We were up early, still adjusting to the four-hour time difference. Wednesday was the day for our zip-line tour! We had to check in at Kapalua Adventures, just down the road from the hotel, at 7:30 am. We were the first ones there. An older couple (maybe in their 60’s?) showed up after us, then a family of four (parents and two boys) came. We had to wait around a little while and then it was time to get geared up. Our guide instructed us to tie a rain jacket around our waists and put on our helmets. He helped us put on our harnesses, gave us carabineers with water bottles attached, and told us to board the Unimog – an awesome all-terrain vehicle. We waited a few minutes for the final couple to show up. I was a little annoyed that we all had to wait for the people who couldn’t bother to show up on time. But then the cutest 80-year-old couple climbed in and the man said, “Looks like this one’s for the young people!” and we couldn’t be mad at them for holding us up.
We had a very bumpy 15-minute ride up the mountains of the Pu’u Kukui Preserve. Our tour guide, Nui, entertained us with jokes and spouted fun facts about the land and Hawaii’s vegetation. The land we were driving through is owned by Maui Gold, the pineapple company. They are working on turning all of the land into organic farming land, in the effort to make the island more sustainable. We learned about cook pines, which were brought over by Captain Cook, though that’s not what they’re named after. We learned that this was the fourth wettest location on the planet.
We got to the “base,” where they have the longest and highest suspension bridge in Hawaii, crossing the valley. We crossed the bridge and crammed in another, smaller all-terrain vehicle to continue up the mountain a bit more to reach our starting-point. At the top we were given our trolleys – the equipment that goes over the line and hooks to your harness. They’re about fifteen pounds, and slung over your shoulder they’re easy to carry around. We had a short hike uphill to the first zip-line. It was kind of steep but not difficult for us anyway. Our elderly friend Donna had a little trouble and Jeff ended up carrying her trolley up for her.
All of the zip-lines are set up with two lines, parallel to each other so that two riders can go down at the same time. The boys wanted to go first, so they hooked up and zoomed away. Next went their parents, then Donna and Robert. It was so cute to see those 80-year-olds all strapped in and zipping down the line! We were next. I thought I’d be nervous once it was my turn. I’m usually afraid of heights, but this wasn’t scary at all; I was just excited to go. Jeff and I took off and it was awesome, flying over the valley below. We waited for the last couple to come down, then our guide, and we hiked up to the next line. The second line was a little shorter but steeper, so it went fast. That was fun!
After that line we started a conversation with the elderly couple. They were in Hawaii celebrating his 80th birthday. We asked where they were from and learned they are from Olympia, Washington, where my parents live. He told us they used to live in Tanglewilde neighborhood, which is where my parents live, and where I lived during high school. He said they lived in one of the houses across the street from the park and that he was “the park guy” who maintained it. I was a lifeguard at the neighborhood pool for a few summers and I don’t remember him but he certainly looked familiar. It’s so funny that I would be on a zip-line tour in Maui with an 80-year old man who used to live only a block away from my parent’s house!
The third line was the longest one, running down the valley 3,200 feet. I was most excited for this one; I knew the view was going to be amazing. We hiked up to a bridge that ascended to the platform. Only two people could go at a time, and another couple could wait on the bridge for their turn. We kept the same order – the boys went first, then their parents. It was very windy. After the parents went down, Jeff and I were standing on the bridge, waiting for our turn. The guide at the bottom of the line, Kelsea, radioed up to Nui and said the line was running too fast because of the strong wind. The last guy had hit so hard at the bottom that he pulled a muscle in his chest. She recommended that the rest of us should not run the line, and to hike down to more zips further down the mountain.
I was super disappointed but knew they had to keep safety as their first priority. We hiked with our guide and the two other couples down the mountain to meet up with the other half of our group. They got to take one extra zip to meet up with us, and then we all rode a line down to the base camp. At that point, the guides decided to have us take a lunch break before doing the final two lines. They served egg sandwiches, fresh-sliced fruit, and sweet bread. It was extremely windy, but the view was gorgeous and it was nice to have a little lunch.
We did two more lines. The first one was short, but crossed the valley just below the suspension bridge, giving you a gorgeous aerial view of the bright-green bamboo forest below. The last line was the second-longest – over 2,000 feet long. It was beautiful, and a perfect end to the tour. When we were done, we unloaded our gear, and climbed back in the Unimog for a relaxing, bumpy ride back down the mountain. We got back to Kapalua Adventures, picked up our things, and went back to the hotel to change.
We walked down to Oneloa Bay (Ironwoods Beach), just south of our resort. The beach was pretty empty, with just a few people. We played in the waves, and sat on the sand, letting the waves crash over our legs. It’s one of my favorite things to do at the beach. After that we walked back up to our pool to take a dip and lay out on in the sun. I don’t remember if I actually took a nap that time, but I’m certain that I laid on that chair and thoroughly savored the relaxation.
