SOUTH MAUI - Maui: Including Molokai and Lanai - page 276

troduce foreign matter (such as petroleum-based spray-on sunscreens) into the wa-
ter, and destroy sensitive ponds. It seemed the only solution for keeping trouble-
makers out was to keep all visitors out, so the area was closed in 2008.
The area still hasn't recovered from overuse. A site originally planned to re-open
in 2010 remains closed until mid-2014, and potentially longer. These areas are off-
limits to the public. There are many other spots for good snorkeling along the is-
land's south side. Be part of the solution, not part of the problem.
On the other side of the hill from the Ahihi Kinau snorkeling area is a cove that's re-
ferred to simply as Dumps. There's a small gravel parking lot here just before the road be-
gins its trek across the lava flow, and a short five-minute trail leads down to a rocky beach.
While the snorkeling here can be good at times, there isn't that much more to find here
that you can't see at any other South Maui snorkeling spot. The waves can get very large
in summer, and you only want to snorkel here if the conditions are completely calm. To
reach Dumps, travel 1.6 miles past the first entrance for Big Beach. Don't leave valuables
in your car; break-ins are an ongoing problem.
Finally, just when you think that the road will never end, the asphalt gives way to a
gravel parking lot in a spot known as La Perouse Bay. The lava field that you drive over
en route to La Perouse is the remnants of Haleakala's last eruption, and if you look up the
side of the mountain while traversing the lava field, it's obvious where the lava escaped
from the mountain. The ribbon of black rock that weaves toward the sea is so well-defined
it looks as if a child chose the wrong crayon to draw an erupting volcano, opting for black
instead of orange. Most literature will tell you that the lava flow dates to 1790, although
recent evidence suggests it might have been earlier. The bay is named for the French ex-
plorer Jean Francois de Galaup Compte de La Pérouse, who in 1786 was the first European
to set foot on the island of Maui in this very spot. As you enter the parking area there's a
stone structure memorializing this event, and it's fascinating to think that at a time when
the United States had already fought a revolution, the island of Maui was still unknown to
the Western world.
The snorkeling in La Perouse Bay can be phenomenal, although there are also times
when it can be a total bust. Early mornings are best before the trade winds fill the bay with
whitecaps, and summer can bring large surf which turns the shoreline into a cauldron of
white water. On calm days, however, the best snorkeling is found to the right of the park-
ing lot where you must scramble across a lava rock point to reach the protected inlet. The