The Mallery Family: Summer of 2006

The summer of 2006 marks an important time in our family’s lives. This was the first (and unfortunately the last) time that my kids and David’s daughter—Lauren—got to spend the summer together. In those action-packed months we traveled to Moab, rafted the Colorado River, went on hummer rides and visited Arches and Canyon Lands National Parks. We visited Yellowstone; Grand

Teton National Park then finished our incredible summer with 17 days in Maui. The kids had the time of their lives and got to see more places in one summer than most people will ever see in their lifetimes.

Grand Teton National Park

Yellowstone National Park

Rafting the Colorado River

Hummer rides and Delicate Arch

Because David and I had a limited budget, we were able to stretch our money by camping and cooking our own meals. Camping in the national parks within the continental United States was a no-brainer, however, Maui was a bit more of a challenge to plan. Because Hawaii is primarily a tourism state, finding information on how and where to camp around the island wasn’t easy since it doesn’t bring in a lot of revenue. Therefore, it’s not highly promoted. In addition, the permit offices for each campground were hard to find and the lines were long when we did find them. David and I gained a wealth of knowledge from our travels around the island. Not only did we figure out the “system” but we discovered a lot of “locals only" gems. Because of this, I’m writing this blog to share our experiences with those who might be interested in our travels and to possibly inspire others to set out on some adventure travels of their own.

After arriving at the Kahului airport we rented a car and set out for our hotel room booked through Hotwire. We were not 100% sure of where we were camping our first night and pitching a tent in the dark was not our idea of fun. We needed a place to start.

Hotel—day one. Kids loved climbing the palm trees, picking the coconuts and swimming in the pool.

Here’s what we learned:

1. All State and Local campgrounds require a permit. If you don’t have a permit when the ranger comes to your campsite, you can buy one from him/her. (This saves you from spending half the day looking for the permit office and waiting in the long lines.) We always had our permit money readily available—should the ranger stop by.

2. We were never asked for our camping permits. (In other words…can you say “free”?)

3. Most of the campgrounds don’t have shower facilities so be prepared to shower at the public beach showers. Yes, I would even shave my legs and underarms there too.

4. If you have an aversion toward cold showers, no electricity or port-a-potties, this may not be for you.

5. Purchase your camp cooking supplies and food from home where it’s cheaper and plan your menus around one-pot meals. Fuel for your camp stove is the only thing you’ll need to purchase in Hawaii since you can’t put it in your checked bags. Again, if you have an aversion for hotdogs, spaghetti, Ramen noodles or mac-n-cheese, this may not be for you.

6. Count on the daily rain showers to begin just as you start to prepare your evening meal.

7. Bring blow-up air mattresses and small fleece sleeping bags. Temperatures don’t get cold enough (except at the volcano campground) to need standard sleeping bags, therefore, saving a lot of space in your suitcase.

8. Bring a comfortable swimsuit—you’ll be living in it 24/7.

9. Occasionally, find a nice resort by the beach and act like you belong there for the day. The key is in the towel. Once you get a towel you're a "guest" for the day.

10. All the State and local campgrounds are closed certain days of the week to discourage the homeless population from permanently setting up camp. Be prepared to move camp every few days. Think of it as your motivation to see the whole island, which you would want to do anyway, right?

11. Watch for multiple cars parked on the sides of roads in random places. This is a good indication that there’s something to see that only the locals know about. We discovered some incredible places—like the hidden waterfall hike and Venus Pools—which are not mentioned in any guidebooks.

This small, unmarked opening in a bamboo forest on the side of the road was the only entrance to the hidden waterfall hike. (Pictured next to it is the lower waterfall—the easy part of the hike.)

Just after the lower waterfalls, we had to scale this rock wall with a rope, (picture 1) then leave all valuables under a tree, swim up this river and scale the waterfall (center of picture 2) to get to the hidden waterfall just beyond.

Swimming up the river to get to the hidden waterfall and Lauren happy to be there!

Hidden Waterfall

Definitely worth the hike! (Pictures were taken with our underwater camera and scanned in, so they're not the best quality.)

Venus Pools

Venus Pools is a local hotspot for cliff diving. We saw some incredible—and slightly crazy—cliff divers!

12. Sit through a timeshare presentation to get free tickets to a Luau. However, it’s only “free” if you don’t buy the timeshare.