Before I tell you about how we did the Hawaii trip, I have to tell you why we did it.
My son loves cats. He is a cat fanatic. During one of our “let’s watch cute cat videos” sessions we came across a video from Lanai Cat Sanctuary, an amazing cat rescue organization from Lanai island. What the video showed was a crazy cat lady’s (or gentleman’s) paradise set in the actual paradise like setting where you can hang out with literally hundreds of happy cats. And my than 11yo wanted to go. Since Hawaii was not in my travel list due to distance and financial considerations, I told my son that if he really wants to go he needs to pay for his airfare, and I will cover the rest. We checked the price of the tickets, and it came up to about 600$ a person. I was pretty sure that either he will not be able to come up with the money or he will forget about the idea. I was wrong on both accounts.
Now let me clarify, my kid does not get an allowance. He earns some money from grandparents when her gets a full honor roll report card, and in the summer time he runs a booth selling baked goods at the farmers market (he bakes, I drive and supervise). My son also likes to spend, sometimes a lot for his age. But for over a year his mantra became “do I want this or do I want to go to Hawaii to see the cats?” Cats were winning. And I had to come up with a plan to cover the rest of the trip, quickly realizing it will cost over double what we would normally spend on vacation.
I obsessively searched Pinterest over and over again for ideas. We didn’t want to be just in Hawaii, we wanted to experience Hawaii. I’m not exactly sure at what point it clicked with me: CAMPING! It’s close to the nature, economical and mobile. After talking to my husband and son regarding their position on sleeping on the ground for 8 nights and securing their agreement to this crazy plan, I went ahead with moving in that direction.
Although the purpose of the trip was to see the cat sanctuary on Lanai, we decided to make Maui our home base and do a day trip to Lanai as there is a ferry going between the two islands multiple times a day. I made a list of other activities we wanted to do, which included the road to Hana, Haleakala national park, seeing the Haleakala volcano itself, snorkeling, luau, and of course seeing the cats and exploring Lanai island.
Remembering my nauseating experience of traveling to Hana during our honeymoon (I used to get motion sickness very bad), I decided we will stay in Hana area for two nights to have more time to explore the black sand beach and hike in the National Park. The rest of our time we were going to spent at a private campground Camp Olowalu as it offered a good location and nice bathrooms with showers. We decided to stay at the motel first and last night of the trip as we were planning a Haleakala sunrise tour the day after we arrived, and I didn’t want to wake up at the crack of dawn to pack all the gear the day of flight back. The next quest was to decide on transportation, gear, and how to get it all to the islands on a budget.
Maui has multiple rental companies that rent everything you can possibly need for camping. However when we ran the numbers for 3 people adding it to camping fees, it turned out to be about as much as a hotel room beating the moneysaving purpose of the whole enterprise. So I came up with the next level crazy idea of bringing everything we need with us from Montana to Hawaii and back. At this point my husband and couple of friends who knew what I was up to thought I lost my mind completely, but here is the plan I followed.
We were flying Southwest Airlines, which allowed 2 check-in items per person up to 50lbs each. In addition to our normal luggage, which is usually 2 bags, we brought the largest duffel bag allowed by airline regulations and a cooler. Yes, we got weird looks at the airport, but after all the weird I saw flying over the years I really didn’t care.
Duffle bag contained:
- 3 self inflatable sleeping pads
- A sleeping bag for two and additional sleeping bag for our son. After the trip I can honestly say you don’t needs sleeping bags because it’s really warm even in February, even when it rains like crazy. We would have been just fine with camping blankets that pack down to the size of a rolled up dawn jackets.
- A 6 person tent. Now that sounds like an overkill, but my reasoning was that we will not just sleeping in the tent for a night or two, we will be living in it for 8 days. I was right in bringing the larger tent because couple of night when it was raining really bad we were comfortable inside making dinner and playing card games.
- A small lantern and couple head lamps
- A long nylon rope
- A collapsible bucket
- Small hatchet
- Beach towels
- 3 full face snorkeling masks
- A picnic blanket
All this stuff came up just under 50lbs.
