Tag Archives: Up Country

Surfing Goats and Ocean Vodka

Posted on by Chris Murray

GoatThe Surfing Goat Dairy and Ocean Vodka Organic Farm and Distillery are more or less next to each other in an out of the way place upcountry off the lower Kula Highway. The Surfing Goat Dairy makes great goat cheese, and the Ocean Vodka Distillery makes a great vodka. Both have tours, although one is more suitable for families with small children and the other for adults. You can probably guess which is which.

Surfing goat signSurfing Goat Dairy has three types of tours: Casual ($8 for kids, $12 for adults), Evening Chores and Milking Tour ($14 for kids and $17 for adults), and Grand Dairy Tours ($28 per person). Check their website (www.surfinggoatdairy.com) for details. We did the casual tour. It might be okay for small children, but $12 for adults is WAY overpriced. You can get close to some cute goats, sample a little cheese, and see their small-scale operation without taking the tour.

A surfing goat

A surfing goat

The Ocean Vodka Organic Farm and Distillery is right around the corner from Surfing Goat Dairy. Their tour is $10 for anyone 12 and over. Adults get a sipping sample and an Ocean Vodka shot glass at the end of the tour. There’s also a tour with lunch that costs $25. See their website (www. oceanvodka.com) for details.

The store at the Ocean Vodka Organic Farm

The store at the Ocean Vodka Organic Farm

Ocean Vodka

GETTING THERE
The easiest way to get to Surfing Goat and Ocean Vodka Distillery is by way of the lower Kula Highway (Highway 37). Look for signs for the Omaopio Road between mileposts 9.5 and 10, head downhill and follow the curvy road until you see signs for Surfing Goat Dairy. Stop there or keep on the road for about a quarter mile until you see the driveway for Ocean Vodka. You can return the way you came or continue downhill. If you do the latter, Omaopio Road soon intersects and becomes Pulehu Road. This is a shorter return trip, but it takes you past the land fill which is briefly stinky. Take your pick.

Haleakala – Into the Crater (The Halemauu Trail)

Posted on by Chris Murray

Near the trail head

Dust in our eyes from the Sliding Sands Trail blew us off the top of Haleakala. We decided to try our luck with the Halemauu Trail.

The parking lot at the trail head is clearly marked just below the 8,000 foot level. We were greeted by a couple of overly friendly Nene. The composting toilet at the parking lot was spotless the day we were there – hand sanitizer and everything.

Approaching the crater

The first part of the hike is gently downhill through native scrub. While still a little windy, it was much more pleasant than at the top of the mountain – no dust and occasionally a little shade.

The steep part

The first approach to the crater’s edge is spectacular if somewhat daunting. The switchbacks in the photo below descend almost 1,000 feet to the valley floor. Click on the photo to enlarge and zoom in on it.

While not as common as on the Sliding Sands Trail, people ride horses up and down those switchbacks.

The round trip from the parking lot to the Holua Cabin on the valley floor is an arduous 8 miles. It can easily take 4 to 5 hours. Bring food and plenty of water. As with anywhere at higher elevations on Haleakala, bring layers of clothing. It can get very cold.

You’ll also want to bring your camera. The views of the Ko’ olua Gap and crater interior are spectacular.

For an easier hike with all sorts of amazing views, take the one mile hike to the end of the ridge jutting out into Ko’ olua Gap. We stopped there for a picnic lunch.

On top of the world

Click here to see our blog on the Sliding Sands Trail.

Haleakala – Into the Crater (The Sliding Sands Trail)

Posted on by Chris Murray

Horse back riders on the Sliding Sands Trail

There are several great trails into the Haleakala erosion crater. If you click on the picture to the right you can see a line of horses and riders ascending the Sliding Sands Trail. It’s only when you see something like this that you get an idea of the scale of the place.

While this is all explained in the Maui trail book in our condo, the trail head is a short walk around the cinder cone on the south side of the parking lot. From the start of the trail it’s 2,500 vertical feet to the crater floor – so the hike down is pretty easy. The hike up is another matter. Depending on your physical condition and how you react to the thinner mountain air, it will take 1.5 to 2.0 times as long to hike out as it takes to hike in. Keep this in mind if you’re hiking later in the day. It gets dark (and cold) fast when the sun goes down. Even in summer it can be chilly in the shadow of the west rim of the crater in the late afternoon.

