We anchored off the little town of Lahaina on the west side of Maui.

In times gone by Lahaina was a bustling whaling town. Hundreds of whaling boats and thousands of sailors must have made it a pretty colourful place. There’s an old prison right in the centre of town!

Now it’s tourists …

We tendered ashore and went for an early morning walk along Front Street before the old town woke up. Just gorgeous.

And we found this old Banyan tree, now with 16 trunks and a canopy of about an acre, across from the old Pioneer Hotel.

Then a short bus tour to the historic Iao Valley, scene of a major battle as King Kamehameha united the Hawaiian Islands about 200 years ago.

(that’s not the king … or the queen …)

Then the highlight. We linked up with Tony and Sue, friends we made earlier this year on another cruise.

They took us to this little resort, near their home, for lunch …

… then a short walk over the hill to another resort …

… then off to explore the gorgeous north coast of the island …

… steep cliffs like this above, that we walked right to the edge and peered over …

… and beautiful protected bays – great for snorkelling.

Some pretty amazing resorts, golf courses and homes in this neck of the woods, I must say.

Then back to the ship. Maui put on its hat, and off we sailed.

We saw just a fraction of Maui on what was a short busy day. An island of real contrasts and surprises: dry desert, sugar cane fields and dense, wet jungle; rugged coasts and sandy beaches; some pretty average, and the very best of neighbourhoods …

A great day. Mahalo, Tony and Sue … a hui hou!!