over to Lahaina on the west side of the island to check out the fireworks. An added bonus was that our friends Mike and Brooke just so happened to be on their honeymoon over there! Totally random but super fun meeting up with them!

Having a beer with Mikey G!

Fireworks over Lahaina

After the festivities that night, we were all a bit slow-moving the next morning, but sure enough, Ben arrived around 10am, cracking the whip, ready to lead us on our daily excursion. Needless to say, enthusiasm was not sky-high, and there was a bit of indecision among the group as to whether we really felt up for a hike through the jungle. But Ben had yet to steer us wrong and being that it was Chris's first full day on the island, he and I decided to go while Scott opted to stay behind and relax, citing a non-USA World Cup game as an excuse ;)

So we piled into the Wrangler and off we went. Climbing and climbing until we hit the entrance of the state park where our hike would begin. Wow, the scenary was amazing, totally Jurasic Park-esque!

Iao Valley

Check out the video below for our climb to the top!

Very cool hike with a great payoff at the top as the views from up there were amazing. However, after a few pics and the video you just watched, we were enveloped in a cloud which started dumping water so down we went. We didn't make it very far when Chris's flip flip (or slipper as they call it in Hawaii) broke and he was managing his way down on only one lol. Until that one broke too haha. The trail was pretty rough so our pace slowed to a crawl as Chris winced in pain with every step. Feeling bad, I traded him mine for a bit and ouch! Yeah he was not over exaggerating, it sucked! On top of that, Ben stubbed his toe pretty bad so overall it was a rough day for our feet, but we all survived and it was definitely worth it.

Do not hike in Hurley Flip Flops

Day after day Ben showed up in the morning ready to take us on the next big adventure. And that next morning was a good one! The Bamboo Forest, which was sort of the big brother to Twin Falls where we went our first day. After a bit of hiking we arrived at a series of waterfalls and jumps, which we took full advantage of. This was one of my favorite little treks in Maui, you gotta check this out!

These were the first jumps of the trip so we took our time and had a ball. We probably logged a dozen or so each that day. Unfortunately the camera batteries cut out right as we reached the biggest waterfall / jump at the end. Bummer. Feeling confident at that point, I scaled the rocky wall to the jump off point and, since there was a bit of a crowd below, I decided to go for the front flip, which I had dusted off earlier at one of the smaller jumps. Bad idea. I miscalculated (underestimated) the speed of revolution since I was at a higher point, and thus failed to rotate all the way through and landed dead smack on my back from about 25 feet up. As I rose to the surface to a chorus of "ohhhhhhhhh's!", I didn't even try to take a breath for the next several moments as I knew the wind was knocked clean outta me. I tried to play it off cool but I'm sure the grimace on my face told the real story. Ouch! That ruined my day ;)

There were a few smaller jumps on the way back but I was done for the day. No more for me! We stopped home to eat and relax for a bit and then it was off to the Sunday Beach party! But this wasn't any old beach party. This was the famous party on Little Beach, sixty years running, complete with drum circles, fire dancers, and loads of people dancing and frolicking about. Naked. Haha that's right, clothing optional! What a scene...

Wasn't long before Chris met a nice gal from San Fran and began "negotiating". Before long she agreed to go topless if he took his pants off, so....next thing we knew he was butt naked taking topless photos of this girl down by the water. But wait it gets better, because shortly after two more random girls decided to join in on the fun. So there he was, butt naked putting on a photo shoot for three topless girls he just met. Needless to say we were looking on from the shore in complete astonishment, howling laughing. And a tad jealous.

That might have been the highlight of the entire trip.

Click here for Part 2 of this post! (coming soon)

 

 

 

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