Maui's (Hawaii) most popular activity is Sunrise watching at Haleakala. The Haleakalā or East Maui Volcano (10,023 feet or 3'055M.ü.M) is a massive shield volcano that forms more than 75% of the Hawaiian Island of Maui.
However, swarms of people begin driving at 2 or 3 A.M. !!! every day to have the opportunity to view an unforgettable sunrise from above the clouds (maybe). They must have definitely read the various travel guide books in preparation for their vacation in Maui.
After seeing all those stunning photographs of Haleakala's sunrise, I was more than eager to see it for myself ! I was feeling like - this is a must - there is no way. But after reading all the recommendations twice, checking my individual timetable and recognizing that this might be a very crowded place for a landscape photographer I decided to go for the Sunset ;-)
I asked myself what might be the difference between the Sunrise and the Sunset (beside the angle) from a photography point of view and I came to the conclusion that the air might be a little bit "clearer" at the Sunrise but you know this is just a theoretical point ... because Maui is in the middle of nowhere surrounded by water.
Everyone I know had gone to the summit of Haleakala to watch the sunrise ... but I decided against this "good practice" approach...
And you know what, I could not have been more impressed by what I saw the way up to the Haleakala. Because I drove up during daylight hours so I was able to experience the wonderful changing exotic flora all the way long from the bottom to the peak. But keep in mind the altitude of the volcano is 10,023 feet .... and it's damned chillllllllllyyyyy - especially when sun is gone ;-) And the best thing comes now, only a handful visitors where there to watch the sunset and they all were gone when I captured this scene.
Indeed it was a wonderful day ! It was definitely worth to be a contrarian.
Take care,
Gerry
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