Mike in the Wild

I made the decision a long time ago that when I visited Maui during whale season, I would stay in South Maui.  So during my five-night visit last month, I chose a rental condo in South Kihei where from beaches like Kamaole One, right across the street, I could witness the spectacle of humpback whales breaching in the distance.   Another reason informing my decision was that I wanted to give Northwest Maui and Lahaina some space while they deal with the aftermath of last summer's tragic fire.  While the resorts and beaches outside of the city proper were unaffected and are open for business, it was hard for me to imagine driving through the devastated landscape to have a day of fun in the surf.  The much more practical excuse for sticking to South Maui was that the winter season brings frequent swells to the northern shores of the Hawaiian Islands: great news for surfers but bad for snorkelers.  In fact, the Snorkel Store's morning report was frequently advi...

Everyday the morning snorkel report on Maui described the south swells bringing large, breaking waves to much of the coastline.  As a result, the best snorkeling on the island was in the far northwest corner, at sites like Honolua and Kapalua Bays, both shielded from the rough ocean activity.  These two locations were consistently getting ratings up to 9 (out of 10) on the snorkeling quality scale while the south shore, home for the second half of my vacation, was receiving dismal scores like 2.5.   Nevertheless, I was happy to be staying for three nights in Wailea, on the south shore, where the beaches were beautiful and the accommodations five-star worthy.   Most familiar to me in the area was Makena State Park, famous for two beaches: one incredibly long, the other small and nudist-friendly.  A few years ago, I actually snorkeled a reef off the latter beach - I was fully clothed in a bathing suit and rash guard - where I found the conditions excelle...