After waking up, I decided to go for a run over to Wailea. I didn’t have to trespass and blow up a toilet today, so that was a plus. After recovering and having a bit of breakfast, we drove back to Hanakao’o Park. While it isn’t exactly around the corner and requires a 45 minute drive each way, I think it’s worth it to put some distance between the larger number of tourists that frequent places like so-called “Turtle Town” (where I have yet to see a turtle). I’ve seen their heads pop up all along the coast, but at “turtle town”…bubkes.
Hanakao’o is surprisingly reliable in that it took Nicole and I probably less than a minute to see our first sea turtle after entering the water. We were also the only people in the water, which is a major bonus. I think about our snorkel excursion in Belize where I just kept getting kicked by other people’s fins while struggling to get a clear picture of a nurse shark without getting elbowed under the chin by an out-of-control child.
The turtles like the areas around the rocky shoreline, which made it difficult at times to maneuver into a position without inadvertently scraping ourselves. You see, the currents kept pushing us into rocks, but we weren’t alone. As we moved, so did the turtles. They like to munch on the algae that builds up on the rocks, but sometimes the current would just pick them up and send them sailing by. They are federally protected and we are supposed to keep 10 feet between us and the turtles. But for aforementioned reasons, this did become a challenge in the water. Furthermore, the turtles were apparently comfortable enough that they had no problem swimming right at us at times.
They seemed pretty friendly and unbothered by our presence. We did our best to get out of their way, but it’s almost like they wanted to size up Bricole, everyone’s favorite celebrity couple. We watched two of them nosh for a while, but there were others. I could be wrong, but it almost seems like “Turtle Town” on Maui’s south coast is perhaps too full of loud humans and overhyped that the turtles have perhaps dispersed elsewhere along the coast.
It made me think of Hanauma Bay on O’ahu, which pitches itself as the spot to snorkel, but I have seen more fish and sea life just offshore in Waikiki than I have ever seen in Hanauma Bay. Unchecked amounts of people quickly ruin things, killing coral, scaring fish, destroying habitats. Luckily, both we and the turtles were able to enjoy each other’s company in peace without being kicked in the head by a child.
After bidding aloha to the turtles, we stood in the sun on the beach to warm up and dry off before getting back in the car for the 45 minute drive back to Kihei. We stopped off at Foodland for some musubi and ice cream cookie sandwiches which we consumed for our lunch on the lanai. Then we went to nearby Kamaole Beach 1 before escaping the intense sun by sitting by the Maui Coast hotel’s pool.
As the sun began to set, we returned to the Wailea coastal path. It was very active with people. We observed our final sunset on Maui. We were initially going to have our last dinner at an Italian restaurant that is part of the Four Seasons resort, but we later discovered that their menu had changed and gotten more expensive and more pretentious. Not wanting the $85 clam pasta, we canceled our reservation and went back to Nalu’s where we got a burger and loco moco for takeaway to eat on our lanai.
Our flight departs tomorrow afternoon back to Los Angeles. We asked for a late checkout, but were told to ask again tomorrow. Last days can always be a bit awkward with the timing, but hopefully we aren’t just sitting around killing time.
passports & pepto bismol 