Arriving in July

[Shaka Doug]

We just got back and already miss being there. See my post on it if you wish.......

..... Check out Venus pool (ignore the no tresspassing sign as the locals advise) after Hana as well. If it has water running it should be spectacular. It was dry for us but still cool to see.

Aloha WIBB. What kind of advice is this? Are you telling people to ignore and disrespect the "No Trespassing Sign"? Do you know what No Trespassing means? Thanks to the Maui Revealed book (and others like it that give away all kinds of island secrets), many visitors are taking this attitude and disrespecting the Hawaiian islands and the people who live here. The "Locals" DO NOT APPRECIATE THIS! Have you ever had a secret? Have you shared it with someone? Have they ever broke your trust and told the whole world? How did that make you feel afterward? I can't say that I agree with this advice.

There are many "must do" things here on Maui. You can rest assured that there is enough to keep you busy during your whole stay. Please be considerate of the locals and the aina (the land) during each of your activities and remember that you are a guest here.

Molokini has much to offer besides just the back wall. I had two excellent dives out there just two days ago with my friends from DIVE & SEA MAUI. They took us on their 6-pack boat and we were able to mostly do our own thing and avoid the craziness of the overcrowded snorkel boats. We saw a dozen sharks, several octopus, a pair of Eagle Rays and a squizillion fish. Not to mention the 150' visibility. I agree that some dive ops will take you on the basic "let's get it over with" tour of Molokini. DIVE & SEA is not like that. B&B SCUBA is also another excellent choice for diving Molokini. Even if the Back Wall is inaccessible that day, they will show you a good time on other parts of the crater.

If you need more advice on what you can or should do while you're here, please feel free to PM me. I dive daily and can give you a good prediction of what the shoreline diving is like at any given time.

 

[KrisB]

Aloha WIBB. What kind of advice is this? Are you telling people to ignore and disrespect the "No Trespassing Sign"? Do you know what No Trespassing means? Thanks to the Maui Revealed book (and others like it that give away all kinds of island secrets), many visitors are taking this attitude and disrespecting the Hawaiian islands and the people who live here. The "Locals" DO NOT APPRECIATE THIS! Have you ever had a secret? Have you shared it with someone? Have they ever broke your trust and told the whole world? How did that make you feel afterward? I can't say that I agree with this advice.

Doug, I think this is a pretty strong attitude to take. I think it's worth tempering reasons for the sign against it. In the US & Canada, a great deal of "no trespassing" signs have been erected for one of two reasons:

1. liability -- someone got hurt and sued
2. theft -- someone (or some people) were continually taking from the land, and it couldn't be enforced because it appeared to be public property.

ML&P is probably #2, EMI is probably #1, for the most part. And as long as I respected those boundaries, I would see no problem in disobeying the sign, taking into consideration a few rules:

1. stick to the worn paths... i.e. don't even leave footprints behind.
2. take everything out that you brought in, and nothing more (unless you picked up someone else's litter)
3. respect the other people there -- if you get stink-eye from them, apologize and leave
4. be especially careful (and respectful) around areas of cultural or religious significance

I think by obeying these rules, you'll find that people won't have a problem with your presence. Of course, the best option (as the authors of Maui Revealed recommend) is to seek permission from the landowner (e.g. EMI and ML&P). According to the authors, they seem pretty cool with giving permission.

 

[Shaka Doug]

Mr. Kris, It may be a strong attitude but I have lived on islands for over twenty years now and I see many local people with much stronger attitudes than mine. I have also been witness to a changing attitude towards this kind of behavior. I have seen laws get changed and rules enforced due to people who do not respect these types of signs. I have seen gates, fences, walls and other deterents erected to make it harder to gain access to many of these types of private places. I have seen arguments and unpleasant confrontations. Respect is, of course, of extreme importance. It's one thing to disobey a "No Trespassing" sign when you are there by yourself on the trail. It is another story to post an advisory to "ignore the No Trespassing sign" here on a public forum that has the potential of being read by hundreds, if not thousands, of people.

If you had a "No Trespassing" sign in your yard and dozens of people came by your place everyday and trespassed I think you would feel differently. Some of the people you might welcome and even invite to stay. Many others you would probably find to be undesirable and you would want them to leave and never come back. Many of these places here on Maui are remote so asking the landowners permission is not always so easy to do. Asking permission and ignoring the sign are two entirely different options in my mind. It would be nice if everyone followed your 4 guidelines for trespassing. Unfortunately, there are still many people and instances where these rules are simply disregarded. Pick up someone elses litter? Good idea, that shouldn't and wouldn't be there if they followed your simple rules in the first place though. What other rules do they break while in there on the trail? I guess it comes down to the few "Bad Trespassers" who ruin it for the rest of us "Respectable Trespassers".

These islands are continuously being overrun by people and the invasive species that they have brought with them. Maui is much different than it was 10 or 20 years ago. Can you envision how it will grow exponentially in the next 10 - 20 years? These "No Trespassing" places will eventually become so mainstream that they will lose their charm and natural quality or they will be entirely off limits and no-one will benefit from them except the owner of the land. That will be a sad day for all of Hawaii.

If you want to tell someone it's "OK to trespass" (or break any other rule for that matter) may I suggest whispering it in their ear in private, not posting it on the world wide web for everyone to see.

