Hawaii - Jeff Campbell [283]
The wide beach, backed by swaying palms and flowering morning glory, is also ideal for strolling. It is about a 15-minute walk south to Pu′u Keka′a or a 20-minute walk north to Honokowai Point.
To get to the beach from the Honoapi′ilani Hwy, turn seaward about 0.2 miles north of the 25-mile marker onto Kai Ala Dr, then bear right.
WHALERS VILLAGE MUSEUM
Don’t let the shopping center location fool you. This whaling museum ( 661-5992; Level 3, Whalers Village, 2345 Ka′anapali Pkwy; admission free; 10am-6pm) is one of the finest anywhere. Authentic period photographs, whaling ship logs and detailed interpretive boards sound the depths of whaling history. It’s all rounded out with exhibits of harpoons, whale jawbones and a wild array of scrimshaw.
The character of the 19th-century whalers comes through, giving you a feel for how rough and dirty the work really was. Wages were so low that sailors sometimes owed the ship money by the time they got home and had to sign up for another four-year stint just to pay off the debt. No wonder so many jumped ship when they reached Maui!
When you’re done, walk out to the front entrance of the shopping center to find a full-size sperm whale skeleton on display.
KA′ANAPALI BEACH WALK
Bask in the sunny beach scene on this mile-long walk that runs between the Hyatt Regency Maui Resort & Spa and the Sheraton Maui, the lavish hotels that anchor the ends of Ka′anapali Beach. In addition to all the action on the beach, both the Hyatt and the Westin Maui Resort & Spa are worth a detour for their dazzling garden statuary and landscaping replete with free-form pools, rushing waterfalls and swan ponds. A walk through the Hyatt’s rambling lobbies is a bit like museum browsing – the walls hang with everything from heirloom Hawaiian quilts to meditative Buddhas and Papua New Guinea war shields.
At the southern end of the walk the graceful 17ft-high bronze sculpture The Acrobats, by Australian John Robinson, makes a dramatic silhouette against the sunset. If you walk along the beach in the early evening, you’ll often be treated to entertainment, most notably from the beachside restaurants at Whalers Village and from the Hyatt, which holds its luau on the oceanfront.
Activities
AT SEA
Dig-Me Beach Activity Center ( 661-5552; Whalers Village, 2345 Ka′anapali Pkwy; snorkel sets & boogie boards per hr/day $5/12; 8am-5pm), on the beach fronting the shopping center, has the best prices on beach gear rentals and arranges all manner of water activities.
Teralani Sailing ( 661-1230; www.teralani.net; Whalers Village, 2345 Ka′anapali Pkwy; outings $59-99; vary) offers a variety of catamaran sails from Ka′anapali Beach, including morning snorkel sails, sunset sails and whale watch outings. No matter what sail you take you can expect a helpful crew, free drinks and tasty munchies.
The pros at Trilogy Ocean Sports ( 661-7789; Ka′anapali Beach Walk; 8am-5pm), in a beach hut in front of the Ka′anapali Beach Hotel, can get you riding a board with a two-hour surfing lesson ($70) and rent snorkel sets and bodyboards for $15 a day.
If you’ve never been diving before, Ka′anapali Dive Company ( 661-4622; www.kaanapalidiveco.com; Westin Maui Resort & Spa; introductory dive $89; 9am-5pm) are the people you want to see. Their introductory dive begins with instruction in a pool and ends with a guided dive from the beach.
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SPIRITS LEAP
In Hawaiian lore, Pu′u Keka′a (Black Rock), the westernmost point of Maui, is thought to be a place where the spirits of the dead leap into the unknown to be carried back to their ancestral homeland.
The rock is said to have been created during a scuffle between the demigod Maui and a commoner who questioned Maui’s superiority. Maui chased the man to this point, then froze his body into stone and cast his soul