For years I imagined the real Maui was what I had experienced at a hotel on the “touristy” side of the island. Everybody is always happy, greeting everyone they pass with a warm smile and aloha. The rooms are clean and the only sign of critters are the sweet little geckos scurrying around. It’s paradise!
Koki Beach
The grounds of the Travaasa Hana Hotel
But paradise, we found out years later, is all smoke and mirrors. The resorts and hotels are devoid of critters because they are “taken care of” before you check in. We found this out when we rented a cottage on the other side of the island. One evening I was outside playing with the cats when I noticed the grass moving. I looked closer and noticed dozens of beetles scuttling about. We would get up in the mornings, walk out on the lanai or through the treed areas and quickly be wrapped up in cob webs. There are tons of spiders in paradise.
Hammerhead worm
Grasshopper
Garden spider
Camponotus habereri
The paradisiacal image I had in my head vanished. This was the real Maui. It’s beautiful, but different.
It’s like when you first discover your parents aren’t perfect: you don’t love them any less. And the same was true for us and Maui.
Passion fruit flower
A view of the ocean from Kipahulu
Three years after this realization, we’re back on Maui, care-taking two properties and pet sitting a dog, 3 cats and 74 chickens for one month in Hana. One week in, and we have been woken up by a cockroach scratching the bamboo mat next to our bed — the thing was so big it cast a shadow. We also have had to dispose of a dead rat killed by the cat, and deal with fruit flies; so many fruit flies.
Petsitting for the month
Type of gecko
Bird of Paradise
Sunrise from Kipahulu
Venus pool
But for all the creepy crawlies and rodents, there are an infinite amount of wonderful things to experience and discover. There’s nothing like eating fruit fresh off of the trees, smelling the gardenia and plumeria perfumed breeze, swimming in the ocean, and rainbows at every turn.
There is a different, less-perfect side of Maui. But it’s still paradise.
What a great essay, and it’s quite true paradise, and even happiness is just a state of mind. I think it also brings up a great point to why it’s sometimes nice to go back to a place you’ve traveled to before – there’ll always be something new or different you never noticed on that first trip.
That’s so true.
I would certainly put up with a few bugs and the likes for those views. So beautiful! I’m adding this onto our bucketlist of places to visit, thank you for sharing!
How did you go about renting a cottage there?
Thanks
I can’t remember how we first found the cottage. This time we’re caretaking the same cottage that we rented back then. It’s anyashouse.com but if you google Hana cottage rentals, you will find that a lot of people have accommodations for rent. Some more expensive than others so you can always find something to fit your budget. If you’re not too picky and want something on the cheap, a lot of farms hire people to work a bit and they provide accommodations and some food.
pictures are great and i really like these pictures..
That passion fruit flower is incredible!
I agree they are so intricate and beautiful.
Thanks you nice pictures.
thank you, glad you enjoyed them.
Beautiful pictures. May I ask, where and how much did you pay for your accommodation there? I am checking some hotels on https://reservationcounter.com/ and the options are overwhelming.
We were house sitting so no cost. there are a lot of accommodations available from luxury hotels to renting out a room in someone’s home. it all depends what your budget is and what your requirements are.