HAWAII WITHOUT KIDS

LOTS OF ADULT-CENTRED FUN FOR THOSE ON EMPTY-NESTER-MOONS

Something was missing. We’d taken up pampered residence at our poolside cabana at the Fairmont Kea Lani for at least an hour, yet despite the calming ebb and flow of warm Pacific winds, the fragrant scent of tropical flowers and the gentle kick of the Moloka’i Mule elixir, there was something unsettling about the scene.

That’s when the shriek of a six-year-old from a second-floor suite balcony startled me out of my funk and provided me the answer that had been eluding me. Children. That’s what was missing.

Over the years we’d spent many days at this luxury resort in paradise with our two children. The memories came fast and furious. Just over there at the big pool is where they first learned to use scuba equipment. A little further down, where the waves crashed onto Polo Beach, we’d spent many hours boogie boarding, snorkelling and capping days watching the sunset.

“Nooooooo, I don’t want tooooo!!” protested the tempestuous tot.

The mother pulled the little terror inside and slammed the sliding-glass door. And as calm returned I attempted to revisit my happy thoughts. Only I couldn’t. The sulking-kid episode had instead rerouted my thought pattern onto one littered with memories of my own children behaving badly in paradise. Of bickering siblings, sickly sunburns and battles over a Waboba ball.

Then just as I signalled our cabana boy for another round of mules, it hit me: I’m at the adult pool with my lovely wife, my children are thousands of kilometres away at school, not pestering us to “Play with meeeeeee!”

It was our first ‘empty-nester moon’ (as opposed to honeymoon), and what I discovered is that the Hawaiian island that I thought I knew so well also served up child-free activities. Here’s a look:

CABANAS

We split our week on Maui between the Fairmont Kea Lani in Wailea and the Ritz-Carleton in Kapalua (OK, a little over the top, but do you have any idea the money you save without kids?). And at each resort we spoiled ourselves with a day’s cabana rental at the adult pools. The first benefit to this is there’s no need to get up at sunrise to secure a space in the sun. And then there are the other benefits: attentive service, fresh fruit and cold drinks, and NFL football. What’s that? Yes, the Ritz cabanas have flatscreen TVs and fridges, and as luck would have it, our rental there fell on a Sunday.

WAIHEE RIDGE TRAIL

While vacation brochures are filled with pictures of beaming parents hiking with their smiling kids, to my children, “hike” is a four-letter word.

So, with no kids in tow, we set out before daybreak from the Kea Lani for an hour drive into the West Maui Mountains to the trailhead. We’d been advised to set out early as the small parking lot fills up quickly and the clouds tend to move in by mid-morning obscuring stunning views of waterfalls and lush valleys.

Google “Waihee Ridge Trail” and two themes emerge: the first 100 yards up a cement road are the most difficult part of the eight-kilometre round trip, and the views are spectacular in all directions. Both proved true. The best part? During the two-hour adventure, not once did I hear, “Are we there yet?”

NAPILI KAI BAY BOARDING

True, we’ve had some great paddleboarding days as a family on Maui, but with them came inevitable squabbles over who is getting the most “board time.” Not this trip, as we headed to the island’s best paddleboarding bay, at Napili Kai Beach, rented a couple of boards at the resort by the same name, and spent a peaceful day gliding over sea turtles, colourful fish and black coral.

Lunch was at the resort’s beachside Sea House Restaurant, with our paddleboards still in site. And the sole argument was over who got the last piece of crispy calamari.

KAPALUA ZIPLINES

As the only dual zip line course on Maui, Kapalua Ziplines was built with couples in mind. It’s also the island’s longest, with our sixline tour offering more than two-and-a-half kilometres of thrills. As a bonus, we got to walk across the longest and tallest-suspension bridge in Hawaii. That’s a great photo op, but the great guides who make you feel safe despite some pretty harrowing and fast descents will take the best images you’ll get from the three-hour tour. Of all our activities this one reminded me of the kids most. Why? The screaming.

FERRARO’S

As any parent can attest, dining out with children is at best tolerable. Even family-friendly places like Cheeseburgers in Paradise and Monekypod Kitchen lose their appeal after a while.

My wife and I made a beeline to Ferraro’s, the legendary Italian restaurant in the Four Seasons in south Maui. We scored a patio table for two with an unobstructed sunset view, the only such “alfresco” waterfront restaurant in all of Wailea.

Ferraro’s is often honoured with “Most Romantic Restaurants in the United States” awards, but what really impressed was the quality of the food and the service. One doesn’t equate Italian food to the Hawaiian Island, but after this night, every time I see spaghetti carbonara on a menu I think of Maui.

LAHAINA WALKING TOUR

I have contemplated what hell a historical walking tour with my kids might be. I’d heard about this guided tour of Lahaina, the one-time royal capital of Maui and today best known for its strip of tourist shops and restaurants, when my kids were small but never looked into it.

I’d also met the guiding force behind the walk, Makalupa Kanuha. In addition to being an accomplished Hawaiian singer and entertainer, “Maka” is most importantly a student, teacher and ambassador of Hawaiian culture. Her guided walking tour of Lahaina is a real eyeopener for anyone who thinks they know Maui. For one, after my many visits to the Valley Isle, I had no idea there are a number of royals, including a king, a queen and a princess, buried in a cemetery on the grounds of the Wailoa Church, the first Christian church on Maui, founded in 1823.

Maui surprised us with great first-time experiences despite how many times we had visited with our kids. And you can rediscover one another after living through (surviving?) raising children.

(We) spent a peaceful day gliding over sea turtles, colourful fish and black coral.” Andrew McCredie

— FOUR SEASONS It’s doesn’t get more romantic than this sunset-ready table for two at Ferraro’s at the Four Seasons Maui.

— KAPALUA ZIPLINES FILES With the resort of Kaanapali in the distance, the author and his wife catch some Maui air on the only dual zip line course on the Hawaiian island.

ANDREW MCCREDIE/PNG Lahaina walking tour guide Maka, right, has plenty of gems to tell visitors, including how this water is sacred as it flows from the West Maui Mountains.

— RITZ-CARLTON The comfy cabanas at the Ritz-Carlton in Kapalua offer flatscreen TVs, bar fridges and privacy.