Maui, Hawaii, USA

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This photo is taken at the top of the Haleakala Crater

This was the main part of our honeymoon and what a brilliant island it is. When we first booked our trip of San Francisco-Hawaii- Los Angeles I thought Hawaii would be purely sitting by the pool with the other cities being the activities and sightseeing. Hawaii obviously is beautiful with idylic white sands, clear blue seas and glorious sunshine but there is also so much to do.

Yes we spent a lot of time, sitting by the pool, drinking cocktails and swimming but some of the sightseeing is brilliant. Snokelling as you might expect is ace as your catamaran skims beside spinner dolphins en-route before you have the opportunity to swim with turtles, eels, octopus and other multi-coloured fish that make you feel like your in Finding Nemo.

Three things you also have to do are as follows:

Haleakala Crater: Haleakala means House of the Rising Sun and for very good reason, as this dormant volcano is one of the world's best places to see the sun rise in the morning. It's a brutally early start but well worth it. Sunrise was to be at 5.40am on the day we went which meant leaving our hotel Ka'anapali at 2 am, driving to the top of the crater for just before 5 when the crowds start to arrive. The sky slowly begins to lighten and your surroundings become a little clearer, the expanses of volcanic rock and their distinctive looks and feel under foot as you understand why they used to come up here to simulate walking on the moon. The sun then begins to peak over the clouds and slowly rises, bathing the crater and sky in light. A fantastic experience and all the better for knowing you had to get up really early and withstand the cold at 5 am for a truly wonderful sight.
At 10,023 feet it's also apparently the highest altitude gain in the shortest distance in the world.

The Road To Hana: 600 turns and about 75 single lane bridges over 38 miles, the road to Hana is an experience, and one you probably relish more once you're finnished as the turns are usually on the edges of sheer cliffs. Coming down off Haleakala to Kahalui where Maui's main airport is, we took on the Road to Hana in our trusty jeep. The road takes you along the edge of Maui to the little town of Hana and along the way you pass some amazing sights such as lush jungles, black lava beaches, red sand beaches and waterfalls. There are so many palces to stop for either a swim or a photo that the 38 miles journey easily takes about 5 hours to do one-way.

Lahaina: A little village just down from Ka'anapali which is full of history and looks a little like what I'd expect New Orleans to look like. Maui used to be really big for sugar cane plantations until they ripped up the Ka'anapali area and offered it out for hotels and beach resorts. Lahaina was the centre and you can still take a trip on the Sugar Cane Train into Lahaina which actually goes slower than if you were to walk but is great fun. A mixture of old traditional and new trendy shops leads down the main street to Banyan Tree Square where a massive Banyan Tree with multiple trunks and roots stands proudly. Lahaina also has a Hard Rock cafe which has a little set of Tiki rockers, which is cool by anyone's standards.

994 still to see

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