Unlike the wider well-maintained normal "pali" - cliff road drive from Ma'alea to Lahaina, these sundrenched pali views are less traveled and with good reason. When I was living there 30 years ago, this and the backside road from Hana were NOT paved. You needed a 4W Drive as weather often changed, leaving you potentially stranded or in far more dangerous predicaments.
Still, from the air, spectacular mauna kai - [mountainside] views like few get the chance to view, are contrasted with breath-taking coastal [moana kai] views. go from late November and mid-March and the extra special treat of Humpback Whales visiting for their annual spawning sessions is a very real possibility. Though we went late November, no whales were spotted teaching their calves how to breach - or jump completely out of the water.
Just past the 38 mile marker, is a hike down to a massive natural sight called the Nakalele Blowhole.
Olivine Pools- just past mile marker 16 - [not seen from Heli in this edited video]
Highway 340 - over Kahakuloa Village
The first time I was a passenger in a helicopter was 1998 flying through Peru's Sagrada Valle - into Aguas Callientes - the last vehicle stop before taking the bus up to Machu Picchu, iconic Shamanistic Center for the Incan Empire.
That was made more EPIC as I flew for FREE!
Perks of being a Tour Leader for an Adventure Travel Agency.
The next Heli-Hike Tour I signed on for was over Franz Josef Glazier on the southern island of New Zealand in 2000.
This flight above the snaking "living" sheets of rocky ice, saved us about three hours of hiking, but the point was seeing the land masses from that additional aerial perspective.
STUNNING
To fly in and hike for three hours over crevasses; where longer metal ladders were placed for us to more safely cross, and then up to a shelter; lunch and returning to Heli's Landing Pad for a sunset return by air was perhaps the most incredible of my aerial experiences.
This Maui-Molokai sojourn, with its far different lush coastal views contrasted sharply with both quilt-like farming valley views of my first Andean flight, as well as the frozen tundra-to-the-sea views the Franz Josef Glazier Flight-Trek-Flight afforded.
Needless to say, ALL were extremely scenic rides, with their specifically stunning diversities.
I highly recommend flying above and around popular areas whenever possible. The change of POV is often life-altering.
8 май 2022
