Maui Island

The indigenous Hawaiian culture and so-called Aloha spirit, symbolising welcome, understanding, love and harmony,make Maui a unique, paradisiacal place for holidaying and living. The local population point out with pride that Maui is No Ka Oi in everything, or best and finest…

Text & Photo by Miša Ognjanović

The island of Maui, in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, some six hours by airplane from San Francisco, is the perfect place for vacationing. It boasts first-class hotels and holiday resorts, world-class golf course sand impeccable sandy beaches… and all of that in an environment redolentof tropical oases.

The symbol of Maui is the Haleakala volcano, popularly known as The House of the Rising Sun. In the morning, as the first rays of sun penetrate milky white clouds, the 3,055-metre volcano changes a whole gamut of coloursin just a few minutes. The volcano glows golden, then turns from rosy to orange. After that the colours move towards the red end of the colour spectrum, and as the sun rises above the clouds, Haleakala turns a dark purple.

The island of Maui greets the coming day with this extraordinary natural phenomenon. Shining with the sun’s brilliance above the clouds, this jewel– the island’s volcano – is the site where Hawaiian history begins. Its crater still bears traces where rivers of white-hot lava flowed over stones and shaped dunes from red-hot magma. With time, erosion – the rain, wind and sun – created a singular environment accommodating rare endemic species of flora and fauna. One of them is the plant called silver sword, found only in Haleakala’s crater and nowhere else in the world – not even in regions with similar climatic conditions.

Maui is an island abounding in drinkable water. Pu‘u Kukui, on the crater’s northwestern fringe, is one of the most humid places on the Hawaiian islands, with average annual precipitation of 400 inches. This abundance of rainfall accounts for the presence of drinkable water springs on the eastern and northern sides of the Haleakala crater. Spring water plunges down the crater’s steep sides, forming streams and small river swash away volcanic mass and create waterfalls and small tropical oases as they flow towards the sea. Papaya, yam, pineapple, apple, bananas and other tropical plant plantations are nestled in river-formed dales. This is the location of one of the most beautiful spots on the island – Hana. A meandering pathway leading through sprawling tropical forests and over volcanic cliffs ends at this dreamy site. Everything looks perfect at Hana; it is as though time has stopped at this undeveloped place. This is why Hana has been an inspiration to artists, painters and poets. Hana radiates the authentic spirit of Hawaii, and here one can see how Hawaii looked once upon a time.

Hawaiian legends say it was from the top of Haleakala that the god Maui used a lasso made of his sister’s gold-coloured hair to catch the Sun, forcing it to travel slower so as to prolong the day and give the people of Maui more time to savor the island’s beauty. Still, many visitors have no problem as to how to spend their time. On the eastern part of the island is Ka‘anapali, one of the world’s most beautiful sandy beaches, and the historic small town of Lahaina, once a sleepy whalers’ port. Today, Lahaina is a lively little town with numerous shops, restaurants and clubs, all pleasantly interlaced with parks, tropical flowers and palms. This is where one can buy famous Hawaiian shirts and local souvenirs, as well as prestigious branded goods.

On the southern side of the Maui islands is one of the handsomest and most extravagant world resorts called Wailea. This resort offers fascinating spots for snorkeling, scuba diving, golf as well as sites for whale-watching; whales arrive each winter from the northern seas to the Central Pacific to breed. The island of Maui has ever been their favourite spot, and part of Maui tradition and history are related to whale fishing, so that whale-fishing ships from the 19^th and 20^th centuries have now been turned into museums in the Lahaina port. On this side of the island is the horseshoe-shaped Molokini island, believed to be the best spot for scuba diving and viewing the underwater world.

Situated between the sharp peaks of Mt. Kahoolawe and river canyon is the historic Iao Valley. Although at first glance it appears that the modern world has forgotten about this valley, the dramatic history of Hawaii unfolded at precisely this location. At the very mouth of the valley is a rock that served as a lookout post to the many Polynesian tribes who were the first to settle Hawaii. Believing that control of the lookout on Iao rock was the key to ruling the island, ancient Hawaiian tribes repeatedly clashed at this location. Also, this was where ethno houses were later built by the larger nations: Polynesians, Hawaiians, Chinese, Japanese, Portuguese, Americans, English and other nations that today comprise the population of the Hawaiian islands.

The ethno village in Iao on Maui symbolises harmony and the spirit of Aloha that imbues these people. This spirit implies caring for one another, for one’s home, family, nature…. and most of all, respecting diversity and embracing tolerance. During the last visit of US President Barack Obama to his birth town – Honolulu – on the Hawaiian island of Oahu, local papers in Maui wrote that it was impossible to understand the new US president if one failed to understand the spirit of Aloha.