Haleakala Crater – Photo by Dick Morgan

As you can see from the photos, you are entirely exposed on this trail. Use sunscreen and carry water. We generally hike with a daypack with water, snacks, extra clothing and anything else we might need.

Consider adding a hike to your Haleakala experience. If you come early for the sunrise, you can hike in and out before lunch and then enjoy a meal in the Up Country. Alternatively, if you’re not into starting your day at 2 or 3 AM so you can see the sunrise, you can hike in the afternoon and time your return to see the sunset from the top of the mountain. It’s a whole lot like the sunrise, but without the busloads of tourists and people standing five deep at the best vantage points.

Speaking of sunrise and sunset, did you know that Haleakala means “house of the sun” in Hawaiian? To find out more, click here.

For another great (but harder) hike into the crater, click here to see our blog on the Halemauu Trail.

Haleakala – The House of the Sun

Posted on by Chris Murray

The photo to the right is of a print by Dietrich Varez which hangs on the living room wall of our Maui Vista 2418 condo. It depicts the story of Maui slowing the sun.

Legend has it that Hina, the mother of the demi-god Maui, made kapa cloth from the bark of local trees.  But when she dyed the cloth in the morning the kapa would still be damp in the evening.  “The sun moves too quickly across the sky,” she cried.

In those days, from their Big Island home near Rainbow Falls not far from modern day Hilo, it was clear that the sun rested at night in the crater of Mount Haleakala for part of the year. So, upon hearing his mother’s lament, Maui took his canoe and traveled across the water and, while the sun was resting, climbed the 10,000 foot mountain and looked down on the sleeping sun.

As the sun stretched to begin its day, Maui lassoed it with a rope of twisted coconut fiber and held on tight. Maui demanded the sun move more slowly so his mother could dry her kapa cloth. Bargaining with Maui, the sun promised to slow its journey for half the year and move at its accustomed pace the other half.

Maui released the sun and returned to tell his mother the good news. Delighted, she made a new cape for her son and, thanks to the sun’s slower pace, it dried that very afternoon. Ever since, the warm days of Hawaiian summers have lingered several hours longer than the days we call winter in colder climates.

Thank you Maui!

Kula – a Drive in the (Up) Country

Posted on by Chris Murray

Looking West from the Kula Highway

Too much sun or just looking for something new to do? Consider a drive to Kula and through the Up Country on the western slope of Mount Haleakala. It’s shorter (and easier) than a drive to Hana. You won’t see any magnificant waterfalls or show-stopping marvels, but there are fabulous panoramic views and several places worth a visit. In the picture to the right you can see the Island of Kahoolawe, the cinder cone by Big Beach, and the tiny crescent of Molokini. Click on the photo to to enlarge. Farther to the right (outside the photo) is a great view of the West Maui Mountains, Maalaea Bay, the Island of Lanai and, if the clouds aren’t in the way, Molokai.

It’s not far from Kihei to Kula as the crow flies (or Oprah drives). But unless you’re a crow or have a key to Oprah’s private road, you have to go through Kahului before you head uphill. (See our post What’s Up with Oprah and Maui? if that’s confusing.) As you get to Kahului, head toward the airport then turn right onto the Hana Highway. Turn right again at the stoplight a few miles down and follow the signs to the Haleakala Highway. It starts getting interesting from Pukalani on. For this post, ignore the cutoff to Haleakala National Park, we’re staying on the Kula Highway.

While a trip to the Up Country is about the journey and not the destination, there are fun things to see and do as you drive the Kula Highway. Sadly, our favorite botanical garden, Enchanting Floral Gardens, closed at the end of 2011, another casualty of 9/11. (Long sad story.) Continue on to Keokea where you’ll find a small but lovely Catholic Church (especially inside), a small county park (with the only public restrooms in town), an art gallery and Grandma’s Coffee House. (See our Grandma’s Coffee House posting – you’ll want to stop for the locally grown fresh-roasted coffee, a snack, or a meal.)

