Soaking up the sights of Maui

Think we've been pretty lucky since being here in Maui.  Thanks to our friend, Tracey, we've have had the insider's 'local' guide to this pretty little island- and it makes the experience a heck of a lot more fun (we are not ones for following the touristy track!).  She has pointed us in the right direction of good adventures, and generously supplied us with the essential toys to go there - surfboards, boogie boards, snorkelling gear - what a gem!  Having explored some of the more touristy parts of town, I think we are definitely in the best spot - the true Maui - the place where real Mauians hang out.  Paia is very chic, is full of organic stores, roadside vege stalls, funky clothing stores, tropical fruit markets and dreadlocked chillin' hippies hanging out on the beach srumming on the guitar (and the air smells pretty sweet too haha).  It has a mix of kick-arse intense beaches with massive waves (Ho'okipa Bay - not for the faint hearted), and reef-protected sandy coves that are good for a dip.  And the weather is superb!  We both like it here.
So we did our Haleakala Volcano adventure a few days ago - and it was awesome!  The crater contains 3 basic huts which you can book online, but they are very popular & are hard to get hold of.  We were fortunate, as there was 1 hut available, on 1 day during our trip here - so snapped it up pronto!  The skies were clear blue on our hike in to the crater - was about a 3000 foot descent to the hut, and took us around 4 hours or so.  Beautiful terrain, and very reminiscent of Mt Ruapehu in NZ.  The hut was basic, but had heaps of room, with 12 bunk beds and its own kitchen.  Was nestled away in the far corner of the crater, where it gets a bit more rain, and is definitely lusher.  We had some company in the form of Nene's....the Hawaiian Goose, which is endemic to the islands, and is dangerously on the verge of extinction. 

Apparently there's only 600 left in the world.  So we were pleased to have them quacking away on our doorstep.
Had a 5 hour hike to get out of the crater on Wednesday, which was a challenge for the old blisters and weary legs (we're not used to hiking with a pack!), but was totally worth it, as we passed some colourful volcanic 'pupu's' which are the smaller cone craters on the basin floor and lots of gnarled/sharp volcanic lava rock.  So back to the station wagon hire car (Frank's Friendly Cars - only $25 a day, what a

bargain), and 35 miles downhill all the way back to Paia to 30 degree heat and glorious sunshine. 
The past few days have been all about the ocean.  We are on the island mecca of watersports, so gotta get out there and do it!  We found a mint spot for snorkelling down near La Perouse Bay, which had a small cove called Ahihi.  Huge parrot fish, angel fish, colourful coral and even saw a huge turtle - maybe 3/4 metre long?  Was a perfect place for snorkelling as the coral was relatively untouched, unlike many other spots, and the fish were plentiful & the water was clear.  Also tried surfing again, a couple of times.  Managed to stand up for at least 5 seconds on 1 attempt which I was pretty proud of, and Brent of course, had a good few runs too.  I fell off pretty badly yesterday though (I am pretty un-co on these surfboards aye!), and managed to knock my knee in the tumbling wave, so have got a nice bruise, which is a bit sore but shouldn't keep me out of the water for too long!  Hopefully will be back in to it in a few days.
Visited Lahaina yesterday which is the bustling port town on the other side of the island.  Heaps of tourists here - soooo, this is where they've

all been hiding!!  We have clearly been totally oblivious to the number of tourists on the island!  Lahaina used to be the capital of Hawaii before Honolulu, so it has some historical buildings, etc, and also the biggest Banyan Tree in Nth America....very impressive actually, despite the tourists all around it - was like 10 trees all together, holding hands (branches) in a circle. But was actually just 1 tree.  Had ourselves a posh lunch in a beachside cafe, whilist watching the turtles swim by, and then headed back to Paia.  Went out for a lovely dinner last night too, at Tracey's place, along with a dude called Shaun - another Maui water baby who is in to all watersports imaginable!  You can see how the lifestyle here is so appealing.  However Maui definitely has its undercurrent of 'issues' as well, which we've been learning about on the way - eg, the conflict between 'locals' (i.e. immigrants) and native Hawaiians....and also drugs are an issue here...and the unemployment (lots of people just hanging out) - so it may be an island paradise in many ways, but it still has its problems, like everywhere I guess.
Today we are just relaxing (well I am anyway thanks to busted knee, Brent is in fact out on a bike ride right now!) - went to the local market this morning and actually bought some souvenir type stuff!  Needless to say, we have avoided buying things along the way, as we just haven't had space, and it's a pain to carry them around with us, but now we are approaching the end of our trip, methinks it's time to spend up!  (well, a little bit anyway, haha, I never was much of a shopper)  Also bought some local tropical fruit, which we are just loving!  They have yellow passion fruit here called lillikoi, which is delish, as is their papaya, star fruit, mango, and sweet bananas.  Bought some red bananas today which are meant to be good when fried up.  And also an unusual looking persimmon - green and yellow in colour.  We'll see what that's like! 
Going to Hana tomorrow which is on the east side of the island, and will probably camp over there as well, next to the beach. 
Tiime to go, aloha from Brent and Em x
PS wishing all the best in recovery to Christine too!  Thinking of you lots! Take care