We normally associate holidays in Hawaii with beaches,
Hawaiian dancers, the calypso and drinking mai tai. If
you are looking for something more adventurous, take a
trip to Maui or Kauai.

Maui is a place where you can do something very different
from the usual tourist stuff. You can actually take an
adventurous horseback trip down to the center of a huge
meteoric crater and up again. At Kauai you can visit the
old sugar plantations, which were once the backbone of
the Hawaiian economy and see the old methods used to
harvest sugarcane and the process of preparing refined
sugar.

There are many other innumerable adventures that one can
enjoy at these islands like hiking, rock climbing, scuba
diving, visiting old monuments and many more... As there is a
growing popularity for active vacations, the two above
mentioned activities are the most exciting activities of
all.

Ride a Horse into a Volcanic Crater

On Maui, tourists flock every morning at sunrise, sometimes
as early as five, to see the gorgeous sunrise at the top of
Haleakala's summit at 10,000 feet. From the summit you can
see a shockingly colorful sky panorama, as well as the
entire Haleakala National Park. Tourists to Maui swear this
sunset is worth the early hour and lost sleep.

More daring tourists take up early morning horseback
trips to the Haleakala Crater. They leave at sunrise and
ride through the meandering rocky hillsides, going down
into the crater. The trip to the crater is an experience
in itself. The beauty of the changing layers and textures
of rock formations along the way are awe-inspiring. It is
almost like another world, complete with it's own
solitude and weather system.

The Haleakala crater is the remains of a once-active
volcano, one of many that helped create the Hawaiian
Islands. It looks like a landscape feature on Mars with its
earthen, sometimes bright, colors of red, yellow, gray, and
black.

You'll be impressed with the agilty of trail horses as they
pick their way through rocks and steep ground. If you
aren't an experienced horse rider, you'll be surprised how
steeply the horses step down and you'll feel like you may
fall off! However, these trusty and experienced horses know
their way and won't stray from their duty of transporting
you safely.

Once you get to the bottom of the crater (the entire trip,
if you opt for it, is five hours long), your tour guide
will serve you a picnic lunch. Somehow food tastes so good
while you're on a hike, camping trip, or trail ride.

Most every tour company on Maui offers different trips to
this famed volcanic creation, either by bus, car, or on
hoof. All the Hawaiian islands offer trail rides. The
beauty and variations in landscape offer so many trail
possibilities.

The Sugar Connection

If you are fortunate on your Hawaii trip to be able to
visit more than one of the islands, you'll love Kauai for
its connection with colonial American history. The island
is a showcase for the once ubiquitous sugar trade in the
Pacific. Some of the plantations are off the beaten path
and not offered with every tour package, but they are
definitely worth pursuing if you have an extra day there.

To see the working sugar plantation one has to tread to the
west side of the island. You can see the sugarcane
plantation swaying in the wind and huge machinery involved
in processing this plantation and converting it into table
sugar.

It is said that if you want to enjoy one of the most exotic
tropical holidays then you surely should visit Hawaii.
Hawaii boast of many beautiful islands where you can sit
back and relax sipping a mai-tai. Incase you're looking for
an active holiday then you should visit he islands of Maui
and Kauai. At Maui you can enjoy activities like a
challenging horseback riding down to the meteoric crater
and then a trip back up again.

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