About Your Hosts in Maui Hawaii

View from the Lookout House

Jeff used to be a dentist specializing in treatment of phobic patients with hypnosis - but the commute to San Francisco was a bit much - so he retired from that profession and now enjoys teaching and private counseling. Sharyn was an actress, radio announcer and speech therapist in Australia, her country of birth. Until recently, she ran an eclectic video and gift shop in Paia.

As of 01/25/98 we both have a new “surprise” career - we're parents of Kai Nalu (“Ocean Wave” in Hawaiian)…who can often be seen elbow deep in banana bread or macadamia nuts!

As hosts we understand peoples' different needs for privacy and are very happy to respect those needs. We always take our cue from our guests!

Ask Jeff about his unique form of private counseling for those seeking physical and/or emotional healing and/or personal growth

Read on because we want to tell you a little bit about where we live and the beautiful sights around us.

We're about 40 minutes from the airport and we live in Huelo (hu-aylo), mysteriously described in one of the travel books as "an old Hawaiian village forgotten by time". Two churches at the top of the road were built back in the 1800's. Apparently stones were passed along a line of people stretching 3/4 of a mile from the bottom of the cliffs near our house all the way up to the church construction site. Of course, the valley of Huelo is much older than this. A few months ago a huge ancient Hawaiian hei'au was unearthed. As you wind down Door of Faith Church road you pass families who were born here relaxing with a cool drink under the trees or on a veranda. Old Johnny owns the farm nearby- at the age of 83 he was still working 12 hours a day on his farm "Kanane O Huelo" ("Beautiful Huelo")... bananas...red ginger...papayas...He is resting now and we miss him a lot. We took exactly 10 minutes to decide to buy our house here!

We are on Huelo Point about 400 yards back and 300 feet above the cliffs of Huelo Point, the "weather vortex" of this side of the island, and from here you can watch dramatic weather changes sweep along the coastal cliffs from Hana all the way up the summit to Haleakala.

Fifteen minutes away is Ho'okipa Beach, where the world famous windsurfing “Aloha Classic” is held just down the road from the infamous “Jaws” which makes its spectacular appearance in all the well known surfing movies. Thirty minutes away is Pa'ia, (pronounced pa-EEa) a funky little sugar and windsurfing town that is rapidly becoming a tourist destination because of its good restaurants and boutiques. It is also a center for a lot of "alternative" life stylers- so there is a wonderful organic food market and vegan restaurant Just past you will find "Baby" Beach and Baldwin Beach.

Our house is ideally located for exploring this side of the island, with easy access to "upcountry"- the old cowboy town of Makawao (good art galleries & shopping) and then of course the 10,000 foot Haleakala ("House of the Sun") which is right in our back yard. We're just at the start of the highway to Hana - before the road gets seriously curvy.

Come prepared to enjoy the unique peace and beauty as well as the drama and power of this side of the island. Where else could you sit and watch rainbows march to your doorstep and slip over your house? Or in the whale season watch mother and calf frolic for hours? Or be able to hike into waterfalls (5 miutes dirve) and swim in its pools? Or go from silence to 60 mph wind and 2 inches of rain and back to a rainbow and clear skies all in 15 minutes?

You might prefer to go for a walk with our neighbor "Lucienne" Or Travis, who has spent a lot of time exploring the island and finding secluded waterfalls and coves or a sacred path to an ancient Hawaiian fishing village. Another of our neighbors leads horseback rides through the valleys here. We can also arrange to have a masseuse spoil you with a uniquely Hawaiian lomi lomi massage, or you might like to arrange an in house chef for that special dinner, work it off by walking a few doors down the road to join a morning yoga class.

It's fun to leave the hustle and bustle of the "tourist side" of the island of Maui and become explorer again. We can guarantee you'll return home having touched the real Maui which is there if you know where to look. Huelo, our mostly-still-undiscovered part of Maui, was the subject of a special feature article in the May/June 98 issue of “Hawaii Magazine”. Or you might like to read a little about us in the December 95 issue of National Geographic Traveler- we were written up there as part of their article on “The Real Maui”- an excellent article for anyone coming to the island for the first time, or for those travelers who are looking for something a little more adventurous than the usual hotel experience.

We also offer a private hot tubs under the stars and a wonderful 40' freeform jungle swimming pool for you to enjoy, landscaped with palms and sweetly scented night jasmine. You may just choose to lie by the pool and not go anywhere else at all!

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