Maui: Hidden Waterfalls, more Pineapple, and a Banyan Tree.

There’s nothing quite like waking up in the jungle. Before you can even open your eyes, the sounds of the squawking birds and chirping bugs fill your ears. You’ll hear the occasional burst of rain dance among the leaves, feel a gust of humid wind brush across your forehead from the window above your bed, and listen to the sound of a ripe coconut plunking onto the grass below. Then you’ll throw on a white embroidered halter dress, pad into the kitchen, and whip up some pineapple smoothies while the coffee is brewing. See? There’s nothing quite like it.

Then, when you’ve lounged around listening to the rest of the jungle wake up, you’ll figure out your plan for the day. We chose to find a hidden waterfall on our second day in Maui. The hosts at our jungle house had left us a map to one of their favourite nearby mountain pools. We bumped along a red dirt road, following the sound of the ocean. When we had passed through a few farmers’ fields, we reached a clearing and parked. A few steps down, through a forest of palms, was a wooden look-out perched above the black cliffs.

Lodged into the side of the cliff were cinderblocks, nailed in with thick metal stakes. We used those as steps to climb down the twisting path, watching the neon green geckoes jump out of our way. The waves on the north shore are huge in the winter, and I could feel them thundering in my chest as we approached the beach. Chris walked out onto the rocks to get a closer look, while I stayed safely on shore.

What we were really there for, however, was to find a hidden lagoon. We followed the river rocks upstream, ditching our backpacks once the vines became too thick. Over and under snaking branches we ducked, until we stumbled upon the most beautiful secluded waterfall and mountain-fed pool.

Obviously we went swimming in it, but not before we made an offering to the local Hawaiian gods. Legend has it that you’re supposed to throw a flower as an offering into mountain pools. If the flower sinks, it’s unsafe to swim in. We tossed in a hibiscus and it happily floated around on the top of the water. The water was chilly, but warm enough to enjoy. We had fun climbing up the rocks and standing under the waterfall, then jumping down back into the water below. The best part was that it was a little gem that we discovered on our own, since we found out later that this was not the waterfall that our hosts had recommended! There are just so many of these little places on Maui, that if you follow a stream for a while, you’re bound to come across one.

That evening we had a luau booked across the island in Lahaina. After a nearly 2 hour drive, we arrived to find out that it had been rained-out and cancelled. Disappointed, we decided to make the best out of it by bar-hopping a little. Our first stop was Betty’s, an ultra-touristy spot right near the water. We enjoyed mai tais and pina coladas as we watched the humpback whales breaching in the ocean. Within the hour we were there, we must’ve seen about 20 whales. In February, the humpbacks swim down to Maui to have their babies and mate. Throughout our trip we probably saw roughly 50 whales? It was surreal.

We finished off the evening with a stroll around Lahaina. Chris loved the enormous banyan tree; the second-largest in the world. Even though Lahaina is considered to be a really nice part of Maui, I did not like it at all. It was FULL of American tourists from the mainland, with lots of tourist-trap restaurants and t-shirt shops. It reminded me a lot of Niagara on the Lake actually. One store was pretty cool though – The Whaler’s Locker. It was stocked with nautical finds, including tons of shark jaws, carvings, and jewellery. Chris was smitten. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him more excited about a store before. To commemorate our vacation, I purchased him a beautiful wood in-lay money clip, with a scrimshawed humpback whale carved into bone. It was so him, and since he’s the only person I know who uses a money clip still, it seemed tailor-made for Chris.