Spotlight on Hawaii

MAGICAL MAUI

 There's no place like it!  No wonder they call Maui Amrica's Magic Isle.

 The Island's magic casts a spell on all who stay here for awhile.  Shaped like a woman, Maui is known as a nurturing place, "Mother Maui" – place to rest and heal the body mind and spirit.

 Although you see "Aloha State" on our license plates, Hawaii promotes itself as "The Health State" or "Health Capital of the World."  The best longevity statistics in the U.S. are no accident.  A hang-loose lifestyle, sun, sea breezes and clean air contribute to a population for whom healthy living are household words.

 We'd like to share that resource with you, our honored guest.  The following offers a kaleidoscope of activities and natural wonders that can invigorate the body and soul.

 On Maui you're free to do it all or do nothing at all.  For some, recharging the ol' battery consists of flopping at the water's edge like a somnolent seal, dozing contentedly as the gentle trade winds caress your face.  For others you haven't done Maui 'til you've snorkeled her reefs, hiked her trails, windsurfed her waters (Maui is the "Windsurfing Capital of the World"), biked Crater road, plumbed the depths in a submarine or video taped the waterfalls from a helicopter.

 From the summit of Haleakala, the world's largest dormant volcano, to the sparkling shores of Maui's many white sand beaches, you can enjoy countless outdoor activities along with shopping or dining at more than 200 island restaurants.

 Our Hawaii Visitors Bureau statistics show that 51% of all U.S. visitors go snorkeling or scuba diving.  This is Maui's most popular activity, with good reason.  A simple face mask opens a window on a new world of breathtaking splendor.  It's an interactive experience between man and fish, a reversion to our primal origins as creatures of the sea.

  Today cheaper pineapples from the Third World has forced Lanai to diversify into tourism.  Now the major employers for the island's population of approximately 2000 people are two five-star resorts where you can golf or luxuriate, isolated from modern life, cocooned in a time-warp that echoes the plantation life of a century ago.

 On your voyage to Lanai you'll see Maui's dramatic panorama of mountains and valleys accented by spontaneous prisms of glowing rainbows.  There's something special about experiencing Maui from the ocean.  Perhaps it calls forth an ancestral link to seafaring relatives or perhaps it's that sea air appetite that enhances the delicious foods they serve on board.

 A bonus for staying on Maui is having easy access to Lanai and Molokai.  These neighbor islands enjoy their own unique society and ambiance.   Molokai is the way Hawaii used to be:  mom and pop stores, farming, fishing, hunting.  Known as "The Friendly Isle," for its legendary hospitality, Molokai is accessible through flights from Kapalua and Kahului airports.  Ground tours are available including visits to Father Damien's mission at Kalaupapa. .

Maui's spectrum  activities and opportunities for adventure are unsurpassed.  Of course a good deal of time is spent at the pool or on the beach.  Our world class resorts are oases of fund and relaxation.  But venturing beyond the manicured lawns and organized comforts for a day brings a unique perspective of Maui.

 There are few day trips in the United States that can compare to Haleakala Volcano.  Haleakala (meaning "House of the Sun") is a vast eroded valley of volcanic rock formed 1 million years ago.  Eruptions as recent as 800 years ago created lava flows and cindercones that rise up to 1000 ft. off  the valley floor.

 Getting to Haleakala is an experience in itself.  Journey from cane fields to cowboy country, through proteas and jacarandas, onward to silverswords and space stations at the summit.  These movie-like transitions pluck chords within, orchestrating vivid memories to be recalled again and again back home.

 Haleakala Visitor Center at 9,745 ft. offers interesting exhibits and views of multi-hued cindercones reaching skyward, towering peaks embraced by silvery clouds and panoramas of the Big Island's snow-capped volcanoes, Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea.

 Haleakala road (Hwy. 378) holds the world record for climbing to the highest elevation in the shortest distance (38 miles).  Each year  there's a "Cycle to the Sun" race where athletes pedal for several hours uphill to the summit.

 However, there is an easier way to enjoy Mt. Haleakala, - the downhill bicycle cruise.  Descending the mountain you become one with the landscape.  A vista at every curve, new smells, old flashbacks.  This is the kind of hill you always dreamed about when you were a kid.  And up here age doesn't matter.  That feeling coming through the handlebars is the same as it was twenty, thirty even fifty years ago.  You don't have to be ahtletic; in fact you hardly have to pedal at all.  A van takes you above the clouds to the summit where you are given your bike and safety gear.  An expert tour leader cycles in front.  Or you can take a self-guided tour with pre-arranged safety tips and instruction that lets you feel confident to cruise at your own pace.

 Your starting point at the 10,023 ft. summit is part of Haleakala National Park, a 28,655 acre preserve that rivals Costa Rica and the Amazon in ecological splendor.

The park is home to nene geese, dark rumped petrels, mystical silverswords, over 70 species of rare endangered insects and species of exotic birds found only in Hawaii.

 Haleakala National Park ranges through 5 distinctly different climate zones.  Naked rocks of the subalpine summit blend into rainforests and rocky shores at Kipahulu.  Nowhere else could you find such a concentrated variety of ecosystems.

 Rainforests covering the windward north eastern slopes of Mt. Haleakala act as giant collectors for a 200 million-gallon a day Maui watershed.  But deep beneath the forest canopy lurks a devastating threat to the equilibrium of the ecosystem – pigs!

 The feral pig is the rainforest's worst enemy.  Highly prolific packs of wild pigs are ravaging the spongy mosses of the forest floor, rototilling rare plants, loosening the soil so it gets washed away in the heavy rain.  When the native plants disappear so do the insets that pollinate and feed on them.  Some insect and nectar eating birds are down to as few as a dozen specimens as it becomes harder and harder for them to find the blossoms, spiders and bugs they have thrived on for millennia.

 Fortunately the National Park Service, the State of Hawiai and The Nature Conservancy of Hawaii have recently invested millions of dollars in an ambitious fencing program that barricades the most precious rainforest areas against pigs.  In the nick of time many of Maui's bird, insect and plant species on the brink of extinction are being saved.

 There are 960 native plants in Hawaii, 91% of which are found nowhere else.  The rarer ones cling to life at higher elevations in Maui's pristine valleys where rainfall exceeds 200 inches a year.  The more inaccessible an area is to man or pig, the more rare plants and birds are present.  Mist-shrouded bogs, purple ponds and precipitous cliffs are home to obscure botanical wonders that are vital links in a delicately balanced evolutionary chain.

 Visitors can best appreciate Maui's biodiversity by soaring above the rainforests in a helicopter.  The mosaic of 'ohia, sandalwood and koa trees punctuated by roaring waterfalls is an unforgettable sight to behold.  Most helicopter companies will videotape your flight over the forests, capturing a bird's eye view of God's most beautiful creation, paradise on Earth.

 A helicoper tour will reveal America's ecological crown jewels.  You will be enriched by Nature's blessing.  Your Maui experience will be complete