Pete Jalbert R(S)

When people think of Maui and Hawaii in general, they often think of the beach first. Heck as an island resident, when I have some down time I tend to grab my surf board and head to the beach before anything else. Yesterday the prospects for surf were limited so my friend Tom and I did something a little different and headed up to the Iao Valley in the West Maui Mountains. Maui has some beautiful mountain areas from the massive dormant volcano Haleakala to the lush and rugged West Mauis.

The West Mauis are an old remnant volcano that is eroding rapidly. The results of the rapid erosion are jagged, steep and lush peaks. The steep slopes are filled with the trails from periodic waterfalls. When the area is subjected to heavier rain, hundreds of waterfalls spill down these steeper slopes. We did a nice little hike up in the Iao valley. Much of the hike was forested and a pleasant relief from the warm summer sun. The forest is a mix of native plants and non-native vegetation. Regardless of origins, there are lots of beautiful flowers along the way. We were also able to climb a little off the valley floor to get some more panoramic views of the mountains surrounding us.

Perhaps, the best part of the hike was the post hike dip in the Iao Stream. The cool mountain waters were a great way to wash off sweat from the trail.

The Iao Valley is located in Wailuku, Maui. There are properties for sale along the entrance of the valley and on the lower slopes of the West Maui Mountains. Check out all of the current listings for Wailuku Homes on MauiRealEstate.com.

I was out at our new listing in Haiku yesterday. I had my camera with me and snapped some pictures of some of the fruit and flowers that I saw when I was walking around the property.

As you come down the driveway, you go past a few big mango trees. It has been a banner year for mangoes. The ground below the trees was covered with ripe and over ripe mangos. There were also a few beautiful looking fruit hanging from the trees.

The sellers have planted the area above their cottage with a variety of fruit, vergetables and flowers. As I was walking up the stair case from the cottage to the parking area, I was impressed by the bromeliads.

I had to stop and get a close up of one of the more striking flowers.

The flower almost looked like it was from another planet. Maui is such a beautiful landscape, but sometimes you need to stop and take in the splendor of the local flora.

It has been a busy week for me, so I haven't been able to post on my Active Rain blog as much as I would like. In the slowing Maui Market, busy is a good thing so I can't complain. I have been able to blog with a little more frequency on my other Maui Real Estate Blog. The subject matter has been pretty diverse ranging from luxury market updates, to cultural events, to weather, to island sports and even something on some of Maui's efforts to develop more sustainable energy. Here are a few highlights.

• The Maui Ultra Luxury market has remained relatively strong as we a slow down in much of our market. Over the last couple of months, I have been comparing the performance of the market vs. 2007 numbers. I recently took a look at the performance of the Kapalua Luxury market. While the market has slowed from the record breaking numbers of 2007, buyers have still be purchasing properties in healthy numbers in this beautiful luxury resort in West Maui.
• I had a couple of posts on the weather in Maui. I have to admit to being a bit of a weather geek. While Maui and Hawaii offer some of the most consistent weather and arguably the best climate, we have seen some unusual weather over the last few weeks. This changed on Thursday when the trade winds returned and the watersheds started to receive some much needed rainfall.
• Last but not least, a coalition of Maui and mainland companies announced their plans to build a new bio-diesel farm on the island using algae. This exciting project is one of many efforts around the island to move towards sustainable energy and to decrease our dependence on fossil fuels.

I hope to get back in the groove with my Active Rain blog this week. In the interim, I hope you find these posts on Maui and the Maui Real Estate market informative. Contact me for assistance or questions on the Maui Real Estate market.

My apologies to Gene Autry, but I couldn't resist. My brother Billy and I have always enjoyed heading out for a stand up paddle after work. Maui's North Shore is an ideal location for coast runs on paddle boards. Coast runs entail paddling down the coast with the prevailing trade winds. With the wind at your back, you can often catch and ride unbreaking open ocean swells. If there are breaking waves along the way, we will usually stop and go for a surf. Unfortunately, our down wind paddles have ben pretty limited for the last year and a half. Billy blew a disc in his back. It has been a long and painful rehab process. He is just now getting healthy and this holiday weekend we were able to go on our first two paddles in quite some time.

It has been wonderful to have my brother out in the water again. Our paddles are not only great exercise, but it provides a fantastic vantage point for both the onshore and offshore beauty of Maui. It is pretty spectacular to be able to look back towards shore at towering Haleakala and its cloak of clouds. The elevated vantage point is also ideal for seeing sea life. I have seen all kinds of turtles, fish, rays, small sharks and even whales in the winter. Here's to the continued health of Billy's back and lots of great paddles the rest of the year.

When people think about Maui, they tend to think of white sand beaches, beautiful ocean waters, rainbows and tropical waterfalls. Somehow, cowboys don't make the list. However, cowboys or as they are known locally Paniolos are a big part of the culture and identity of Maui's Upcountry. The slopes of Haleakala have been ranching country since the 1880s. Communities like Makawao formed to help support the needs of ranchers. While there aren't any more feed stores in Makawao town, it still has a cowboy feel and it actively celebrates its Paniolo culture. Fourth of July weekend is the town's biggest celebration of Paniolo culture with the fourth of July parade and the Makawao Rodeo.

This holiday weekend is the 53rd annual rodeo. The rodeo starts at 9:00 AM on Thursday with the qualifying events. Qualifying events are free to the public. Friday morning the annual Fourth of July parade runs through Makawao. The stick horse race starts at 8:45 and the parade starts at 9:00. The Bull Bash is one of the most popular rodeo events. It runs at 7:00 on Friday. Tickets for the Bull Bash are $15. Saturday and Sunday, the rodeo will host all kinds of events including roping, barrels and bull riding. Gates open Saturday and Sunday at 11:00 with the rodeo itself starting at 1:00 PM. Tickets for Saturday and Sunday are $10 for adults, $5 for seniors, $3 for kids 6-12 and free for children 5 and under. All events are held at the Oskie Rice Arena just up Olinda Road from Makawao town. It should be a fun weekend in the Upcountry.

If you are interested in horse and ranch properties, Maui has options from acreage, to properties with equestrian facilities to huge parcels of ranch land. Contact me for all of the latest horse properties on Maui.