Molokai, Whales and Car Insurance

Today, Gaby and Richard treated Jessi and I to a trip over to the island of Moloka'i. We drove to Lahaina at 6:00am to catch the ferry over. Jessi woke up with a migraine so I was really worried about here but she doped herself up and pulled through like the trooper she is! The ferry trip was excellent. It was an hour and a half ride but we got to see several whales close up!

When we got to the island we took a shuttle van to the Moloka'i Hotel where we picked up our car. Although I signed on as a second driver, Richard drove the whole time. The car was a bit beat-up (they all are on Moloka'i) so we almost blended in as locals.

We drove west to our first stop: the lookout that looks out over the old Leper colony. We took a path down through an impressive Eucalyptus forest to the edge of a giant sea cliff. Moloka'i has some of the worlds tallest sea cliffs. We couldn't really see them from our vantage point but we were standing on one! The view was awe-inspiring and the story heart-wrenching. Hawaiian Lepers were exiled to this little colony which was cut off from the rest of the island by near-impassable cliffs (you need to fly in or take a donkey ride down a steep trail). They didn't even land the boats, they just tossed the lepers overboard and let them swim for it. The lepers were mistreated by most until a cure was found (mid 1900's I think).

We stopped for groceries in the main town and headed east on the only highway on Molokai'i. The views were spectacular. The road was lined with fishponds and sandy beaches. We stopped at one beach where Jessi made some canine friends!

The road climbed up into the foothills and then down into the Halawa valley where we stopped. A river comes down from the foot of a huge waterfall (we could only see it for a few seconds from the road) and then winds through the valley until it meets the ocean. A neat little place and another of Hawaii's many diverse biospheres.

We returned the rental car and caught the ferry back. We saw more whales on the way back. Gaby and Jessi said they saw a few whales breaching but I missed it. The sun set over Lana'i (another island) while we docked in Lahaina. We wanted to have dinner in Lahaina so we stopped by my car to drop off our bags. We were dismayed to find a scratch on the front bumper! ARGH.. Only a few days left in the vacation and the car gets scratched. The good news is that my insurrance will cover it (completely) so I don't have to worry about anything.

Because it was Boat Day in Lahaina the town was full of people fresh off the cruise ships. We couldn't find a restaurant with less than a one hour wait so we decided to drive over to Ma'alea. Our first choice restaurant "Seascapes" was closed for a private function so we head over to Ted and Adam's The Place. Jessi and I had stopped there before. The food was great and the service was excellent.

Now us weary travellers must head to bed... Here's a video of the Trip to Moloka'i.