Mākena, the Spirit of Maui

Space and freedom are the signature of Mākena. It is the independence of the independent traveler, the place where the paved road ends, the defiantly wild, rugged and magnificent place where the spirit can run free. Grand, seductive, and utterly irresistible, Mākena is Maui untamed.

But there is comfort here, too, in the lone hotel of the 1,800-acre Mākena Resort, the Maui Prince Hotel. Located where Haleakalā meets the ocean, in a panorama of lava, green and oceanfront, Mākena is where many worlds meet.

The hotel is a precious pocket of civilization. Mākena's exceptional dining ranges from contemporary island cuisine to one of the finest Japanese restaurants to serve shabu-shabu and sukiyaki, as pleasing to the eye as they are to the palate.

The serenity of the Japanese meditation garden touches all corners of the hotel. Some evenings, music rises through the open-air atrium and spreads its beauty throughout the hotel. It might be an aria, a piano concerto, maybe a little Mozart, or Amazing Grace. The sky is cerise. The ocean drinks in the color, and the looming mountain presides over all.

Flowing like an emerald river are the fairways of two 18-hole championship golf courses designed by Robert Trent Jones, Jr., the North Course and South Course. Ancient rock walls are constant reminders of the Hawaiʻi of yesteryear but these breathtaking layouts are definitely the Hawaiʻi of today. Both courses are considered among the best in the islands and have some of the finest resort greens anywhere.

The North winds its way up the slopes of Haleakalā to elevations where the views of the Pacific Ocean and islands beyond are absolutely jaw-dropping. The South has a wonderful variety of holes and makes its way right down to the ocean's edge on the back nine.

Go north from Mākena and find Wailea Resort with its sophisticated hotels, restaurants and shops, and its three championship golf courses. Beyond Wailea is Kīhei, offering another 18 holes of golf and many more restaurants, shops and condominiums strung along the shoreline.

Wander south of Mākena on a winding dirt road and you'll discover a world of pristine beaches, crystal-clear waters, and breezes that soothe the spirit. Oneloa, appropriately called Big Beach, runs more than 3,000 feet long and 100 feet wide. The sands are dazzling white and the water runs turquoise to jade. A volcanic cinder cone, Puʻu Ōlaʻi, separates Oneloa from its smaller counterpart, Little Beach.

In the winter months, November through early May, humpback whales come close to shore and create immeasurable joy for spectators. Marine researchers gather atop the cinder cone to watch and listen for their song. Legend holds that the mermaid goddess Wewehi, sister of the fire goddess Pele, adorns herself with rare red seaweed, limu loloa, and swims with the gentle giants of the deep. Scientists with their high-powered binoculars have never caught a glimpse of her, but people attuned to the land and waters of Maui claim to have seen a beautiful woman, with hair flowing like the waves, frolicking in the spume of the whales and singing their haunting song with them.

In ancient times, Hawaiians settled in small villages along the Mākena shore. They came to fish the large schools of akule that practically swarm into their nets. People from the uplands would come for the weekly hukilau, the seafood version of the lūʻau.

It was along this shore that French explorer Jean-Francois de Galaup, Compte de La Pérouse, became the first non-Polynesian to set foot on Maui in 1786. The place where he landed is named after him: La Pérouse Bay.

About 50 years after the arrival of La Pérouse, an American sea captain, James Makee, settled on the island and established a sugar plantation. It later became Rose Ranch, internationally famous for its gracious hospitality and swimming pool – the first in Hawaiʻi – with its island of palm trees in the middle. The reigning monarch, King David Kalakāua, was a regular visitor at the ranch, and ships from around the word came to call at Mākena Landing to visit the successful American rancher who was the trusted friend of royalty.

Until a large pier was built in Kahului in 1949, the cattle of Maui were driven by moonlight down the slopes of Haleakalā. In the first light of day, they would be prodded into the surf at Mākena Landing, lashed to shore boats, and taken to waiting barges to be shipped to market in Honolulu.

Rose Ranch is now ʻUlupalakua Ranch, located in the hills above Mākena. There is no longer a direct road from the ranch to the coast, but the footsteps of the ancients remain.