Haleakala is fantastic, best is to go for the sunset. You have a better notion on how clear the weather is and you won't need to wake up ridiculously early - thought if you do because of the timezone, take a shot at it, you will then get plenty of daylight time to explore photo opportunities.
Regarding the road to Hana, personally, I much prefer the road AFTER Hana. You pass Hana and then go all the way throught the southeastern side of the island on the slope of Haleakala. There is seven pools, which is gorgeous, a red beach which is just... WOW. and it's just plain gorgeous. Car rental companies won't draw the road after Hana on their maps because it's partially a dirt road and has dips on creeks that are dry in winter but only 4x4 trespassable on summer, and you will be at your own risk. We've done it with a Ford Mondeo on January, so it's fine. It's worth it, one of the best things to do in Maui. I've been to Hawai'i many times but this is just gold. Check it out:
a beach right after Hana:
Dangerous by
Marcelo Colmenero, on Flickr
look at this crappy scan of a 12mm shot of this amazing place:
red sand beach by
Marcelo Colmenero, on Flickr
and a digital one with better color accuracy (some people go topless, so be advised):
Red cliff by
Marcelo Colmenero, on Flickr
unexpected hawaiians just chillin':
cattle by
Marcelo Colmenero, on Flickr
then you have seven pools, which in winter are not in their full glory, but it's still pretty nice:
7 pools by
Marcelo Colmenero, on Flickr
and the overall view of the way back through the southeast of the island:
7 pools by
Marcelo Colmenero, on Flickr
there is this small shop which is VERY photogenic but I totally missed the opportunity. next time I won't.
Also shot the Haleakala summit with an X100, did a fantastic job up there and in the whole trip, really.
🙂
Have you seen Jaws already? You gotta take a muddy dirt road which is fine, or just park outside and walk, it's impressive but unless you are into surf and have a 300mm+ lens you won't get many cool pics of the waves. But the path itself is pretty rad, locals use the high grass field to ditch stolen cars and general goods. Flipped burned cars, random stuff and a pig carcass said hello when I went there.
Using a 50mm lens on an R-D1 (75mm field of view):
Big surf at Jaws by
Marcelo Colmenero, on Flickr
and an x100:
cruisin' by
Marcelo Colmenero, on Flickr
the entrance:
crowded by
Marcelo Colmenero, on Flickr
the burnt cars:
sniff by
Marcelo Colmenero, on Flickr
in Paia, grab a bite at Paia Fish Market, awesome fish sandwiches! Sansei is great for sushi and general pacific rim goodies. Damn, I miss Li Hing Mui covered stuff. Have a kick ass trip
🙂
ps: most of my flickr photos are geotagged for travel tip giving purposes, hope it helps!
