Snorkeling at Black Rock, Hiking Haleakala - June 1-2, 2010

On Tuesday, we decide to go snorkeling at Black Rock, next to the Sheraton.  Coincidentally, Ruchira also was heading there, as she called me to reconfirm the luau time and said that they were in the car on the way to buy snorkels for Black Rock!  I figured we'd beat them there as we were just leaving and taking the shuttle to the Sheraton.

The beach in front of Black Rock was full of people but we managed to find a decent spot to lay our towels down.  There were also a ton of people snorkeling in the shallow water just off the beach.  We saw Ruchira and her family arrive at the beach and get into the water with the crowd.  Turned out there was a gargantuan turtle there...I had not wanted to be in a crowd so I missed out!  We ended up snorkeling further from shore.  The current was pretty strong, and I don't think I could have made it past the shallow water if I didn't have fins.  Babe and I snorkeled almost all the way around Black Rock.  There were a bunch of fish, and we saw an eel!  No turtles though.  And no pics as I didn't have a waterproof camera. :(

We take the shuttle back to the condo to freshen up for the luau.  I had put sunscreen on before snorkeling, but I ended up with a bikini strap tan that looked awkward with my halter top. :(  Babe still thought I looked great anyway, so sweet.  We then took the shuttle again to the Westin Maui and walked from there to the Hyatt.  In hindsight, I would've just driven over.  Oh well, exercise is good. 

The day before, Ruchira had bumped into a co-worker during their drive to Hana, who had gone to the luau a couple of nights earlier.  He suggested not to line up at the requested time, but show up right at the luau start, since there would be a long line waiting to get in if you did not purchase the "VIP" tickets (preferred seating and first to hit the buffet, for $30 more per ticket).  All the seats had good view of the stage, as the stage was elevated, so there was no need to line up early to get closer seats or buy the VIP tickets.  We followed his advice:  we arrived around luau start time and most of the guests were already seated...no waiting!  Upon entrance to the outdoor dinner theater, we were greeted with a shell lei and a mai tai or fruit punch.  We ended up having a table to ourselves (13 people - Jennifer (4), Natalie (3), Ruchira (4), me and Babe) off-center near the front of the stage, and in the shade!  The "VIP" guests were seated closer to the stage, but they were in the sun.  The food was decent for a luau, with kalua pig as the featured dish.  I had to try poi again, to make sure I still didn't like it, haha.  There was shoyu ahi poke there, which several of us ate enough of to pay for the tickets!  Alcoholic libations were included; if you didn't want the watered-down mai tai's, it was best to go straight to the bartender and order what you wanted (who happened to be located near our table in a side building...).   During the middle of the luau, the emcee announced some of the guests such as honeymooners and couples celebrating anniversaries.  Then he mentioned groups of people to the sound of applause and hoots.  Then he mentions the "Kong" family.  Eerily, no one claps or makes a sound, which made me suspect he was referring to our group!  We all thought it was some other family. (Later on, one of us remarked that Chinese people don't normally shout-out...lol)  The voucher I had exchanged for hard tickets had my name on it.  That might have been where they got the information.

The show was entertaining, never a boring moment!  The emcee had a wonderful soothing bass voice that was perfect for narrating Hawaiian legends that went with the performances.  The fire dance was impressive as well.  I had to take a picture with the hunky fire dancer. ;)  (umm, not the one wearing the teal/pink skirt)

Babe and I went to Haleakala National Park on Wednesday.  The sky was clear enough such that we didn't have to drive uphill through thick clouds on the way to the crater, which was what Ruchira had done earlier in the week.  (clouds sometimes form a ring around the mountain and it's a bit unnerving to drive through them making hairpin turns at 15 mph)  It wasn't too windy either, which made for a great hike.  Haleakala looks like a place that is out of this world.  I love coming here.  You'd think you were on a different planet with the strange hues and textures of the land.  At the summit, we took the Sliding Sands trailhead downhill into the crater for several hours (further than I have been before), including taking a detour to look at a cinder cone as well as a rare flowering silversword.  You can take this trail all the way through the crater to end on the other side at the Halemauu trailhead, but since we didn't leave a car there, we ended up hiking back uphill, which was very strenuous at 9000 feet!  Some recommend leaving your car at Halemauu and hitchhike to Sliding Sands or vice versa.  It was getting late in the day and I didn't want to chance not getting a ride back.  I didn't mind making the extra effort since that meant lots of calories burned! :)