There She Blows!

November 14th, 2010
Day 6

This morning we got up, had some breakfast and were out the door by 8:30am to check out a couple of the sights not too far from the condo. We headed north and our first stop was the Nakalele Blowhole where the ocean shoots water up through a man-sized hole in the lava. We parked our car and headed down the trail- and wow was it a windy hike! It was well worth it though, once we got to the bottom we were rewarded with an amazing sight. The waves were really coming in and the blowhole was shooting water high up into the air. We were getting sprayed with water from every direction but it was such a fascinating thing to watch nobody seemed to mind so we stayed and watched for quite a while. I love watching nature in action, something so raw that man hasn’t touched and altered in any way. What a cool experience.

The view as we headed down the trail to the blowhole

Our next stop was a bit farther down the road to a place referred to as the Olivine Pools- this is another spot that is not very well known. There are actually warning signs posted at the trail head advising that you don’t head down at all! It was kind of fun to look for- here are the directions from my guidebook: At ½ past the “end of state road” but before the 16 mile marker, on the mauka (mountain) side of the road is the Bellstone (a large round boulder). Right after the Bellstone is a dirt road on the ocean side- it is almost kitty-corner to a dirt road on the mauka side with a gate leading inland.

Devan headed down the trail to the Olivine Pools

We found it easily enough and headed down the trail. Olivine is a semi-precious gem and it is encrusted in the lava and sandstone all over this area. There are numerous natural swimming pools ensconced in an ancient lava shelf at the bottom of the trail. It was still a bit cold and the surf was pounding really hard so we didn’t hop in and do any swimming. But I can see how it would be great if the tide was low and the sun was hot to jump in and enjoy the water! We watched the waves crash for a bit then headed back up the trails and decided it was time to grab some lunch and hit the beach.

By the time we got to the car I realized just how disgustingly dirty we all were. We had all lubed up with sunscreen, hiked down a windy trail full of loose dirt, got sprayed by seawater for 45 minutes and then hiked back up. Then we drove down the road and did it all again- more wind, dirt and water! We decided that a quick lunch was in order –preferably someplace we wouldn’t stick out like a sore thumb being so dirty. We found a Maui Taco which turned out to be really good- their prices were reasonable and there salsa bar was fantastic. I had fish tacos and they were quite tasty.

After lunch we headed straight for Kapalua Beach. My friend Meredith suggested we would like this beach and she was right! It has very calm waves and is more like a cove than a beach. Devan was able to go out in the water while we sat on the beach and Niko played in the shore break. It was really mellow – I could have stayed all day except that my skin didn’t really like that plan. No matter the amount of sunscreen I was applying I could tell I was still burning on my chest. So we called it a day and headed back to the condo.

You can see the beginnings of my sunburn here.

I got cleaned up and went out to do some shopping while Will and the kids headed to the pool. After today I am pretty sure my hair had decided to disown me. This picture will explain to you why- I think even Will is afraid it might attack him!!! Yikes!