January 12th, 2023
The Islands of unexpected diversity & beauty
Hawaii was not on top of my list initially when finding a place to get away from my least favorable months of the year here in Switzerland which is “dark” November. As Asia was not really “open” yet I was looking towards the west. And since I have not been back to the Hawaiian islands for over 20 years, I thought to give it another try. This time including Maui which I avoided so far.
And I have to admit I was again positively surprised by the vast diversity of things to see and experience. And trust me there’s was so much more than beautiful beaches and honeymooner crowds.
Oahu
The most populated island should never be reduced to just Honolulu or even Waikiki. While it’s always nice to just hang around one of the most famous beach in the world I really enjoyed the early mornings offering tranquil sunrises with mostly locals. An easy task with help from a bit of jet lag. The North share brought back memories and still delivery this small town America feeling, let alone some of the best raw ahi at these basic eateries offering some of the best food.
Maui
Now Maui was the real positive surprise to me. With a reputation of being flooded with package honeymooners it turned out they are most staying in their resort and go on organized tours. This leaves the rest of this sizable island to adventures. A visit to Haleakala is a must and offers great views into a moon-like landscape after going through a layer of drizzle and fog. Driving the legendary Hana road around the South coast passing dense rainforests all the way to the fertile up-country with agriculture and rural America which also happens to be found in the Pacific. And of course the later afternoon were always spectacular with the special light und the sun setting over the ocean.
Big Island
I spent an entire week on the largest island in Polynesia. From the great beaches to the top of Mauna Kea at over 4200m one can see 10 out of 14 climate zones of this world. Big island is also home of the 6th largest cattle ranch of the US (!) and agriculture plays an important role mainly located around Waimea which looks like any farmer town in the US mid-west. Driving all the way from the beach in Kona at sea level all the way up to Mauna Kea can be done in just about 2 hours with an incredible change of scenery. And then there also is Kilauea Volcano which just broke out again and the hippie town and capital Hilo together with the less visited Northern part. All in all a very diverse experience.
