No Fixed Abode: All in a lava.

Mon 16 Nov - St Peroux bay and The King's Trail

Dougie and Daniel, our new found commune friends, sneaked a look around the tent set up with admiration then bade us goodbye as they set off for work (we guess). We drove straight around to St Peroux Bay on the sunny south side and geared up for what we anticipated would be a hot and dry volcanic hike. Either side of the trail looked just like freshly tilled earth in massive furrows but in fact it was lava from the most recent eruption just 200 years ago. We followed the route described in the guide book to a wild headland where there were several brackish, spring fed pools hosting the first signs of plant colonisation of the barren lava fields. The book also instructed us to follow a broken path marked only with white coral, which we discovered was intermittently placed on large lava boulders. Thank heavens for this simple navigation aid otherwise we would have never found our way in this desolate landscape.

We then joined the King's Trail, a road constructed over 200 years ago by order of the then Hawaiian King. Although the six foot wide trail was easy to follow it was very difficult to walk on due to the hard, sharp and broken lava rocks. We then took a side track down to a small and green oasis to our final destination at Kamanamana Bay, which was meant to have great snorkelling. We discovered a deserted black sandy beach littered with pieces of broken white coral, making getting in to the ocean quite a palaver - what with hopping about on the hot black sands, trying not to lacerate your feet on the sharp coral and lava and battling the large waves. The ocean was very lively so Glenn donned the snorkel gear first whilst Yvonne filmed him from the safety of the crashing waves on the shoreline. The swell was too great to make the snorkelling pleasurable so we settled for skinny dipping. The ocean was lovely and clear and warm just what we needed as the sun was getting very hot.

For the return we kept to the King's Trail, perfectly timed for the midday sun but we were well prepared with plenty of water, sunscreen, long sleeves and hats. Thank goodness we donned our hiking boots as the sharpness of the small lava rocks would have been extremely difficult in our sandals.

Tired, hot and hungry we found a shady spot for lunch when we returned to the 4x4 and took a long swim and then a well deserved nap in the shade. It was great to see the young adults frolicking on their boogie boards jumping in and out of the waves. The exuberance of youth!

Earlier today we’d spotted a good ocean front spot to camp tonight and made our way there to eat dinner watching the sunset with a Hawaiian beer called Long Wave.

At good wilderness camping spots we've noticed that just after dark many people turn up in their cars to sleep overnight - it seems standard cheap accommodation in Maui.