USA Maui: the Life Source

MAUI: THE LIFE SOURCE

A trip to Hawaii rewards the commitment of traveling to this isolated archipelago with a destination abounding in natural wonders. Maui, its second-largest island, offers an unrivaled mélange of landscapes, ecosystems and climates.

Text Sabine Bouvet – Photos Taja Košir Popovič

Lush, green vegetation surrounds Hotel Wailea in Maui.

AT DAWN, WHEN THE PACIFIC IS STILL WARM FROM ITS SULTRY HAWAIIAN NIGHT, YOU DIVE, PLUNGING INTO THE WELCOMING WAVES. Underwater, you are suddenly surrounded by ancient sounds rising from the depths: the unmistakable song of whales. Here, in Makena, on Maui, they’re so close, just a few hundred yards off the coast. You flip on to your back, head halfsubmerged, to let yourself be lulled by this oceanic melody: a powerful sound bath that the finest retreats and infinite meditations can never equal. This miracle returns every year as the whales come to Maui’s hospitable seas to deliver their young, spend winter swimming with their calves by their sides, before returning to Alaska in the spring. Surrounded by the ocean and quenched by rainfall, Maui is a vast expanse of life. Home to 10 of our planet’s 14 different climates—an incredibly rare characteristic—it’s an island world where some of the driest places on the planet rub shoulders with some of the wettest. In the Hawaiian language the word wai means ‘water’, or ‘life force’, and there are more than 200 words for rain. There is also language to describe how it falls, the noise it makes, its color, intensity, smell, and the effect it has on people.

As global warming becomes a key concern, rain is an increasingly precious source of life. In Maui, there is a water supply like no other: Pu’u Kukui Watershed Preserve–the largest private nature reserve in Hawaii. Pu’u Kukui, the hill of enlightenment, is sacred to elders and the eight rangers who protect the drainage basin. In the past, only chiefs and priests had right of entry. Today, when its guardians take up duty, they offer a prayer in Hawaiian. Because even though it generally rains five times more here than in the Amazon, and even though this immense and impenetrable sponge spanning 9,880 acres/4,000 hectares is forbidden to the public and a haven of biodiversity, it cannot escape the consequences of global warming: in 2020, precipitation was measured at 200 inches/5 meters, barely half the

Left: With her Petals with a Purpose project, Beth Elliott redistributes and recycles hundreds of pounds of flowers from weddings held in Maui. Below: Through agroforestry and with The Maliko Project, Eddy Garcia has brought the North Shore’s sacred, fertile valley of Maliko Gulch back to life.

typical level. From an altitude of 5,788 feet/1,764 meters, Pu’u Kukui supplies water to one third of the island, including most hotels and resorts on the west coast of Maui. For Hotel Wailea, water conservation is an important issue, not least because it is located in a semi-arid zone, at the gateway to a lava desert. Given the uniqueness of this island, travel takes on a more meaningful dimension: visitors tend to reflect profoundly on their connection to nature. Visitors to Maui are witness to a hundred different ecosystems, at once powerful yet fragile. It holds a sense of mystery, too. Large sections of the island–deepset valleys, waterlogged mountains, thundering waterfalls–remain inaccessible to humans and fascinating to scientists. With contemplation comes the desire to protect this nourishing land. And you can take action: four prominent local figures invite travelers to become agents of change and sustainability. First, meet Eddy Garcia, a charismatic, uncategorizable character. He is a trailblazing surfer of Pe’ahi, also known as ‘Jaws’ (the surf break off Maui’s

SABINE BOUVET Journalist “Maui is my second home–my brother lives there. An ocean lover and advocate of the environment, he introduced me to these inspiring characters who take action.”

VISITORS TO MAUI WITNESS A HUNDRED DIFFERENT ECOSYSTEMS. WITH CONTEMPLATION COMES THE DESIRE TO PROTECT THIS LAND.

Left: A heavenly terrace in the lush grounds of Hotel Wailea. Above: Krista Garcia sources herbs from the Hotel Wailea’s garden. Right: Fresh, linecaught red snapper served with banana flower, limu (seaweed) and dressed with lilikoi (passion fruit) sauce.

Visit Hotel Wailea in Hawaii northern shores, renowned for some of the world’s biggest waves); the creator of a solution to transform polystyrene from surfboards into compost using worms that feed on it; and friend and advisor to Yvon Chouinard, founder of the Patagonia brand. Eddy has restored Maliko Gulch (maliko means ‘to bloom’ in Hawaiian), a formerly fertile valley that had become a landfill, and cleared the waste-clogged river of abandoned cars and wrecked planes so it could flow naturally once again. Today, he hosts farm-to-table dinners there under the stars, along with workshops on recycling, compost, agriculture and more, in a galaxy of inspiring initiatives.

Another man with a mission: Campbell Farrell and his Love the Sea foundation. His goal is to rid the coast of the plastic (from commercial fishing) that ends up there. Supported by an army of volunteers, he organizes cleanup days. Fishing nets, buoys, and other flotsam and jetsam are collected on the beaches or pulled off stretches of coastline accessible only by sea. Local community members and tourists join forces in these commando operations. Then there’s Beth Elliott, who collects hundreds

HOTEL WAILEA, Maui, Hawaii, USA

of pounds of flowers from weddings for Petals with a Purpose. For Maui is one of the world’s leading wedding destinations and therefore home to tremendous plant waste. Beth converts the fleeting life expectancy of these beautiful products into a more lasting futures by dismantling oversized decorations and redistributing flowers to hospitals and senior living facilities. Back at the Hotel Wailea, the talented Krista Garcia is the creative force behind extraordinary dinners. This Californian culinary creator is a true connoisseur when it comes to working with the island’s ingredients, growing her own vegetables at home in Haiku, on the northern coast. A tailor-made, tête-à-tête meal sees her julienne banana flowers, finely chop ginger blossoms, sprinkle her dish with limu (seaweed) and finger lime pearls, or whip up a lilikoi (passion fruit) sauce. Her cooking is a declaration of love to the land of Hawaii.