Written By Issy
This packed week started with our first taste of Hana, a hike to the Twin Falls. This was a short and sweet hike with a break to swim as the water was falling on top of us. That ended with what Forrest would say to be the best coconut ice cream he has ever had. After the hike the group leaders, Alexa and I, went on the weekly grocery run and brought back Krispy Kreme as a group treat. While that was happening the rest of the group spent their time in Pai’a visiting various cafes and surf shops. The group ended the day with a fire and s’mores back at our campsite, Waihe’e Refuge (HILT).
To start our Tuesday morning the group spent the morning helping Kia’i clean up the basecamp at HILT. This included many things like blowing leaves, whipper snipping and even half the group taking a trip to the dump. After a quick lunch break the group joined Kia’i in a fun afternoon of warrior games that ended up in Will beating Elise in a fair game of tug of war. After a “quick” shower the group then went to a laundromat so we would have clean clothes after the past week of hard and dirty week. We ended the night with some killer burgers with a side of mango salsa and sweet potato fries made by Will and yours truly.
Wednesday was the start of the early mornings as it was a moving day. We said our goodbyes to Kia’i and the refuge before heading on our way to Whispering Winds, that is with a few stops in between. The first stop we made that day was to a bamboo forrest hike on this hike we accounted four different beautiful waterfalls. The second stop and by far the group favourite was the Garden of Eden Arboretum. Here the group got to see a multitude of different things from ducks to a 100 year old mango tree to waterfalls to the Jurassic Park Rock. Then we headed over to the Ke’ane Penisula, which is a lookout of lava pools and the ocean. After the pensiula the group went on a self guided tour of the Hana Lava Tube followed by a maze where we probably didn’t let the right people lead but it’s okay. Our final stop before we headed to Whispering Winds was Ae’s Thai Food Truck which was great, especially since we didn’t have to cook it or do dishes. We then headed to Whispering Winds, set up camp and called it a night. An honourable mention from this day was the way I woke up. The group befriended a cat named Killer. No one realised the implications of feeding said cat until I, the one person in the group who hates cats, gets woken up by a cat climbing literally on top of my tent let me tell you it was not a pleasant way to wake up.
Thursday morning is when the outdoor bathroom situation really seemed to hit us but don’t worry we got used to it, to the point where we may or may not have broken it. That morning we met Ryan, the co-owner of Whispering Winds, and he took us on a three hour long walking tour of a small part of the 220 acre property. On this tour we saw rainbow eucalyptus, the brisbane box gum tree, all different types of bamboo and about fifteen different types of fruit that the group got to sample. After we concluded the tour we had a quick lunch before heading to the plant nursery to do the groups favourite activity…weeding!!! After the exhausting work of weeding the group transitioned into 2 hours of some much needed solo time.
Friday, what a day it was, the best day of the year, my 18th birthday. Also coincidentally the only birthday we will be celebrating in our 70 days in Hawaii. The group had the early morning wake up of 5:20 to head to Wai’ānanapa State Park. At the state park was a gorgeous black sand beach and trail where we got to explore many different rock formations and caves. The state park got its name for its sparkling water and it was not lying about it. After we concluded our time at the state park we headed to Hana Farms where we ate some wood fired pizza and got some much needed wifi. After a few hours well spent we headed back to camp to play a game of catan. This game was a monumental game, Ukiah won!!! For those who are confused why this is so amazing it is because Forrest usually wins like almost every time and this was Ukiah’s first win at camp. After a dinner of Elise’s famous fettuccine alfredo, cake and birthday festivities we all headed to bed.
Saturday we spent most of the day at Hakalele National Park where we hiked our longest hike, a whole 4 miles!! On this hike we saw the second biggest banyan on Maui and some pretty sick waterfalls. Sunday we spent the morning packing up and heading to our nest campsite. Before we did that we spent a few hours at a secret beach in Pai’a and then another few hours around town before getting some Indian/Mediterranean Food for dinner. Then we headed to Pono Grown where we were greeted by Evan and warm showers!! This concludes the blog this week next week you will be hearing from the next leaders Elise and Ukiah.
