On our fifth day in Maui, we woke up at 3am and left the cottage at 4am to drive up to the Haleakala Crater summit, in hopes of watching the famous sunrise which is said to be the most beautiful when seen from the volcano’s highest point at 10,023 feet. The drive took over an hour and a half, but we got there just in time for when the sun was scheduled to come up. It was freezing up there, but we bundled up and eagerly waited with cameras on hand.

View of the sunrise from the Haleakala Summit
View of the sun about to rise, from the Haleakala Summit

 

…and then came the most disappointing moment of the entire trip. It had looked like the sun was about to shine through the clouds and light up the valleys below, and then a massive fog came in and shrouded everything. It became dark, and we couldn’t see a thing.
 

We ended up not being able to see the sunrise because of the fog that shrouded over.
Darn you, fog!

 

You can see what happened in the time-lapse that Dan created, below.


 

We were really bummed, as this was supposed to be one of the biggest highlights of the trip and was one of the top attractions in Maui, probably second only to the Road to Hana. We found out afterwards that there was a hotline you could call the night before with a rating/forecast of how the sunrise would look the following morning. If only we’d known about it, we could have saved ourselves the early wakeup and long drive up and down the summit that had all been for naught.

At least we got some stunning views of the sunlit valleys of Maui on the drive down for the summit. I guess it wasn’t a complete waste of time…

View of the sunlit valleys of Maui on the drive down

 

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Clouds over Maui

 

We went back to the cottage to take a nap, and then drove over to Polo Beach, where we spent much of the afternoon.

View of Polo Beach

 

Ted throwing the frisbee at Polo Beach
Ted and Miwa throwing frisbees at Polo Beach

 

Dan and Kosei in the water.
Dan and Kosei in the water.

 

Mio asleep on the beach.
Mio taking her afternoon under the beach umbrella.

 

We then went back to Kihei, where we decided to challenge ourselves by trying the Fishpipe! It’s a giant rotating barrel ride with water in it, and you’re spun it for a spin cycle of 90 seconds. Up to three people can go in it, but after Dan and I tried it first together, we realized that you’re probably better off going solo in it.

The Fishpipe starts to spin...

 

Once one of us fell down, we tripped up the other, and every time we tried to get up afterwards, we’d get kicked down or tangled in the other’s limbs… it was a disaster. But a fun one!

 

Ted's turn. He did well at first, but eventually lost his balance. (Everyone did.)
Ted’s turn. He did well at first, but eventually lost his balance. (Everyone did.)

 

 

Kosei in the Fishpipe
Kosei in the Fishpipe

 

 

Run, Miwa, run!
Run, Miwa, run! She actually did the best out of all of us, and got up a couple times after falling.

 

 

Trying to get back up.

Dan went on it again, this time by himself.


 

All of us by the Fishpipe
All of us by the Fishpipe… it was quite an experience!

 

Afterwards, we got some shave ice at Local Boy Snack Shop, but sadly, it didn’t even come close to Ululani’s.

Ted is skeptical of how good it is...
Ted is skeptical of the shave ice.

 

Stay tuned for Day 6, on which we take on the Road to Hana and all its beautiful sights! 😀