 

[KrisB]

If you had a "No Trespassing" sign in your yard and dozens of people came by your place everyday and trespassed I think you would feel differently. Some of the people you might welcome and even invite to stay. Many others you would probably find to be undesirable and you would want them to leave and never come back. Many of these places here on Maui are remote so asking the landowners permission is not always so easy to do. Asking permission and ignoring the sign are two entirely different options in my mind. It would be nice if everyone followed your 4 guidelines for trespassing. Unfortunately, there are still many people and instances where these rules are simply disregarded. Pick up someone elses litter? Good idea, that shouldn't and wouldn't be there if they followed your simple rules in the first place though. What other rules do they break while in there on the trail? I guess it comes down to the few "Bad Trespassers" who ruin it for the rest of us "Respectable Trespassers".

Exactly. Having read through Maui Revealed, it's worth noting that they give phone numbers for both ML&P and EMI, along with the instruction to ask for permission to cross their land. Granted, there are other landowners, too... but IIRC, the majority of the locations recommended by MR are owned by one of these two.

The area where I live is full of "pristine" wilderness, also... and there are people that abuse it. Does that mean the "locals" should be allowed there, but the "visitors" not? Hardly -- it's the locals causing as much damage as the visitors.

These islands are continuously being overrun by people and the invasive species that they have brought with them. Maui is much different than it was 10 or 20 years ago. Can you envision how it will grow exponentially in the next 10 - 20 years? These "No Trespassing" places will eventually become so mainstream that they will lose their charm and natural quality or they will be entirely off limits and no-one will benefit from them except the owner of the land. That will be a sad day for all of Hawaii.

If you want to tell someone it's "OK to trespass" (or break any other rule for that matter) may I suggest whispering it in their ear in private, not posting it on the world wide web for everyone to see.

I agree here. Interestingly, WIBB is probably shouldering some responsibility for whomever should heed his advice -- if they steal, destroy or get hurt, he could be liable for some damages...

 

[WIBB]

Let me make something clear Doug. When I said "ignore the sign per the locals advice" that is exactly the advice that we were given by a local. We were getting ready to turn around when someone spoke to us. She directed us exactly where to go. I said "but the sign says...no tresspassing". She replied, just ignore it; we all do.

Upon reaching the pool we were greeted by 3 locals enjoying the view. They said mahalo and cautioned us to watch our step.

So, while I was trying to convey what was passed on to me at that moment, I am not condoning tresspassing. Although, I would think the locals in the immediate area carry more clout that an islander pissed off at a book author. If that "local" minded then she should have asked us nicely to move on. And we would have. If the locals, that lived across the street from where we parked, had approached us and asked us to leave (instead of waving) we would have promptly done so.

Therefore, I'm sorry my comment offended you. I should have worded that better. I don't condone tresspassing and would not appreciate it either. But, I would not be giving out advice to visitors on how to get to the site either (and to ignore the sign).

So, it seems to me the comments in the book are pretty accurate.

 

[Shaka Doug]

Thanks for your reply WIBB. Sorry but once in a while this kind of thing hits a nerve with me. Visitors don't always see things the way the people who live here do. I'm not as opposed to the actual "cautious" trespassing as I am to a post on the web saying it's OK to do so.

As a professional dive instructor and tour guide for the last 21 years, I am held more responsible for my actions at the dive sites than the non-professional weekend warrior divers who visit the same dive sites right along side of me. I watch, time and time again, how these inexperienced people damage the reef, trespass on private property, remove corals, shells and sea life, sometimes they hunt with spears or out of season. Most of them neglect the dive flag laws or use the dive flag incorrectly. Unfortunately, it is very rare that they get caught or reprimanded for their actions. That's why I sometimes take offense to these "Secrets Revealed" type of guide books that make the readers think they don't need any local guides. My examples of how this happens in SCUBA can easily be transferred to hiking the waterfall trails or bamboo forests or lava fields.

Greg, not trying to hijack your thread or dodge your questions. I'd recommend a 3mm full suit over a skin. The water is up to about 79 right now but it's not just the chill that the suit saves you from. Summertime is Jellyfish season and there are plenty of sharp corals and lava rocks that will tear you up if you accidentally make contact. I'd still recommend diving with a guide, at least to get you started off on the right foot. There are plenty of great books and pamphlets that will educate you on the diving sites, marine life, and legal aspects of diving here. They still aren't a 100% replacement for a local guide however.

 

[KrisB]

I agree wholeheartedly with Doug about the local guide bit... there are many dive sites that you can go to, and just totally miss everything, unless you've been there with someone to show you around.

Doug: I'd suggest filing complaints whenever possible about those that are doing illegal stuff (e.g. taking coral or live rock, shells, or out-of-season hunting). The laws exist to protect the environment that you and I both enjoy, not to mention the one that you make a living by showing to people.

About the kicking coral -- it's absolutely incredible how many divers don't even seem to look to see what they're kicking. I was on a boat dive during my trip in April that had some divers that liked to get close to everything, and continually kicked me in the head -- their buoyancy was WAY off, and if they weren't kicking me, they were kicking the coral or rocks, or stirring up the silt.

Now, kicking some things can't really be avoided sometimes... like the "bossy" domino damselfish at the coral head at Ulua... as I was swimming away, he decided to come after me some more, and I'd kick, feel my fin hit something, look down, and there's this little fish right under my fin... silly little man!