Lanai: Hulopoe Bay and Sweetheart Rock

While visiting the island of Maui, the island of Lanai is out on the western horizon, and a one hour ferry ride will land you on the relatively empty island! Hulopoe Bay was a short walk away from where the ferry lands, which was a beautiful beach that had calm waves rolling in throughout the day! If you are looking for a relaxing beach that will give you beautiful scenery and the opportunity to visit a new place then Lanai will be well worth the trip from Maui. ($30 dollars per person each way)

Just a small hike away from Hulopoe Bay, is the famous Sweetheart Rock, which is the symbol of love of a legend of two lovers, it is the Hawaiian's Romeo and Juliet. Pehe, a girl from Lahaina, and Makakehau, a young warrior from Lanai, were the lovers whom this rock holds tribute to. Legend tells that Pehe drowned under this rock before Makakehau was able to save her, and in his grief he called out to the gods to help him as he climbed the 80 foot tall rock with Pehe in his arms, he buried her on top, and after laying his beloved to rest he jumped to his death.

The hike may not be of interest to everyone, but the view was beautiful from up on top where you are able to view down at Sweetheart Rock.

There is a small crevice where you are able to climb down a small cliff and find two small beaches, that were completely empty when I visited, and supplied me an escape into complete seclusion, which is not something you will find on many Hawaiian beaches. It also supplied a different view of Sweetheart Rock (Above Right). I wandered around on these beaches and found shallow puddles within lava rock that housed small fish and crabs which had been brought in on the high tide. I did not get any pictures of the fish, but I did get some video. 

The island of Maui provides plenty of exciting and beautiful areas to explore and see, but if you have been to Maui before, or are staying for an extended period of time, the ferry ride to visit Lanai is well worth the time and money! We didn't get to explore the entire island of Lanai, but even the small area we did explore was absolutely beautiful. It is not uncommon to see dolphins swimming while on the ferry ride between the islands, we did not have that luxury on my trip, but something that may help sweeten the idea!