Early last year, my wife and I spent a week exploring the island of Maui in Hawaii with friends. Our friends had been there before and suggested that we drive up to Haleakalah National Park to watch the sunset one evening. Haleakalah is a dormant volcano on Maui that tops out at over 10,000 feet or 3,000 meters.
Don't underestimate the change in elevation from sea level. Haleakalah means "House of the Sun" in Hawaiian and you definitely will feel closer to the sun when you get there. To go that high in such a short amount of time can give you a little headache and can leave you a little short of breath walking around on the peak.
We were staying in Kaanapali, which is about 2 1/2 hours away to get to the peak in the park. It was well worth the drive. We were told it is the highest elevation change in the fewest miles in the U.S. It is quite a curvy steep drive going up and down. Gear down when coming down to make sure your brakes don't overheat.
We stopped at the ranger station at the park entrance to look at the displays and take a bathroom break after our long drive. At the ranger station, we learned that from sea level, the drive takes you through a large number of ecosystems from sea level tropical rainforests all to the way to a volcanic cinder desert at the top. Below is a shot out the window of the car as we got above cloud level on the drive up to the peak.
Don't underestimate the change in temperature you will experience. We were in shorts and flip flops in the resort, but at Haleakalah's peak the temperature dropped down into the high 30s after the sun set. You can expect about a 32 degree Fahrenheit drop from whatever temperature it is at sea level. We had packed some fleece and down vests for our trip and we used our golf gloves to keep our hands warm. There's a little park office next to the viewing rail into the crater. If it is open, you can always go in there to get out of the wind and cold.
With all the warnings out of the way, it is well worth the long slow drive to the top. We planned our timing so that we would have a chance to wander around and see the crater before sunset. The crater has a wide variety of colored lava formations in it. We didn't have time to walk down into the crater, but there is a trail that takes you down. But what goes down, must come up, so be prepared with water and some in shape quadriceps if you are going to try to hike in and out.
As we waited for the sun to set, the moon started to rise over the crater.
As we were standing there looking into the crater, a cloud bank rolled into the crater in a matter of minutes. It was really quite surreal watching this happen from above the cloud level. I'd hate to be down in the crater if a cloud rolled in. That could make the temperature drop quickly.
After hiking around for about 45 minutes taking pictures of the crater, it was time for the main event. You'll need to turn around from the crater, go across the parking lot and find a good spot across the entrance road to watch the sunset. There were a lot of people so you need to set up early if you are going to get some unobstructed views and photos.
This was the moment we made the long drive for, to watch the sun sink into the clouds at about 8,000 feet above sea level. As it sank into the clouds, it almost looked like it was dropping into a churning ocean.
After sunset I took a couple of shots of the observatory that sits on the peak above where we were set up. It would be cool to go back and tour that facility.
After the sun sets, the crowd disperses pretty quickly, but I caught a photo of a straggler silhouetted against the remaining glow of the horizon.
At this point, we had been on the road for a month traveling to New Zealand, Australia, and then Hawaii. This trip to Haleakalah was certainly the highlight of our trip to Hawaii and may have been one of the most beautiful travel experiences I've ever had.
