Rainbow over Spreckelsville beach

I will always remember Kanaha as the place where I first played with waves way above my head on my kiteboard. It is such an amazing rush, very rarely have I been in the flow for such long periods of time (I was out every day for 2-3 hours). Jumping across large breaking waves feels like flying above the sea, carving bottom turns and off-the-lips just on the edge of the breaking curl feels so like the most playful way of kissing the ocean. The Hookipa for kiters is Lanes, a hideous spot just to leeward, which goes off once you have made it out. One issue – besides the mountains of white water waiting to wash you onto the reef – is that to get into the water you need to launch on a small beach and then walk across approx. 50 m of sharp reef just to get into the water. The great thing is that this keeps the number of kiters to usually below ten, with our friend Marc Coslett being one of the guys who charges out there with big turns and kiteloops in the waves. Gerry and Gesine need lots of practice before heading out into these waves. Here is a suboptimal shot of it, but it gives you an impression of scale.

Maui's kitespot for real men: Lanes

We feel a strong bond to this island and we shall return. Here are some impressions from our last days on our favourite beaches.

Baby Baldwin beach pool - great place for the kids to swim as the reef completely blocks the waves

watching the sunset at Big Beach in Wailea

Among the early settler were the Portuguese who also introduced the Ukulele - here is one of their monuments in a multicultural park which also features Chinese, Japanese and Polynesian shrines

Robinson in Kanaha

late breakthrough of the sun at Wailea's Big Beach on the Southwest coast

good bye Maui

Kahu is a man at peace within himself and a man who helps others find peace. Born Kapi’ioho’okalani Lyons Naone, he was trained since six years old in the ancient Hawaiian traditions to be a healing practitioner and teacher in Hawaiian spirituality, physical healing, conflict resolution, ancient warrior arts, rituals and protocol.

Why go to Kahu?
– Find peace within yourself, with everything around you and with others
– Reconnect with the center of the universe and all natural things
– Finding “human truth”
– Strengthen your “mana” (spiritual power)
– “spiritual perfection” for yourself

I have had the unique opportunity to be with him on his sacred land “Kipahulu” on Maui for 10 days.

Kahu and his wife Liana invite specially selected students from around the world to come to study, receive healing sessions or just spend peaceful time with them. Very rarely will he leave this spiritual place, and only to visit other spiritual places, teach or conduct spiritual healing sessions.

When people think of HAWAI’I, they reflect on the warm climate, beautiful beaches, rain forests and friendly local people. More simply put, they think Hawai’i is what paradise should be like.

To Maoli (Hawaiians), Hawai’i is where the “HA” (spiritual breath/energy), the “WAI” (water, the symbol of physical life), and the “I” (spirit and guidance of the ancestors), come together to create “Aloha” perfection in love, harmony, and peace). HAWAI’I is their ancestral home.

But to Kahu, and other Huna practitioners, Hawai’iis not just the paradise around you, or the place that all the spiritual powers gather. It is the “HA”, the “WAI” and the “I” that gathers within you that gives you perfection in loved, harmony and peace.

We practiced the rituals and protocols and Kahu Naone opened up to us his endless wisdom about Hawaii: from spirituality to family life, from nature to healing, from peace inside to peace in the world. We have had also the honour to visit some of his most sacred places.

For me it was a journey to myself, where I could discover new dimensions of being.

I shared this unique experience with wonderful people and I am deeply touched by the wisdom, unconditional love and humor of Kahu Naone.

Beautiful morning sunrise from my window (in the tent)

We take from Paia the twisting road to “heavenly Hana” where the likes of George Harrison, Kris Kristofferson, and Jim Nabors have settled.

We pass perhaps the most spectacular seaside cliffs in Hawaii, weaving along the coast, dipping down through green-ferned valleys, and crossing ravines with waterfalls plunging to the lava-formed coast.

Hamoa Beach
One of the most picturesque beaches in Hawaii, 2.5 miles past Hana town on the way to Kipahulu. Take the road on the left to Hamoa about 1.5 miles. Park along the road and walk down the steps to this small cove beach surrounded by sea cliffs with native vegetation. The beach property is owned by the Hotel Hana-Maui Resort, and most of the facilities are for the guests. The Resort allows the public to use the rest rooms, showers and picnic tables.

Just next to the seven sacred pools was the delicious Laulima Farm:
Laulima grows a diverse variety of crops, like breadfruit, coffee, sugar cane, lilikoi, herbs, and unusual tropicals like ice cream bean. The stand sells pressed-to-order cane juice, coffee drinks made from their own beans and sweetened with cane juice, and delicious baked goods made from their fruit. If you want a smoothie, they put the fresh papaya and coconut juice in a blender and you ride the bike…

Charles Lindberg’s grave
Approx. 11 miles past Hana a narrow road leads to a plateau with an old church Palapala Ho’omau (1857) and a small cemetery. This is the resting place of the legendary aviator Charles Lindbergh. He died on August 26, 1974 and was buried in a small ceremony, which he planned for himself in his final days. He asked to be laid to rest barefoot in his khaki work clothes.

