Have you been to the Iao Needle yet? It's a short (3 mile) drive from Wailuku into the West Maui Mountains, Maui's inactive volcano. Once you get there ($5 paid parking), you can climb stairs up to a lookout, or go for a short walk through the forest and along the creek.
You can also stop at the Hawaii Nature Center on the left just before you get to the Iao Needle. There is an information center there, but it was closed today on Dec 26th. Fortunately the kids knew where to go and led us past the buildings, across a very narrow long bridge to a hike. I must admit, I haven't gone hiking since in the Canadian Rockies some 15 years ago. The kids had fun and we saw some really neat plants, trees and shrubs that I definitely never saw in the Canadian Rockies! Along one of the trails we came to some taro fields - part of a project to reintroduce native Hawaiian vegetation in the Iao Valley.
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| gazing up at the trees |
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| roots of a tree along the river bank |
If you have a chance, check it out! Don't wear your slippahs, though, as I did. Though I managed, it would have been easier with runners.Labels: adventure, kids, Maui to-do, volcano
