Maui Online Guide Is Moving
Maui Online Guide is moving to davestravelpage.blogspot.com. Our travels lately haven’t included Maui, so it seems like a good time to change the focus of our blog.
Dave’s Travel Page will be a travelouge of all sorts of places. We’ll be writing about places we’ve been, places we will be visiting, and places we’ll never see, but would like to.
To begin with we’re moving many of our Maui Online Guide articles to the new site. Then, later in the year, we’re off to Europe and hope to share many interesting posts from there also. We hope you will enjoy the new format and focus of the blog.
For those of you interested in a Maui focused blog slanted towards visitors, may we suggest Kris Nelson’s Kaanapalidreamn. By the way Kris, thanks for the neat Maui Calendar gadget on Blogspot 
And if things out of this world interest you, take a look at davesspacepage.blogspot.com.
Big Beach and Little Beach
Big Beach, officially named Oneloa Beach, and also called Makena Beach, is one of Hawaii’s most fabulous strands of sand. It’s two thirds of a mile long and 100 feet wide, with transparent waters and a magnificent view. In a Hawaii Magazine anniversary poll, Big Beach was named the number one favorite among its readers.
Little Beach is to the right of Big Beach. Little Beach is also known as Pu’u Ola’i Beach, after the lava outcropping you must hike over to get to it. It’s an 1/8 of a mile strand of beach that’s great for snorkeling and diving. It’s also very crowded. Why, you ask is it so crowded? Because even though public nudity is illegal in Hawaii, that law is generally ignored here.
To find Big Beach and Little Beach drive past Wailea and Makena till you see the signs for Makena State Park. There are two paved parking areas for Big Beach and an unpaved one farther along that is sometimes open.
Services and Amenities
- Sandy beach
- Portable toilets
- Picnic tables
- Paved parking lots
- Shady areas
- Hiking trails
- Good swimming, snorkeling, body boarding
- Seasonal high surf
Cautions:
Monitor ocean conditions closely. Strong currents and surf possible. There’s a steep dropoff from the beach to deep water. Obey all postings and warnings.
Here’s an aerial view of Big Beach and Little Beach supplied by Blue Hawaiian Helecopters.
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Haleki’i and Pihana Heiau
Haleki’i and Pihana Heiau are two of the most accessible of Maui’s remaining pre-contact Hawaiian structures of religious and historical importance. Located about 1/4 mile inland on a hill between Wailuku and Waiehu, they overlook Iao Stream, Kahului Bay, Wailuku Plain and Paukukalo Hawaiian Homestead.
According to the State of Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources a heiau is a Hawaiian religious structure which centralized the ceremonies and rituals of old Hawaii. The construction of a heiau was directed by the highest chiefs and required a great expenditure of organized labor. The ceremonies and offerings at a heiau were overseen by a priest or kahunas.
Haleki’i translates to “house of images.” It is believed that Haleki’i heiau was a chiefly complex with images placed on the terraces. Kahekili, chief of Maui, lived and worshiped at Haleki’i during religious observances in the 1760s.
Pihana, or Pihanakalani, translates to “gathering place of high supernatural beings.” Pihana is recorded as a luakina heiau. Luakini heiaus were dedicated to the god of war, and were built for success in war.
In 1819, the traditional Hawaiian religion was abolished. At this time the images were taken away and the heiaus were abandoned.
Today, a visit to the site begins at a paved parking lot. A short walk up a pathway leads to the Haleki’i site. To the left are the original foundations of the heiau. Notice the terraces on the hillside below the foundations. To the right is a foundation reconstructed in 1958 for a replica of one of the buildings.
About a 1/4 mile walk along a well marked path takes one to the Pihana Site. As you walk look at the hill ahead and to the left. Along its slope you can still see part of the original stone retaining wall. Near the end of the path turn left and walk up the hill and you’re at the Pihana site. There’s not much visible here other than a marker erected by the State. But consider for a moment, it’s believed that human sacrifice took place here.
To find Haleki’i and Pihana Heiau Drive past the Wailuku Industrial Area toward Waihe’e, turn left on Kuhio Place and then left on Hea Place and up the hill.
This is definitely an off the beaten path side trip. When we visited during mid-afternoon we had the site all to ourselves.
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Tedeschi Vineyards - A Scenic Side Trip
Tedeschi Vineyards is Maui’s only commercial winery. Located in the Ulupalakua region of Maui’s “Upcountry” Tedeschi Vineyards makes a beautiful side trip. Driving the winding road to the winery you’ll climb and dip amid lush rolling hills and ranch land and enjoy incredible vistas of Maui’s central valley and the West Maui Mountains.
The winery is part of the Ulupalakua Ranch, a 20,000 acre working cattle ranch. Here paniolos, Hawaii’s cowboys, still herd cattle on horseback. Ulupalakua Ranch has a rich history, but that’s another story.
In 1974 Emil Tedeschi, a California vintner leased a portion of the ranch to be used for vineyards and a winery. While waiting for the first grape crop, Tedeschi experimented with pineapple wine. In 1977 Maui Blanc Pineapple Wine was released. Maui Brut, released in 1984, was the wineries first grape product. Today the winery sells wines made from grapes, pineapple, passion fruit and even raspberries.
The tasting room is located in the “Kings Cottage,” one of the most historic buildings on the island of Maui. The cottage was built in 1874 specifically for the visit of Hawaii’s king David Kalakaua. The King visited the ranch often afterwards. The centerpiece of the Tasting Room is an eighteen-foot-long bar cut from the trunk of a single mango tree.
The tasting room is open seven days a week, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Three free guided tours of the winery are offered each day at 10:30 a.m., 1:30 p.m. and 3 p.m.
For more information see www.mauiwine.com.
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Maui Beach Guide
