We started the day bright and early with some snorkeling at Honolua Bay with Caroline and Amy. This spot was incredible! It’s located on private property, but the owner is kind enough to allow tourists to visit as long as everyone is respectful. The walk down to the beach was a peaceful 10-15 minute stroll through a lush rainforest filled with tropical plants. The pothos vines were massive, adding to the enchanting vibe of the trail. When we finally got to the beach, it was stunning. The water was crystal clear, and we didn’t have to wait long before we saw our first sea turtle! Honolua Bay easily had the best visibility of all the spots we snorkeled. Throughout our swim, we spotted five sea turtles, an eel, and a bunch of colorful fish. Definitely my favorite snorkeling experience so far!

Afterward, Caroline and Amy headed off with Jordan’s parents for their helicopter tour (which I wasn’t brave enough to try), so Jordan and I set off for Haleakala National Park. On the way, we stopped by the Maui Tropical Plantation to check out some local produce and their cute gift shop. We ended up spending way more time (and money) than planned! I picked up some prints of a pineapple, ulu fruit, and the plumeria flower that’s found everywhere on Maui. I love collecting prints as souvenirs to hang up at home—it’s such a nice way to remember each trip.

Next, we hit up a food truck court in Kahului, where we had the best shrimp ever from Geste Shrimp. It was cooked in a spicy pineapple sauce, and the only thing slowing me down was having to peel it! We also grabbed a chicken and eel bao bun from another truck, and to my surprise, I preferred the eel! Maui’s seafood is just unbeatable. We washed everything down with some strawberry lemonade before heading to Haleakala.

We couldn’t head straight for the summit, though, because I had a birding mission at the Hosmer Grove Trail, around the 6,000-foot elevation mark (the summit is at 10,000 feet). I was on the lookout for some of the endemic honeycreepers that call Haleakala home. There are only 17 species of honeycreepers left out of the original 40, mostly because they’re so vulnerable to avian malaria. Due to rising global temperatures, the birds have less habitat that is mosquito free. I told Jordan I wasn’t leaving until I saw at least one! On our first loop, we didn’t see any birds (though we could hear plenty), but on the second pass, we stopped at a lookout point. After a bit of scanning, I finally spotted an ‘apapane, a little red honeycreeper cleaning itself on a branch. A bit later, I saw an i‘iwi and an ‘amakihi—I was over the moon!

For more on the Hosmer Grove Trail, check out this link.

With my birding mission accomplished, we continued up the mountain. Even from the 6,000-foot mark, it took another 30 minutes to reach the summit. The drive was surreal—our ears were popping constantly, and I even felt pressure in my eyes! When we finally reached the top, it was 50 degrees and incredibly windy. Our self-guided app tour mentioned that temperatures drop below freezing at night, which is crazy to think about for Hawaii.

The view from the summit was otherworldly, like standing on the moon. The crater was vast and barren, with hardly any vegetation except for the Silversword Fern, an endangered plant that thrives in this harsh environment. Its delicate root system makes it vulnerable to tourism and invasive species, but thanks to ongoing conservation efforts since the 1930s, there’s been some recovery. We were lucky enough to see some Silverswords in bloom, which is a rare sight since they only bloom once in their lifetime (which can take up to 60 years)!

After our long day, finding dinner was a challenge. Most places on Maui close early, and Caroline and Amy must have looked up 10-15 restaurants, all of which were closed by 8 PM. Finally, they found Prison St. Pizza in Lahaina, which was open until 9 PM. The pizza was solid, but honestly, at that point, we were all just starving and happy to find food!