The kids all left today – it was super that they were able to come for 10 whole days, and we missed them as soon as we left the airport. After doing some errands on the way back to the condo, we decided to walk later in the evening and catch the sunset from somewhere south of us near Wailea. Our guidebook lists several hikes in the remote area south of Makena – we had visited Big Beach with the kids earlier in the week, and we knew that the road there extended beyond, dead-ending at La Perouse Bay. Near its end, the road passes through the Ahina-Kinau preserve, vast lava fields through which several trails run from the road to the coast – we thought we could walk some six miles in total through this trail network. However, upon our arrival we discovered signs saying the area was closed – our only option in the neighborhood was to walk some three round-trip miles out past the end of the road to Cape Hanamanioa, the southernmost extremity of the lava flow that created La Perouse Bay, where there was a lighthouse beacon. It was about 5pm when we reached the end of the road, and we immediately set out south and east along the bay, typically following a path right along the water. The tide was very high, and the powerful surf seemed so close – we passed a blowhole that exploded every 30 seconds or so before entering a less exposed section of the coast where the surf was more calm. We could see the long wooded section of coastline ahead of us – no signs at all of civilization, it looked like a movie set as we approached. The path wound through the trees, sometimes more inland, sometimes along the water – inland were stone fences and a small herd of wild goats too shy for a picture, at the water’s edge were gorgeous tide pools that were a treat. Near the east end of the trees we came upon a white sand beach – how it happens to be located deep in a lava field we have no idea – and we could see large surf breaks off its point to the south. Past the trees, we emerged into a wide open lava field several square miles large – we later found out that this flow was formed during Haleakala’s most recent eruption in 1790. Like other lava fields we had walked through, the terrain was a confused jumble of rocks, scattered about in random formations – the photos really don’t do justice to the textures of the landscape. We passed a couple of entrances from our path to the King’s Highway, part of the ancient transportation network used by early Hawaiians – this we could literally follow all the way around this side of the island to Hana if we so desired. We continued south and east through the lava field, and eventually the beacon came into view – it was so windy as we reached the trail’s end, we were a little tentative about getting too near the cliffs for fear we could get blown over the edge. At the beacon, we were probably 50′ above the water to the south, and we could feel the spray each time a huge wave would crash against the rocks below. Eastward we could see the essentially undeveloped southermost flank of Maui – the highway above us to the northeast (although only a couple of miles away, we would have to drive all the way north to Kahului and back southeastward through Kula to reach it) is off-limits to rental cars as it eventually becomes a narrow gravel road, though it indeed extends around to the Hana side. We could spy through the clouds to the north sunlight glinting off the observatories at Haleakala’s summit, and to the west the sun was beginning to set over the bay. We retraced our steps to the second King’s Highway entrance, deciding to follow it north to a junction with the main portion that led directly west back to the coast – although tougher to walk on, it was cool to walk through history in a sense by using the centuries-old pathway. As we again reached the white sand beach, we were surprised to see a 4WD pickup coming slowly down the trail – we had walked over some seriously rough lava flows in the trees, and it’s hard to believe someone would have guts enough – and the machine to do so – to cross them, but obviously the guy had gotten this far. Maybe he was going out to do some maintenance on the beacon or something – there were barriers to prevent motor vehicles from traveling the King’s Highway, but he may have just wanted to find a secluded camping spot. We continued up the coast, pausing for some photos of the setting sun and clouds to the west – after returning to the car, we headed back to Kihei and caught the tail end of the sunset from the bluff above Kamaole Beach #3. Like when we did the Lahaina-Pali trail, this was a pleasant walk in the early evening, when the day’s warmth and humidity tends to fade a bit.