View from Sun Yat-Sen Park with Kihei in the distance

Look for the Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Park between mileposts 18 and 19. It’s very small but it has a couple of cool statues, picnic tables, and a terrifc outlook. (Notice how close you are to Kihei in this photo!) The park grounds were donated by Ulupalakula Ranch and the improvements by the Sun Yat-Sen Foundation for Peace and Education. Often called “the father of modern China,” Sun Yat-Sen was a pre-communist revolutionary who lead the overthrow of the Quin Dynasty in 1911. A nice place to enjoy a picnic.

Past the park the road narrows and winds through pasture lands. The occasional house may be luxurious, ordinary, or “rustic.” The views, however, just don’t stop.

There’s not a lot of traffic on this road but people coming the other way may have been imbibing at the Tedeschi Winery where the samples are free or the Ulupalakua Ranch Store and Grill (where they’re not). I wouldn’t worry though – it’s probably more dangerous on South Kihei Road. And speaking of the Winery and the Ranch Store and Grill, that’s our next stop.

The Ulupalakua Store and Grill

The Ulupalakua Ranch and the Tedeschi Winery are well worth a visit. In the photo to the right, Kathy is making friends with some of the locals. I think they’re a little shy.The old guys sitting on the bench, and other solid country folk about the place, are a foretaste of what’s inside. There are the normal souvenirs, local arts and crafts, and so forth. But there are also old and sometimes odd things. One sign on the wall says “Bad decisions make for good stories.” A look around and a hamburger or sandwich from the grill won’t make a great story but it wouldn’t be a bad decision. You can eat there or take your food across the road to one of the picnic tables on the winery grounds.

Unlike a lot of wineries, tasting at the Tedeschi Winery is free. I’m not going to give a review here but if you like sweet wine (think pineapples), you may like what they have to offer. Suffice it to say, I’m not a fan of sweet wine. Like I said, it’s the journey, not the destination.

The small grounds around the tasting room are very nice with some amazing tree specimens. Check out this one!

If you drive the Kula Highway you get to do it twice. Unless you plan to keep on going you’ll eventually have to stop and turn around and the Ulupalakua Ranch and Winery are as good a place as any. The views are just as fine in the other direction.

There’s lots more to see and do on the roads above Kula – not the least Haleakala National Park – but I’ll save that for future posts.

Grandma’s Coffee House in Kula

Posted on by Chris Murray

Located at 9232 Kula Highway, Grandma’s is one of those destinations reached more by curiosity than intent. It’s past the cut-offs to Haleakala National Park and the Lavender Farm but before you get to the Tedeschi Winery and long before you get to Hana by the back way.

From the outside Grandma’s looks like a hole in the wall; but behind that humble facade is some of the best coffee and desserts you’ll find on Maui. In fact, Grandma’s coffee may be one of the best coffees anywhere. (Note: this is from a guy born and raised in Seattle where coffee is either an obsession or an addiction. I can still remember the first time I sipped fresh-roasted Jamaica Blue Mountain coffee on a trip to the Carribean 30 years ago. Grandma’s coffee is in the same class.) Since 1918, four generations of the same family have been growing, hand-picking, and roasting organic coffee on the slopes of Mt. Haleakala. They even have a few coffee plants growing next to their outdoor seating.

Grandma’s also serves breakfast and lunch. Once, when we were there with friends, there was live music in the outside seating area – a guy with a good guitar and nice voice. Another claim to fame is that Oprah has a home nearby and occassionally drops by. At least that’s what we were told. If I were you I wouldn’t go there just for the chance of seeing Oprah. I’d go there for the tiramisu. Check out this beauty. And how about that cool table?

Want to learn more about Grandma’s? You can even have some of their great coffee shipped to you on the mainland by visiting their website at http://www.grandmascoffee.com/homepage.html.

Perhaps a pound of Grandma’s coffee is too expensive for your taste. Fly to Maui (and stay at our condo!) At Grandma’s a latte or other coffee drink is no more expensive than at your local Starbucks. And believe me, those young ladies working at Grandma’s know how to pull an espresso!