Protect Maui Ecology and Camp in Haleakala Crater

Many of us are cinching our belts when it comes to spending money on our vacations. It's been a tough economy lately for many, but that hasn't stopped vacationers from making their way to Maui's beautiful shores. What it has done is reduced the spending of visitors when they get here. We understand the need to budget, so we've put a lot of work into providing reduced rates through our Maui vacation rental specials.

We are also on the lookout for fun things for visitors to do without too much expense. One especially nice opportunity has recently come up which is definitely worth sharing.

If you are familiar with Maui in any way, you will know a bit about Haleakala Crater. At the top of our eastern mountain, which is the bigger of the two, a crater the size of Manhattan can be found. It looks like a landscape from mars thanks to its coarse red sands and brilliant cinder cones. It remains one of the most spectacularly unusual landscapes most will ever see. If you don't quite feel like you are on another planet during the day, you probably will when night falls.

The Crater is one of the best observation points for the science of astronomy worldwide. You probably don't realize how many stars are obscured by light pollution all over the rest of the U.S., but the difference should become shockingly evident here. At its incredible elevation of just over ten thousand feet, the summit of Haleakala reveals the enormous breadth of the cosmos in full grandeur. In most places, it's rare to see a shooting star. At the Crater, it's rare not to. Sometimes you will see dozens in a matter of hours.

There are cabins in the Crater that can be reserved for about $75 per night, but usually you must book at least a month in advance. But there is another way to stay in these cabins. The Friends of Haleakala National Park non-profit is looking for enthusiastic hikers to help preserve the native habitat of the Crater, involving a few wonderfully unique plants that can be found nowhere else in the world.

In exchange for helping to preserve this habitat, you get a free two-night stay in Kapalaoa Cabin from March 12th to the 14th. Sign up on the web at fhnp.org, or call 264-4757.

For the rest of your trip, please keep our Maui vacation rentals in mind, as we do everything we can to make your vacation unforgettable. If you're happy, we're happy. And if you're thinking, "Wow, they have the best job in the world," we certainly won't argue!

Call (800) 676-4112 if you have any questions that are not answered on our website. Mahalo for reading this week and we look forward to seeing you soon!