Gigi Travels

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Gigi Travels

• Maui July 2008

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• Hi, Im Gigi Giraffe, Mrs. McKays traveling
  class mascot. I saw, did and learned a lot of
  things in Hawaii. On Maui they planted a redwood
  forest about 90 years ago to fix a problem caused
  by cattle grazing. Even though they arent very
  big, compared to those here in California, they
  are over 2 feet in diameter and 100 feet tall.
  Redwoods (and Giraffes) in Hawaii, wow!

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• Did you know that even though Mt. Haleakala is
  only 10,023 feet above sea level, if you measured
  it from its base on the ocean floor it is more
  than 900 feet taller than Mt. Everest? Its
  true.

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• This is an endangered plant, called the silver
  sword, that only grows near the top of this
  mountain. When the sun hits it just right the
  leaves do look silver.

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• Heres a picture of me in front of the
  Haleakala observatory. Because of the high
  elevation and remote location they have little
  light pollution and great visibility.

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For a lot of my travels, I hitched a ride in Mrs.
McKays hydration pack. We hiked a couple of
miles across a lava field full of neat rocks to
go snorkeling.
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• We went along 30-foot high cliffs with waves
  pounding at their base to get to a black sand
  beach in progress. There was some good
  snorkeling once you got past the surf.

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• The upper part of the beach and under the rocks
  is black sand but at the shoreline the waves are
  still grinding these rocks against each other
  slowly eroding them into sand.

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• We stopped to see the Nakalele Blowhole. It was
  awesome! The waves go into a sea cave and when
  they hit the end the water shoots up out of a
  hole in the top of the sea cave.

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• There were some waterfalls to see and natural
  pools to swim in on the wet side of the island
  but many of the falls can only be seen in the
  rainy season because they divert the water from
  most of the rivers to use on the dry side of the
  island for farming and hotels.

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• We visited the Iao Needle, thats it right behind
  me in front of the clouds. This is the site of
  the bloodiest battle in Hawaiian history. Over a
  thousand warriors were killed in one day with so
  much blood shed that the river below flowed red.

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• While I didnt try it, Mrs. McKay did learn to
  surf (and she thinks I have a hard time standing
  up). If you are going to go there, learn to surf
  and wind surf early in your visit because the
  wind comes up in the afternoons and makes it hard
  to snorkel or enjoy the beach except in the
  mornings.

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• We also drove the long, narrow, winding road to
  Hana, stopped at a red sand beach and another
  black sand beach and one morning I had time to
  just relax and work on my tan while Mrs. McKay
  went swimming.

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Aloha!