Flying Moloka‘i, Lanai, Maui
Even the brief part of our flight starting out along the Maui coast was spectacular. But the towering falls of northeast Moloka‘i still took our breath away in this second aerial viewing, and hopefully this hazy pic conveys a tiny bit of that.
3326 Mountain Falls
For perspective, each of those little green dots is a good-sized tree. I believe the one at the right in the pic Oloʻupena Falls, tallest in the U.S. (4th globally) at almost 3,000 feet. It’s eroded a groove in the cliff-face and can only be seen from the sea or by air.
As with this next one, the numerous falls often land on beaches or right in the water (especially at high tide).
3332 Beach Shower
I like to imagine swimming there, then having a refreshing shower in pure water. After that long zoom pic we began climbing even higher where we could see many waterfalls inland too.
3341 Higher View East
Up on the cliff face for example, is this spot few if any people have ever been.
3353 Gathering Falls
Soon we could see across Moloka‘i, with wisps of cloud clinging to the peaks.
3357 Misty Mountains
Moments (and a million pix) later we reached the shore of Lānai, where this shipwreck hosts bountiful marine life. It was actually the YOGN-42 WWII concrete gasoline barge, intentionally beached here after the war.
3394 Last Port of Call
Larry Ellison now owns 98% of Lānai, and wants it be a thriving 100 percent green community. It was sure green (on red earth) the day we flew part of the North edge with no time to land and explore.
3401 Lānai Green
In the hazy distance Lānai City was also green, with the airport tempting us beyond it. But snapping countless more pix we turned back across the water, soon crossing the coast of Maui just South of Lāhainā and slipping between mountain peaks toward Kahului.
3454 Cloud Shroud
Clinging clouds fell away from the steep jungle cliffs. From this height we could see that Hāna had happily cleared too! Nearly all the clouds that had turned us away on every previous flight, offered an invitation on this our last GA flight in this O.U. Adventure. With just enough time before needing to land, we went direct at full power in a slow descent. In no time we were rewarded with even more waterfalls. Some, like this first pic, were at nearly our level inviting a zoom pic as we began throttling back to savor the sights.
3530 Down to Hana
Now if you know anything about the Hāna Highway or the terrain both above and below it, you’re well aware that enchanting waterfalls abound along this flank of Haleakalā. So I’ll collect a “few” of our fave pix from that last leg of this magical round trip flight of fancy, for the next post.
John & Anne Wiley 
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