Ocean Bay Trail Near Oneloa Bay

Ever Beautiful Kapalua Bay

Ambassadors of the Environment

The former tennis garden near Fleming Beach has been transformed into the Ambassadors of the Environment Hale which serves as the starting point for numerous fun environmental awareness programs. Launched last fall in partnership with Kapalua, Ritz-Carlton and Jean-Michael Cousteau’s Ocean Futures Society, AOTE’s programs offers visitors in-depth explorations of the wonders of the natural world. Underwater photography sessions, hikes to the Maunalei Arboretum, and myriad exciting and unique keiki programs lead by trained naturalists, foster a greater appreciation for the world’s interconnectedness. Costs for the program range from $59 – $89.

Ambassadors of the Environment Hale

Kapalua Adventure Center

Have you seen the Unimoggs yet? Ever wonder where they are going? The open-air, all-terrain biodiesel vehicles transport guests from the Adventure Center to Kapalua’s Mountain Outpost. From there intrepid explorers get their kicks on one of the biggest, meanest, baddest zipline tour in North America. The dual system course offers 8 zips carrying adventurers silently above the tree canopy over deep gorges giving a true bird’s eye view without disturbing the natural environment below. Besides the ziplines, the Adventure Center boasts a comprehensive high-ropes challenge course, a four station climbing tower suspension bridge and a thrill swing built for two.

Unimoggs Transport Guests to Adventure

Guests can also hike any of Kapalua’s 100 miles of trails., accessing those at the Mountain Outpost trailhead via the free shuttle that departs five times daily from the Ritz Carlton. Adventure tours range from $45 for the pineapple express tour to $199 for the deluxe zipline tour.

Cafe Kapalua

We’d be remiss if we failed to mention here the wonderful Cafe Kapalua, the perfect spot to start or end your journey into the wilderness areas of the resort. Offering well-priced and delicious breakfast, lunch, snacks, smoothies, coffees and pastries, the unassuming cafe tucked into the back of the Adventure Center next to the outfitters shop across from the golf range,  delivers so much more than you’d expect at first glance.

What might elsewhere be ho-hum —  huevos rancheros, salads, wraps, sandwiches — are elevated to gourmet status by the use of premium, fresh ingredients gathered from farms across the island, in particular, the Kapalua Farms right down the street. Whatever else has happened in this crazy world of ours over the centuries, we humans have retained the ability to recognize fresh at first bite and seem to appreciate that particular trigger to pleasure more and more. So stop by, enjoy the taste of fresh at Cafe Kapalua. Then, get out there!

Ocean Hiking Trail

One of Kapalua’s simpler pleasures is the Ocean Trail, especially during whale season. Running from Kapalua Bay to Fleming Beach, the path passes by the newly completed Ritz Residences and has been recently upgraded to include a boardwalk over the dunes at Oneloa Bay. It’s stunning, it’s easy and it’s free.

Kapalua's Ocean Trail traverses some of the world's most beautiful scenery.

Golf Practice Course

My favorite Kapalua improvement in recent months is the revamped 3-hole practice range on the former Village Course. Each hole has three different tee boxes and although it’s short and sweet, the course provides ample opportunity to practice skills beyond the range and putting green without committing to a full round. It’s also the perfect place to test your skills after a lesson at the Golf Academy. Check in at the learning center before heading to the course; cost is $25.

Kapalua Golf Learning Center Views

Bocce Ball

There’s good reason Italian’s love the game of Bocce; it’s fun, sociable, and you can drink wine while you do it. For a little taste of la dolce vita in Kapalua, get your pals together under the shaded courts located directly across from the Honolua Store. The glorious views the overlooking the Bay Course will inspire even if your skills are initially lacking. If you’ve never played before, don’t worry. Bocce is a game with a quick learning curve and thus appeals to beginners and aficionados alike. Team members take turns rolling bocce balls as close to the pollina (set ball) as possible — and that’s pretty much it. Good hand eye coordination helps, but anyone can get in on the action. The Villas Registration Center loans out bocce sets at no charge to guests and residents.

Chef James at `Aina Gourmet

`Aina, the latest in the I`O and Pacific`O franchise, breathes needed life and aloha into Honua Kai, Maui’s newest full ownership oceanfront resort. Those few entitled souls who are among the first to settle in are finding their every wish is `Aina’s command. From attentive poolside service to inclusive in-room dining; from stocking pantries to catering parties; from breakfast, lunch and dinner service to freshly made desserts and handcrafted gelato, `Aina has it all covered.

It’s too bad there aren’t more takers right now. Although the upstart hotel sold out quickly two years ago before ground was even broken, construction was recently completed just as the market tumbled and tourism took it on the chin. It’s a temporary setback; I’m sure, since the setting at the northern most edge of Kaanapali is pure magic.

Koi Ponds --`Aina at Honua Kai

Stepping inside the mammoth open-air lobby I felt obliged to mimic the koi swimming peacefully in nearby lily ponds. I didn’t dive in; but I did take a seat and meditate on the view. As the sun began its daily disappearing act I was roused from my reverie by a spectacle of purple and orange light reflected in the ponds surrounding the al fresco dining and pool area. Drawn near the shore, I noticed the neighboring beach has been extensively upgraded; manicured and combed so that now bears no resemblance to the once overgrown cove which formerly attracted only those hoping to withdraw from social life. Lovelier but still a little lonely, it won’t be long before crowds discover this hidden gem, along with `Aina next door.

With a beautiful, spanking-new setting, good food, joie de vivre, `Aina quivers with good vibes. The market/café/coffee shop/ice cream parlor/produce vendor/wine shop, seems to have it all, including locally crafted hand churned gelato that tempts all who enter with flavors such as apple banana and limoncello. Need a dozen flavors of sea salt? Searching for an extensive wine selection at reasonable prices, like a half bottle of Rombauer for $20? Crackers, cheese, vinegars, seasoning, spices, fresh garden produce from O`O Farms – all here and priced equivalently to what you’d expect to pay in a chain store – if only they had such fine provisions or `Aina’s appealing and helpful servers.

There is no liquor service yet, per se, but you can order from the café menu, buy a few beers from `Aina’s cooler, and picnic at the tables on the lanai. Highly recommended is the fish wrap, ceviche and beet salad made with golden raisins, my favorite.

To introduce everyone to the new multi-tasking gourmet shop and café, Aina hosted a Grand Opening , Sunday, May 31st, 12 – 4 p.m. complete with coffee roasting demos, wine and menu tasting, and a 10% kama`aina discount. Face-painting, lei-making, and a chocolate fountain had the kids twirling in the sunlight while adults stocked up on gourmet treats.

Serving breakfast, lunch, light dinner, carry-out, room service, gourmet grocery, wine shop seemingly all hours of day and night.

`Aina Market
Honua Kai Resort
130 Kai Parkway
Kaanapali, Hi 96761
808-662-2832

Locally grown produce at `Aina