Lindbergh was introduced to Maui by his friend Sam Pryor. Grave of Sam Pryor is also on this cemetery. Between Pryor’s and Lindbergs places of rest are six small graves. Sam Pryor put to rest his six beloved gibbons monkeys on the same cemetery! A bit strange story.

Outlook from Kipahulu Plateau: steep cliffs lead to the ragged shoreline. In front of the plateau several small islets are being endlessly carved by the waves. The cerenity of the cemetery, this magnificent view and the noise of pounding waves leave a lasting impression.

We drove up to Haleakala for sunset. First stop: magic organic gardens on the way to Makawao, an old cowboy town. They has two circular labyrinths, where the walk to the center and back is used for meditation. Sienna and Robinson had their own style (and speed) of meditation, but were instantly drawn Du vil ogsa finne at din valgte side tilbyr blackjack bonus med en rekke forskjellige gevinstlinjer for hver spinning av hjulene, alle lett avgjort av spilleren. to these and wanted to walk the path over and over again…

labyrinth meditation

Next stop was a lavender farm up in the hills near Kula. It is cool up here, but magic to see ocean on two sides.

more meditation surrounded by lavender

Then we wound our way up to the pick, on a very gentle road. Amazingly, vegetation persisted until we reached the peak. The view and energy up there is literally breath-taking. You feel that the world is below you, but also very close, as if you could just take a few steps and jump into the ocean. And the sun put on a good show for us, here are some impressions:

17:37

17:45

17:53 touch down

17:59 looking across to Lahaina

18:15 fire in the sky, constantly with us on the way down

Back in Paia we entered the world”s best grocery store, Mana Foods, which has been here for over 25 years. There are three reasons for this:
1. it has an amazing selection of very yummy and very healthy and very organic foods
2. every one working there has that enlightened look on their face and gives you the impression that they want to just really do whatever they need to do to make you happy (no, they are not stoned, I am speaking of honest pure kindness speaking from their eyes).
3. it is THE social spot for the locals and there are few places in this world where you will find such an eclectic mix of inspiring, weather-beaten, healthy, crazy, let”s just say unconventional people. The cool thing is that the locals will go to the store several times a day, with the pretense of having to buy another bottle of Kambucha Synergy Juice or a few mango coconut bars, but really what they are doing is coming back to see their friends…

Check it out here www.manafoodsmaui.com/

looks like an old shack, full of treasures inside...

Mana has brought us new taste sensations, and confirmation that it makes total sense to surround yourself with people who have a positive spirit and whose natural reaction is to be friendly to you…

Rain and sun makes – you guessed it – rainbows, the hawaiian symbol in the license plate. These also come in various shapes, sometimes double, bright, faint, long radius, short radius, … Every single time it fills my heart with joy, and even the kids, who have more interest in the small sand crabs than the grand sights at that age, always make joyful sounds when they spot a rainbow. Here are some examples:

Kanaha beach single long

Kanaha Beach double high, about 5 minutes later

The North Shore (which is where we live) has great beaches and reefs for watersports. Check out the weather in these shots, always different, sometimes within minutes. The great news is: the right clothing is a pair of boardshorts and a T-Shirt, if you want also a long-sleeve one.

Sienna on her peanut project in Kanaha

Robinson was very intrigued by this boy Andrzej. He moved here from Warsaw with his family and is not just a radical skier, but now charges across the bay on a windsurfer. Guess what: he is seven years old!

Robinson checking out Andrzej

It is kind of hard to see, I admit, but the whole horizon is littered with windsurfing sails and kites. It can be a madhouse down here, with 100+ windsurfers and 70+ kites. It’s all those Germans invading the beach, I tell you. In the end it is all good, there are plenty of waves for everyone, and the glowing happy faces on the parking lot show that it really creates those moments of flow which are the basis for happy moments.

The usual madness: 100 windsurfers, 70 kiters at Kanaha

The smaller of the two mountain ranges is Pu’u Kukui in the West. The drive around the coast is quite spectacular and narrow, sometimes modeled after early 1900 Swiss mountain passes. You get terrified drivers’ faces coming towards you in their Mustang convertible, with an even more terrified look on the wife’s face (when the wife drives, the man’s look is just as terrified), but somehow we all make it around the mountain. Here is Kahakuloa, a tiny group of houses in a little bay that seems so peaceful that you just have to take some of that peacefulness with you in form of banana bread sold at the only shop in town, a little roadside stand.

