Page 67 - Pacific Paradises 2019

— Hawaii —— Hawaii —

MAUI

This beautiful isle was born in a Kamehameha’s warriors overthrew the also the departure point for a multitude
fiery explosion of two volcanoes. kingdom of Maui to unite it with the of cruises and whale watching tours
other Hawaiian Islands. He made Lahaina (in season). However, if it is off season,
To one side of Maui is the 1764 metre in Maui his capital in 1802. Today Maui Whaler’s Village in Ka’anapali houses
Kukui and on the other Haleakala, a has evolved into a peaceful agricultural an excellent whale museum. Lahaina
3055 metre dormant volcano with a island of charm and rustic beauty, Jodo Mission Cultural Park, on a point
Manhattan size crater that houses a vast particularly Lahaina which has been of land known as Puunoa, was once a
desert of unusual flora including the rare restored to its previous colonial splendour. small village fronting the royal grove
Silversword. Add to this 190 kilometres of coconut trees. Now the best known
of dazzling coastline, both dramatic The non-profit Lahaina Restoration landmark in the area, the largest Buddha
and diverse for surfing, snorkelling and Foundation which began over 36 years outside of Japan sits in the small park
canoeing plus waterfalls plunging 300 ago has preserved and restored a rich commemorating the arrival of the first
metres, rainforests bursting with exotic collection of historical sites in Lahaina. Japanese immigrants in 1868. Don’t miss
vegetation and a stark lunar landscape so The Maui Historical Society Museum a journey on the famous Sugar Cane
barren that the astronauts practised their in Wailuku is a delightful structure Train, modelled after the turn of the
moon landing here, and you have the built between 1833 and 1850 and was century railroads that transported Valley
extraordinary island of Maui. the home of missionary Edward Bailey. Isle sugar to Lahaina mills. The steam
Baldwin Home, built in 1838, is the driven locomotive runs between Lahaina
The dramatic variations in climate and oldest standing building in Lahaina and
land formations are a large part of what is made of thick walls of coral, stone and and Ka‘anapali and visitors can hop
makes Maui so exciting. The West Maui hand-hewn timbers. aboard at Puukolii and Ka‘anapali as well.
Mountains are rugged and verdant, with While on Maui, you can explore the Maui
jagged peaks and deeply grooved valleys The banyan tree came to Lahaina from Tropical Plantation which consists of
hiding waterfalls. Central Maui and the India when only eight feet tall. William 45 hectares of crops. Learn how to husk
slopes of Haleakala are agricultural areas O. Smith, the Maui sheriff, planted it in a coconut, create a delicious tropical fruit
where the rich volcanic soil supports 1873 to mark the 50th anniversary of boat and string a fragrant lei. Then catch
sugar, pineapple and ranchlands. The the founding of Lahaina’s first Christian the Tropical Tram on a 40-minute circuit
south shore, except where irrigated, is mission. Today the banyan has 12 major to see fruit cutting demonstrations, visit
desert and scrub because Haleakala snags trunks, varying girths and reaches the marketplace and learn how to start
the rain clouds and empties them before upward to a height of 15 metres stretching your own tropical garden.
they cross her peak. outward over a 61 metre area.
At the Sugar Museum you will see
The second largest of the Hawaiian The Carthaginian, a replica of a 19th the production of sugar, once one
Islands, Maui was settled by Polynesians century brig which now houses a whaling of Hawaii’s biggest cash crops, from
and had its own ruling family. King exhibit, graces the harbour, which is beginning to end.

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