Penguins at the Hyatt

One of the things I loved most about Maui was that my property was right next to the Hyatt and the Hyatt has several different types of birds at their property including penguins. If you're feeling sorry for the Penguins thinking they must have hated the warm weather, you should know these Penguins come from South Africa not Antarctica and are used to warm weather. The last couple of months I was there Brandi and I walked over to the Hyatt at lunch time for a little exercise, so I got to see the Penguins a lot. The day I took my camera along there was also a Heron fishing in their pond.

Last Days at the Maui Ocean Club

One of my last days at the Maui Ocean Club I walked around and took some final photos of the property.



Here is where the high tides washed out the bank and also part of the beach walk.


The falls and pond just under the Welcome Center.

Part of the super pool.

Another part of the super pool and the water fall and cave you can swim into.


The pond and waterfall in the lobby.

Another view of the falls and pond under the Welcome Center.

The view of the pool from the lobby area.

The waterfall and pond by the front entrance, along the circle drive.

Brandi by the waterfall at the entrance.

All Things Centipede

So, some of you have wondered about the horrible centipedes that I tell you about. I was reminded of my intention to post pictures when I encountered one outside tonight. I tried to provide some sense of scale for you with a quarter and a Bic pen (couldn't find a quarter tonight).

Here's a shot of the one that was on the ceiling above my bed one morning when I woke up.



This was the one that was outside my building tonight. The liquid is the poison I poured on him before getting near.



So, how would you like to be bitten/stung by one of these? They are venemous, but unless you're allergic it probably won't kill you. As a side note, neither of these is the largest I have seen. Unfortunately, I did not have my camera with me, but it was about twice as long as these guys.

Polipoli State Park

Last Sunday I went hiking at Polipoli State Park. Several people had told me I should check it out. I had tried to go earlier this year, but the road in is a dirt track (you're supposed to have 4WD, but I managed in my car) and part of it had been washed out in the flash floods this past past "winter." I was able to get in this time and go hiking. I had not realized that the area where the hiking trail is is also where we had a large fire about a year and a half ago. The park is a hardwood forest in the Kula Forest Reserve, high on the side of Haleakala.

Here's some shots of the hike. You'll see a lot of evidence of the fire, but I mostly didn't take pictures of the really dead and burned parts of the forest.

Maui Sea Caves

Last year when Chris came to visit me we went on a boat trip to see the sea caves along the Kanaio coastline of Maui. It was an awesome trip. The Kanaio coast area, past Wailea and Makena, is accessible only by boat. It is the site of Maui's most recent lava flows (about 200-300 years ago). The lava formed amazing arches, grotto's and sea caves. The trip was in a zodiac, which was bumpy at times, but not punishingly so. Our captain was able to drive us into one of the caves for a minute or two at one point, then zip back out before the next big wave came crashing in. Getting good pictures was difficult with all the movement of the boat. I had more than a couple photo's of the sky, the bottom of the boat and random people's head's, but I think I still managed to snap a few good ones :)