Last Day in Paradise – I’ao Valley and Needle

On our last day in Maui, we had quite a bit of time free to explore, as we had to leave the cottage we stayed in at 11am, and our flight out didn’t happen until almost midnight.  We decided to visit a small state park called I’ao Valley and I’ao Needle.  The state park was very lush, and quite green and lovely.

Stream at I’ao Valley

As we walked up the path and stairway toward the Needle and a great view of the valley, we passed some lovely flowers.  It was rather quiet, even considering there were a number of visitors to the park.

I’ao Valley Bloom

One of the things that surprised me was the Bird of Paradise plant.  I guess I never paid much attention to anything except the bloom itself, but here I noticed that the blooms were off a small tree, or perhaps considered a tall shrub.

Bird of Paradise Bloom

However, people don’t come to this park for the lovely flowers.  There is quite a bit of history associated with this area.  This once was a sacred burial ground for several chiefs of Maui, and this peaceful looking park was the site of last giant battle for supremacy.  In 1790, Kamehameha the Great (king of the Big Island of Hawaii) decided to do battle again for Maui (each island was considered a separate kingdom).  The battle might have been fairly even, except for a canon that Kamehameha nicknamed “Robert”.  Kamehameha kept advancing with “Robert”, driving the Maui troops further and further back into the I’ao Valley, and killed every one of them, while their wives and children looked on from the cliffs above.  Even by Hawaiian standards at the time, this was a brutal battle.  It’s truly hard to imagine this quiet and peaceful place being the site of so much bloodshed.

View from I’ao Valley

The I’ao Needle is sort of at the highest point that the trail took us to and is actually the end of a long, very narrow ridge.  From the side, it would look flat, but from our vantage point, it’s easy to see why they called it the Needle.  This entire area is what remains of the caldera of the ancient West Maui volcano.

I’ao Needle

Enjoy!