We were all up between 6:30 and 7am this morning on our last day in Paradise.

It was sunny again and we finished off some leftovers for breakfast before gathering up our swimsuits and snorkel gear, and heading out. Today we headed down to Maluaka Beach, and to the rock and coral reef known as Turtle Town. The beach itself is another impossibly soft expanse, and sparsely populated when we arrived shortly after 8am. Still, despite the early start, the trade winds had already begun to make waves.

The coral reef is at the south end of the beach, so we hung up our hats and left our shoes on the rocks behind the sand, found our way into our flippers and backed out into the water. We remained cautious the whole time, not wanting to suddenly find ourselves in a break against the reef, but we were able to swim closely enough to the coral to get a good view. The water was very clear and there were many beautiful tropical fish swimming in the area, and the coral landscape provided lots of small shelters where we could see sea creatures hanging out. On a more still morning, it would have  been possible to swim more easily through the rock outcroppings without worrying about disturbing the coral, and get closer to the reef to see more.

But we saw no turtles this morning. We swam for almost an hour and took in the pretty colours, and were surprised to find so much time had passed when we decided to go in. Like most beaches, a set of outdoor taps and showers allowed us to get much of the sand and salt off, and then it was back to Kihei.

In town we stopped at the Kalama Village where I was able to pick up a coffee from Lava Java, and we noted that the various vendor stalls here made this a good candidate for last minute souvenirs. Then it was back to our hotel for the sad task of packing everything up.

We managed to be be finished with our room by our noon check out time, and spent the rest of the day with a trunk full of suitcases. We had some help from the front desk with our travel documents, got checked out, and said goodbye to the condo.

Our last day in Kihei was pretty casual, almost randomly choosing things we still wanted to do and then driving off to do them. We started with what has become a favourite, returning to the S&Q for some more shave ice – this time I had a Blue Hawaii. Then it was back to Kalama Village where we spent quite awhile poking about the stalls and choosing our last souvenirs for our friends and oursleves – beads and jewellery and t-shirts were easy to find in great variety here, and we left satisfied that we had some small token for everyone on our lists.
Sharon noted then that we really hadn’t spent much time on “our own” beach – Kamaole Beach II – located directly across the road from the condo rooms where we had been staying. We made the quick trip back, parked, and then walked along another soft, sandy shoreline. On a hunch, we walked south to Kamaole Point, which Sharon and I went around via the adjoining park, but which the kids marched through, climbing and jumping from rocky crag through shallow pools of water.

They were rewarded for their persistence – before they got all the way around to Kamole Beach III they had spotted large green sea turtles swimming near the shore among the black rock outcropping. From Beach III we walked backwards toward them, and we believe we saw at least four different turtles swimming about, bobbing in the wake, and seeming to “wave” as they rolled about in the surf. We were all quite thrilled to have had a chance to see them!

From here we got back into the car and drove back down to Big Beach, which I had missed on Saturday. We relaxed here for good part of the remainder of the afternoon, with the kids splashing at the edge of the water and Sharon and I sitting along a shallow sand bluff, enjoying the sun and the breeze. There were many people here – some swimming and others skim boarding, but mostly just enjoying the sun – but the beach is so large that you never feel like you’re in anyone else’s space. Late in the afternoon, we roused ourselves and picked up some drinks from the resident food truck, and then drove for a last time into Kihei.

We made a final pit stop at Whalers’ and picked up stamps and pens, and in the parking lot we wrote a note to Grammy and Grandpa in Ontario. We found a mail box and dropped it in, idly wondering how much sooner we would be back in Canada before the letter would be.

By now our snacks had mostly run out and we were getting peck-ish, so we had a last look at our recommendations and settled on a seafood hole-in-the-wall called Eskimo Candy for our last meal. The food was very good here – Sharon had a bigger sandwich than she could manage, Mimi and I split a four-piece fish and chips (with Ono Mahi catch-of-the-day), and Ross managed to polish off a shrimp and chips for himself. For dessert, we drove around the corner to Ono Gelato and had ice cream treats – Mimi and I both had the golden pineapple gelato (mmmm).

At just past 6:30pm now, we asked the staff at Ono Gelato which closest beach would afford a nice view of the sunset, and they directed us to the beach access of W. Lipoa Road, just a few hundred meters away. We were there just minutes later. Sunsets on Maui are probably the easiest pictures to take, but they are no less impressive for it. Several others had gathered on the beach to watch the sun go down and we were treated to another riot of reds and yellows and blues and purples as the sun disappeared for the last time.

April 21 – Going Home

From here on our tasks were practically administrative with respect to getting home – we drove from this part of Kihei back to the airport without incident and I dropped everyone off with the luggage at departures. I returned the car to the nearby rental depot where it was quickly checked in, and minutes later a shuttle had me back to the terminal, shuffling day clothes and carry-on items with the rest of the family. We checked in, moved fairly quickly through security (Mimi got priority clearance!), found our gate, and then hung out in the closest airport restaurant, topping up on fluids in the remaining hour before our 10:20pm flight.

The flight cabin was actually somewhat more full than on the way out, but as most people were trying to sleep for as much of the 5h 10m trip as possible, this hardly mattered. Back in Vancouver we spent little time in customs – clearly tourists with only souvenirs to declare – and our bags were among the first to arrive at the carousel. It took us a moment to discover where to get our shuttle back to the parking lot, but we weren’t waiting long, and we had no issues finding our car and getting back on the road.

The remaining trip was pretty straightforward. Google maps helped us get to the Tswassen ferry terminal – traffic was mostly good leaving the city at 8am – and we were in line for a ferry by 8:30. Unfortunatley by this time the 9am ferry was already full, so we mostly slept in the car waiting for the 11am crossing. A little over two hours later, we were home!