**The printed story with photos can be found at The Good Life Magazine, February 2016 issue. The unedited text is below...
Every fall for the past 4 years, my husband Willy and I have
embarked on a multi-week family road trip with our two kiddos. It is a chance
for us to re-connect as a family through camping and adventuring. This year,
instead of remaining in the Continental United States, we decided to branch out
and do our first ‘exotic’ road trip. Since our kids are now 8 and 6, I wanted
to start exploring parts of the world with them that are highly
inconvenient/less enjoyable when traveling with toddlers. For our first
airplane-necessary road trip, we decided to explore the Island of Maui in a
1989 pop-up Volkswagen Westfalia camper van. I’ll preface my story by saying
that the trip I am about to describe is not for everyone. If a Hawai’ian
vacation to you means poolside drinks and over-priced luaus then please don’t
attempt our style of vacation. However, if you are comfortable with adventure
and the unknown, then this may be the next trip for you.
I first came across the ad for Aloha Campers when I was
searching for tent camping options on Maui. We knew we wanted to visit the
island but didn’t want to be stuck in one location for the entire trip. We also weren’t interested in visiting Maui
for the resort experience. A vacation for us means the opportunity to see new
plants, animals, birds and aquatic life. It also means hiking, sleeping under
the stars and (at times) putting ourselves as far away from civilization as
possible. We knew that logistically, it was going to be difficult to bring all
of our camping gear with us on an airplane. Renting the Westfalia seemed to be
the best solution to our problem…..enough sleeping space for 2 adults and 2
kids, a small fully stocked kitchen and the ultimate freedom to explore. This
was going to be a great trip!
We
landed in Kahului, Maui at 2 PM in the afternoon and caught our shuttle to
Kihei where we first became acquainted with our home away from home for the
next 6 nights; a 1989 Steel Blue Volkswagen Westfalia pop-up camper van.
Brandon, her owner, briefly acquainted us with her quirks and showed us the
location of several essential features including the jumper cables and an extra
screwdriver….just in case…. We threw our packs in the back and prepared for
departure. As I was about to turn the key, one of the mechanics knocked on the
passenger side window. Willy rolled it down and the guy threw us a big smile….
‘Her name’s Stella!’ he shouted through the window. We promised to take care of
her and headed out in search of a grocery store and a place to spend the night.
We made a quick stop to a local pawn shop and purchased a set of snorkel gear
for $8 and a fishing rod and reel for $25. We were set!
Camping
on Maui was an interesting experience. Lately, the islands have been getting a
reputation for being un-friendly to tourists. Although this may be true if you
are touring around in an ȕber fast cherry-red mustang convertible or a shiny
new Jeep Wrangler, this isn’t the case when cruising the island in an old
Volkswagen bus that tops out at 50 mph. People love these vans. Even
though we knew we were running the risk of stepping on the toes of locals
during our camping trip, we found that it was easy to make friends when
traveling along in Stella. People would wave, throw us solid shakkas and made a
point to come over and say hi and have a look inside the van. We discovered
that Westfalias are a hot commodity on the islands these days. Very few of them
still remain in private hands. They are a throwback to a time when surfing and
good vibes still ruled the island; before the mega-resort complexes became
king. We had no trouble backing the van in to some prime on-water camping.
Often, we were peacefully nestled between old-school surfers who had been
living on the beach for years.
Truly,
this trip was amazing from Day 1. We hit up nearly every public beach on the
island; snorkeling 2 or 3 times a day in warm, pristine azure waters. We
spotted more sea turtles than we could count, saw octopus and eels and more
fish than an aquarium can hold. The only beaches with trash in the sand were
those adjacent to the mega resort complexes. Those beaches also held the least
diversity of sea life and the cloudiest waters. The county beaches set aside
for locals were well maintained and uncrowded. They often had showers, bath
houses and sometimes a playground.
Because
of the mobility the van afforded us, we were able to drive the infamous road to
Hana and could spend several nights exploring the more remote areas of Maui. We
hiked through bamboo forests, slogged up muddy trails that wound beneath wild
papayas and banyans to hidden waterfalls, explored freshwater caches within
ancient lava tubes and spotted elusive native birds in their jungle homes.
Willy fished the rugged inlets along the North Shore and the kids made sand
castles from dawn until dusk with intermittent pauses for boogie-boarding and
snorkeling. We dined on fresh pineapple
and star fruit, tiny sweet bananas, creamy avocados and sugar cane.
When
it was time to return Stella, we were all overcome with sadness. We had become
attached to our nomadic life in the van. Living on the beaches of Maui for that
brief period of time was certainly one of the best adventures of my life. I am
overcome with happiness that we could all enjoy the trip together as a family.
I am already planning our next vacation. Who knows what possibilities the
future holds? But I wouldn’t hesitate to repeat our Maui road trip. Indeed, I
would return to van life in a heart-beat…..and my family would too.
No comments:
Post a Comment