When we picked up our rental car at the airport, they made it clear that we were not to drive on the roads in the southern section of the island. The north/west end of this small island gets over 400" of rain each year. But the south/east end gets under 10" per year and parts of it are like a desert. The southern tip of Maui is home to relatively new lava flows and is very rocky compared to the rest of island.

   While on vacation in the Hawaiian islands, my wife and I hooked up with some local wheelers for an off-road excursion into the lesser traveled southern end of Maui. We parked our rental car at a local Kmart and jumped in with Paul and his white 1988 V6 4Runner.

   Paul's ride is all stock but that does not stop him from having a good time wheeling, camping and hitting the waves off the coast. He's in the middle of building up a solid axle Toyota truck for more serious rock crawling and to hit the bigger rocks on the island. For now, his 4Runner is his main ride.

   On the way to the trail we hooked up with a few of Paul's friends, including Joe Gardner. Joe brought along his 2004 double cab Tacoma. This sweet looking ride was as clean as they come. Features on his ride include 6" Trail Master lift, Dirt Logic Coil over shocks, 33" tires, and rear TRD electric locker.

   Our goal was to reach Kanile Beach. Our group of 10 people, 2 trucks and one motorcycle set out in the morning. By late afternoon, we arrived on the black sands beach of Kanile. Once on the beach we drove about one mile down to this groups favorite, secluded camp site.  A fire was started in the fire ring, and soon marinated chicken, sausage and hot dogs were grilled up and served with salad and rice.

   Kinoah, a 4 year old boy was eating a local delicacy, called Opihi. These mussel like limpets are collected from the shoreline and considered tasty by the locals. Eaten raw or cooked on the rocks near the fire.

Below you will find a few of the photos I took along the way down to the beach and along the southern end of the island. I hope you enjoy them, aloha!