Next came the cooler. Knowing how hot is can get in Hawaii was the main reason I wanted to bring my own quality cooler. The bear resistant closure system also insured it was securely locked during transport. Here is what we stuffed in the cooler:
- 3 plates and 3 bowls from camping dish set
- My trusting camping cooking utensils set
- Set of collapsible pots and pans
- Backpacking stove
- 3 oz bottles of dishwasher liquid and cooking oil
- Salt and pepper shakers
- Cloth pins
- Paper towels
- Wet wipes
- Dollar store rolls of cling wrap, foil and trash bags
- Travel mugs
- Couple collapsible storage bins to organize groceries
All we had left to buy on site was pillows, gas canisters for the stove and groceries. At the end of our trip we donated pillows, fuel and extra supplies left to the local folks who camp out of necessity rather than recreationally, so nothing went to waste.
Because of all the gear and extra luggage, we needed to rent an SUV. Renting a car at Hawaii is already expensive, so getting a larger vehicle was going to be a challenge. After doing some research we found Go Rent a Car Maui, and this is my go to rental place whenever we decide to go back to the island. This company rents out older fleet of cars, which costs about 50% less than any other place. They are locally owned, provide amazing service, clean well maintained cars, and you can’t beat the price. We ended up with Subaru Tribeca that was about 8-9 years old, and the only way you could tell is by lack of fancy electronics we normally don’t use anyways as I prefer navigation in my phone.
Now to the camping itself
Our first stop was at Wainapanapa state park, just a few miles away from Hana. You have to make reservations in advance and print your reservation. I can’t stress this enough. The space is very limited and rangers do come and check your paperwork. I read stories of people being kicked out. Another advice – come early. There are no pre-designated spots. Essentially you are trying to get a piece of real estate on the large lawn. Keep in mind that it’s almost a 100% guarantee that it will rain in that area. And by rain I don’t mean a little drizzle. Imagine standing under high pressure shower for hours. That should give you a more or less accurate idea. With that in mind, choose your tent site accordingly and away from any areas with dips and down the hill. Third point: there is just a handful of picnic tables and chances are you are not going to get one. I didn’t mind, that’s what our waterproof picnic blanket was for. And the big bonus I found – they had outdoor rinsing stations. Not a full shower, but definitely an upgrade over washing with baby wipes.
After we were done exploring the area, we headed back to civilization at Camp Olowalu. This private campsite is absolutely out of this world. They provide tent sites, camper van sites, tentalows and cabins. The tent sites have the best location right at the shoreline. They are predesignated, there are grills, picnic tables, and their shower/bathroom facilities are heavenly. There are several common areas with fire pits and gazebos as well.
Camp Olowalu sits right outside Maalaea bay. It’s a prime location for snorkeling, whale watching and swimming. The water is calm and clear and provides large shallow area for little ones. There is a place that provides kayak and paddle board rentals among other things. There is a store, a restaurant, and a huge fruit stand right across the road. Lahaina is just 15 min or so away, Maalaea and Kihei about 20 min in the opposite direction.
Hawaii food deserves its own separate post, but here is a brief overview of food as it pertains to camping: give yourself a chance to eat different, strange and flat out weird food. Road to Hana now has several stops with food trucks and stands selling any imaginable deliciousness. Hana itself has 2 locations with permanently fixed food trucks and a small grocery store that sells several kinds of poke that was delightful. We bought numerous exotic snacks and beverages. Local fruits is like nothing you’ve ever tasted. Keep your eyes and your mind opened, and you will have an incredible culinary experience in Hawaii without ever setting foot at a sit down restaurant and footing a $100+ bill.
To sum this whole thing up – don’t be afraid to go off traditional route. While pulling off this trip required extra prep, the experience we had was completely unique and more Hawaii than what we would have gotten staying in a traditional resort setting. That extra effort is worth it and is much easier than it looks. Stay creative and happy travels!
Perfect Imperfections 