Finally got a reservation at Waiʻanapanapa State Park and some more exploring of the East Side of the Road to Hana and surrounding area. Lovely day filled with sights, driving and hiking.
Booked a reservation for the last one of the day to get the softer light, and less people (in theory) as most people need to head back to central Maui and usually leave before the end of the day.
Photo Gallery: https://pics.mattichan.com/-uwc067
Hamoa Beach
Set out since I knew I had the whole day to explore. Stopped off at Hamoa Beach hoping that there were less people than yesterday, and boy was I correct. Getting there first thing in the morning, I was the first one on the beach, and it was awesome. Saw some crabs come up on fresh sand without any humans. Well worth the hype, and totally get why people love this beach, simply stunning, and would’ve gone for a swim if I didn’t have all my camera crap with me.
Saw this egret (I think) in a tree nearby, and when it came out, it looked like some dirt or something was on it’s beak, but upon closer inspection, it was actually a little hitch hiker. Can’t tell if it’s holding on for dear life, or if it’s just grabbing a lift, but pretty cool either way.
Pua’a Ka’a State Wayside Park
Made a quick stop at Pua’a Ka’a State Wayside Park and was kind of saddened and amused to see a bird trying to break into a car to get food (cause again….humans).
Walking over to the waterfall, was also annoyed to see that people were blatantly ignoring the signage and jumping off the cliffs to dive over the waterfalls. Adults were doing it and setting a bad example and then tiny humans were following their lead. Idiots.
Keʻanae Arboretum
Then proceeded over to the Keʻanae Arboretum and did the quick trail to go see the gardens and all the plants and birds in the space. Really nice park and enjoyed the nice walk in the middle of the rainforest.
Got to see a grove(ish) of Rainbow Eucalyptus trees that were really interesting (but also, why do people feel the need to carve things into the trees?? sigh).
Keʻanae
Stopped after in the town of Keʻanae and got to see the lava field coast meeting the ocean swells. Really picturesque and could listen to the waves for hours. Lots of crabs as well (both dead ones and alive ones) scurrying around and also just letting the waves wash over them.
Upper Waikani Falls
Made a quick stop at the Upper Waikani Falls (parking up the hill and walking back like people are supposed to, not like the people BLATANTLY stopping by the “no stopping” sign to take pictures and blocking traffic — again, cause they’re so special and they’re more important than everyone else on the road). These are also known as the three bears, with the papa bear being the largest, mama bear in the middle, and baby bear on the right. Lovely waterfalls!
Waiʻanapanapa State Park
Finally made it back to Waiʻanapanapa State Park around 4pm for the slot until 6pm. Walked both sides of the trails up and down some lava rocks, and just generally enjoyed the views. It was REALLY hot and humid, but super lovely and apparently the trail can go all the way to the Regional Airport.
Some wild cats greeted me in the parking lot. Pretty cute.
Back to Camp
Stopped at the visitor center and saw one of my red bird friends in eating in the trees and grass. Caught the sunset as it went down over the ocean from my campsite.
Itinerary Change
I noticed on one of the many Facebook groups, that someone mentioned they were returning at Hilo. This was new information, because originally I wanted to reboard in Maui, and they said I would have to wait till Honolulu to reboard. When the Maui stop got cancelled and replaced with the Hilo stop due to the fires, I had asked whether I could now get back in Hilo, and they said they were working on it and would let me know (and never got back to me).
I emailed the RC staff on the ship and they confirmed I could indeed get back on in Hilo, so I spent about an hour changing my flights and canceling AirBnBs and excursions to save a couple hundred dollars.
Astrophotography
Watched the moon for a bit, and then set up the go pro mounted to the SUV to take a star trail to test it out. Turned out pretty good if you ask me.
Vibe Check
4 parts joy
1 parts anger – for humans still being the worst…
Feedback
Leave a comment or question if you have any thoughts! Anything you want to know about as we go around the world? Any things you want to share as feedback, or any images that particularly spoke to you. I’ll try to read all of them as time permits!
Matti 
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