Maui – Haleakalā Crater

We have just returned from a nostalgic trip to our favourite states of America, Hawaii and California, thanks to Hawaiian Airlines and The Pride of America cruise ship. We had a charmed travel experience: no flight delays, no missing baggage, and negative covid tests prior to the cruise. The weather was beautiful, in contrast to the heat waves across UK and Europe.

Fascinated by the online images of Kilauea's latest eruption activity on The Big Island, we wanted to visit Hawaii's volcanic landscapes as soon as borders reopened.  First stop was the Haleakalā Crater on the island of Maui (Pride of America's first port of call).

View of Maui from Pride of America

Cinder cones on the crater surface

A small bus transported us to the summit of the Haleakalā Crater, at an altitude of 10,000 ft/3055 m. The road was a little scary as it snaked and twisted through green ranchland, but the driver calmed us with his entertaining tales and knowledge of the area. There were very few guard rails, so it would not be for the feint-hearted to hire a car and do it independently. 

Visitors Center at the summit

Panoramic view of Haleakalā Crater

In Hawaiian language, Haleakalā means "house of sun".  According to the legend, the demigod Maui slowed the descending path of the sun by lassoing it to make the day longer.

Unlike Kilauea on The Big Island, Haleakalā is currently dormant (with a moderate threat potential). It started growing about 2 million years ago, and in the past 1000 years at least ten eruptions have been recorded. https://www.usgs.gov/volcanoes/haleakalā

The fragile Silversword plant is very beautiful; it will die if touched by a human hand. We saw many of these plants and admired them from afar.

Silversword plant, Haleakalā summit

Looking back to the coast of Maui, the view from the summit was stunning.

Looking toward the coast where Pride of  America was docked