We had a 6:15 dinner reservation at Mama’s Fish House on the north side of the island, in Paia. Looking at the map, we decided that we would drive on “highway” 340 around the north side to get there, just for fun. It looks like it would take less time to get there, since the distance is shorter, but we knew the road was slower, so we allowed ourselves about two hours to get there. The road starts out as a two-lane road, winding down hills, around a bay or valley, then up-hill again. The views are breathtaking and the vegetation is simply exotic. There are lots of little places to pull off on the side of the road. We passed many cars, pulled off, with their passengers standing on the side, taking pictures and admiring the rocky oceanfront landscape. We made a few stops ourselves, when it was feasible. I was loving it.
UNTIL the state highway ended and the two-lanes turned into a one-lane, extremely narrow, severely perilous game of chance. This remote part of the island doesn’t have much traffic, but we had passed dozens of cars, and at any given moment, you have another car passing you. Jeff was driving and he didn’t seem too nervous. As the passenger, it was nerve-wracking to take a blind corner and not know if there would be another car on the other side. We had to go extremely slow. Luckily, we had a Hyundai SUV ahead of us that sort of led the way. They would spot any cars coming from the other direction and either yield to the other car, and we would follow suit, or they would keep going, with other cars yielding to the Hyundai and then us.
Even still, I was quite nervous. What would happen if we collided with another car? What if we were going uphill and another car came bounding down the hill and there was no way for us to pass each other, and the nearest place that one of us could pull over was a half-mile away – what would we do? Jeff assured me that the etiquette was for the uphill car to yield to the down-hill car. So in that situation, the uphill car would have to drive, in reverse, uphill, until they got to a spot where we could pass each other, not knowing if there was another car behind them. The whole range of possibilities for unsafe and scary situations was unnerving to me. I stopped enjoying the grand views and prayed that we could just get to the two-lane road as fast as possible.
We got lucky. Somehow it worked out every time there was a car that we had to pass. None of them happened to be at a particularly awkward or perilous piece of the road. We had been driving for a while, and looking at the GPS, we still had a long way to go. I told Jeff there was no way we were going to make our dinner reservation. We kept driving and I finally decided to call Mama’s to let them know we were going to be late. Finally, the state highway started again, it became two lanes again, and we could drive a little faster. We had stop-lights and varying speed limits, but once we were back to civilization, it didn’t take much longer to get there. We pulled into Mama’s Fish House parking lot at 6:22 – only seven minutes past our reservation time! I was so relieved that we made it!
So, if you’ve been to Maui, you’ve surely heard of Mama’s Fish House, and have probably eaten there. The girls’ pediatrician had told me that we had to go there, and our guide books gave the same raving reviews. It is a quaint restaurant, set right on the beach, open to the ocean air. The grounds are beautiful and the restaurant is inviting and comfortable. We weren’t seated at the best table, but we were thrilled to be there. We ordered the Wasabi Crusted Calamari with Kula vegetables and edamame appetizer; it was the most unconventional and delicious calamari I have ever had. Jeff ordered the macadamia-crusted mahi-mahi, stuffed with lobster and crab, with a gorgeous prawn on top. It came with the most delicious corn (boiled in coconut milk!), asparagus, and rice. I ordered the “upcountry” style ono (fish) with Asian vegetables, caramelized Maui onions, avocado, and rice. We couldn’t resist ordering a couple of their famous desserts. Jeff ordered the Black Pearl – a “pearl” of chocolate mousse sitting inside a pastry shell, and I ordered the pineapple-macadamia cheesecake with pineapple sorbet. Yummy yum-yum!
All of the food was amazing (expensive but delicious)! Our only complaint was the service. Our server was very nice, but was either too busy to be responsive or was too laid back and just didn’t care. We hardly ever saw him, so it was hard to tell. The servers at the tables around us were awesome, so it seemed that we got the only dud in the house. We’ll hope for better luck next time.
One thing that made the waiting entertaining was watching a little girl seated at a table behind us. She looked a little like Ruby and she reminded me of her. It was fun to watch her talk with her dad and tell him stories. At one point, her mom had to get up and tell the server that the girl had changed her mind, and wanted something else for dinner. She was probably four or five, so a little older than Ruby, but seeing her reminded us of Ruby. We do really want to take the girls to Hawaii someday, but probably not until they’re much older.
It was about 8:30 by the time we left the restaurant, and we still had an hour drive back to the resort. We stopped at Walgreens on the way “home” to get Dramamine for the morning’s sailing adventure, then got back to the hotel and crashed. That was such a fun day!
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