Darcy Hughes

Unlike most tourists visiting Maui, Pete and I have no money. We were flying for free, renting a car for next to nothing (thanks to Pete’s jobs), eating food from Walmart, and sleeping in a tent. We spent less than a few hundred dollars during our five-day trip. That must be some kind of record!

Maui is different from anywhere I have seen before because of its striking abundance. We began on the Hana Highway which is the longest coastal highway in the world. It runs between ocean and jungle with dangerous hairpin turns. By the end of our trip, we had driven around the perimeter of Maui.

Camping is good for the soul. I relish the sense of being in tune with rhythms of the Earth. When the Sun went down, we gazed at the stars and then slept. When the Sun went up, we woke (and never without a hearty chorus of chickens). Wherever we slept on the island, we could count on a cock-a-doodle-do alarm cluck.

Our camping experience was dramatic at times. In Kipahuala the wind was so strong that we had to move our fully constructed tent about 50 feet to a more sheltered area. It gusted dramatically all night, and I worried that a tree would crash down on top of us. On our last night, at the beach camp site, a torrential downpour flooded the tent.

It is easy to be active in Maui. We hiked the Kipahulu trail which was impressive because it led us by an enormous banyan tree, through a cathedral of bamboo, and to a 400-foot tall waterfall. On the west coast, we snorkeled in the ocean and hiked the Iao Valley.

While the island’s east coast Hana Highway is famous, the west coast roads were equal to it in beauty and danger. There were ‘Falling Rocks’ signs all around which was more disconcerting than the honk signs dotted around the blind corners of the Hana highway. Pete quickly dodged an enormous boulder in the middle of the road that had fallen off a cliff.  Nevertheless, the stunning landscapes surprised us at every turn and we stopped frequently to take it all in.

At one pit-stop we took a walk through some woods and the trees were incredible, it was like walking through an enchanted fairy forest.

Pete and I fly standby which means that we only get a seat when one hasn’t been sold. While it was easy getting to Hawaii, it was a disaster getting back.

We were waiting for a late night flight when a gate agent said there was only one seat available. I rejected the opportunity even though Pete urged me to go. I wanted to stick together. Because this first flight was a bust, I him left to shop a bit before our next chance. About 15 minutes later a sprinting Pete rushes into the store: “there is an extra seat!” We race half a mile back to the gate, passing several cheering security guards. when I got to the gate (minutes after a much faster Pete) I was full of adrenaline and out of air.

The agent told us then that she had made a mistake and did in fact only have one seat. Pete and I sat in silence while waiting for the next flight to the mainland, but that eventually filled up too. Who buys a flight out of Hawaii an hour before it leaves? We went back to Enterprise to re-rent a car but luckily we got a Jeep – It would be easier to sleep in than the sedan we had returned. Walmart allows overnight parking, and since hotels were $100s a night, the closest campsites were hours away, and Airbnbs were all booked – the Walmart parking lot was our only option.

So we parked there and laughed uncontrollably about our ridiculous race through the airport. On the bright side, we had an extra morning in Maui! And we made the first flight available the next day.