Kahakuloa village

The next bays bring waves and beaches, and one of the most famous world class waves runs in this area, in Honolua Bay. Here is a lonely bay which actually had two surfers in it, and we could not figure out how they got to this spot (maybe by helicopter, there are lots flying around)

North Coast beach

Lahaina is and old fishing village on the West Coast and the classic sunset cocktail and dinner location. And despite all the tourists walking around, it is a great way to kiss the sun goodbye. Here we are at Kimo’s which we can highly recommend:

sunset cocktails and fish at Kimo's in Lahaina

We are staying with Dave Stein, one of the crazy guys with a jet ski in his back yard. Sure enough, two days ago, he fired up his machine at 6 in the morning and headed out with his partner Zak to Pier 1, an outer reef break. To get an idea what these guys do, here a sample from Dave, in 2004 at the world famous Jaws (which is just a few miles from where we are staying).

Dave Stein at Jaws on 15th Dec 2004

Later that morning while standing at the pier, Robbie Naish pulled up and I asked him what his plan is for the day. Amazingly, he went and surfed the outer reef on a stand-up paddle board (as if tow-in surfing wasn’t crazy enough!).

That morning a few days ago was truly spectacular: here is a shot of Hookipa closing out. At 9 am there were probably 60 guys out, at 11 am the last guy was being washed up on the beach.

Hookipa closing out

And here is an image from the inside of the harbour. The guy riding the wave at the mouth of the harbour (he is very small) is also on a stand-up paddle board. You can imagine the size of the waves at the outer reef!!!

Charging Kahalui harbourmouth

We also hooked up with one of the strongest and humblest watermen on earth, Pete Cabrinha. He evolved waveriding on windsurfers with Robbie Naish in the 80s, then innovated kitesurfing and now produces a premium line of kite equipment, holds the world record for the largest wave ever surfed (70 feet here at Jaws on Maui), and produces very inspiring art (see www.cabrinha.com). Here is a sample from the type of waves he likes:

Pete Cabrinha going left at Jaws

It is great to see that watermen like Pete Cabrinha and Robbie Naish have not lost their passion for riding waves. They have absolutely nothing to prove to anyone, but they will be out playing on the big and good days just because they love it.

Here is a shot of Hookipa a few days later. It still is the most famous waveriding spot in the world, at least with Italians, who seem to have taken over the spot:

Lychees on the head at Hookipa

Interestingly, we have introduced time back in our life. This is because the entire North Shore of Maui lives by one number and that is 11 am. This is when you are allowed to enter the water with wind driven craft. Before that it is fishing and surfing. Here is Gesine at Kanaha with the orange kite, negotiating traffic at Kite Beach near Kanah Beach Park. On a good day there will be 50 to 100 kites on this beach, so you spend most of your time trying to escape the lines of kites charging towards you… quite a challenge to say the least.

Gesine at Kanaha

Here she is again, in a close-up, on her way out to the waves :)

Gesine having fun with orange kite

Our friend Levi Verwoest has been kiting since the age of 10, he is now 20. He was definitely the hero on the water that day, with the biggest highest craziest jumps, way above the palm trees, and the smoothest style.

Levi strechting for his next radical maneuver

Maui is definitely one of the best watermen and waterwomen playgrounds in the world, with waves, warm wind, beaches, organic food, and a very down to earth life spirit. I love this place !!!!

Fresh elements:
random acts of kindness, living slow, being connected with earth, eating nothing but the best tasting healthy foods (ideally organic), kitesurfing, surfing mellow and not so mellow waves, compassion, the Aloha spirit, yoga, a very deep connection with the ocean, thankfulness for each and every beautiful moment on this planet, meeting charismatic people from around the globe with a positive spirit, playing and laughing with the kids, being true to yourself, living the life you want to live, irrelevance of material goods, the power of healing, speaking the truth to others, blonde curls (believe it or not), ohana spirit (love in the family), physical strength and health, smiles and laughs, inner balance, inspiration from all sorts of sources (nature, reading, art, music, conversations), simplicity, unconventionality,..

Elements removed from our life:
stress, speed (unless propelled by natural forces on the water), negative news of the world, shopping, television, time, mobile phone (down to one local Nehmen Sie bitte auch zur Kenntnis, dass Spieler 21 Jahre oder alter sein mussen um im Casino spielen zu durfen. call per day), email (reduced from 100 / day to 1 / day), television, grumpy people with negative energy, 5kg weight, days without significance, exhaustion, worry / fear / doubt, to do lists, hair dresser appointments,…

Elements we miss:
our families, our friends back home, a place to call home without the need to pack bags all the time, time-out from the kids, good bread, seasons, snow,

Kama “Aina:
One phenomenon has intrigued me: in the past month we have been asked if we are kama “aina (which means Hawaiian local or resident) by the majority of businesses we have interacted with (e.g., cafes, museums, …), since you typically get a cheaper rate. This means that we give the impression – by the way we look and act – to many people that we live here, which is a clear indication that we have changed our looks and spirit: if you look at that picture of us sitting on our bags 120 ago at the Munich airport, not a single person would have asked us if we are kama “aina back then.

I think it is fair to say that the first 120 days of our trip have fundamentally changed all four of us. I feel really alive, every moment…

120 days