I just returned from a great trip to Maui, although I kind of wish I was still there. It's a beautiful place and I'm lucky to have now spent time there on two occasions. Not only is the scenery there gorgeous, but the weather is so much nicer than Guam. The humidity is much lower and weather is a bit more predictable, with frequent rains on one side of the island and dry, sunny weather on the other. It was nice to see mountains and tall forests again, too. There are many tall peaks carpeted by lush rainforest and cut by high waterfalls. Mt. Haleakala is by far the largest on Maui, a currently inactive volcanic crater at 10,023ft. I didn't get to the top on my last visit, but we made sure to head up there this time. It was really cool up there (literally and figuratively- it got down to 48 degrees F not including the wind chill, by far the coldest weather I've felt in months!) and, had we the time, it would've been awesome to hike around the crater. It's really barren at the summit, but there are still some plants and animals, many of which are endangered. There's one very delicate herbacious plant called silver sword that only grows around the summit areas. Apparently the root system is very weak and it blooms only once, then dies.
We didn't find the snake that was sighted- or any snake for that matter- but that's not a bad thing in my opinion. With at least five searchers through the area each night (sometimes up to about a dozen) and numerous traps, we found no snakes: a good sign that there isn't any sort of population there. Also, after hearing more of the details on arriving, it sounds as though the snake may already be dead.
The two guys who reported the snake were driving down a windy two-lane road in Hana, on the far eastern side of the island. It was about 8:30pm and drizzling. Soon after rounding a sharp corner, they saw the reptile in the middle of the road. It was moving, but slowly, so they got a good look at it. In subsequent interviews (conducted separately), both men gave the same description and chose the same snake photos out of a selection of about 16 (both of which were brown treesnakes). The only difference they found was that the snake they saw was greener than the one in the photos. Color, among many other things, can be difficult to remember, especially at night on a small, moving object that has you particularly excited. Really, all we know is the basic size and shape, certainly not the species. Anyway, the driver slammed on the breaks (leaving skid marks that show basically the exact sighting location) and, after sitting for a few seconds in disbelief, hit the gas to try and run the snake over. I'm impressed at how well these guys handled the situation. First, they made sure what they were seeing was actually a snake, then they tried to kill it, and afterwards they immediately reported the sighting to the police. These are all things specifically encouraged by the rapid reponse program and the media campaigns designed to have people keep an eye out for snakes on these islands.
The driver isn't really sure if they hit it, but the passanger was convinced they nailed it. The man in shotgun said in his interview that the snake was right under the tire on his side. It's possible that the snake was injured and made it off the road into the brush. We've hit snakes here before and had them escape from us, although they may later expire from the damage. Often, although they're hurt, the snakes are still in enough shock to get off the road and under cover with amazing speed. It's also impressive how quickly they can disappear from view, even if they're still very close by. To make matters more difficult in this situation, there's a large, deep stone wall running all along the side of the road. The road itself is also built up on several feet of large rocks, providing innumerable interstices in which a snake could hide. What I'm hoping is that the snake was hit and, mortally wounded, slipped deep into the rocks and died. If it's not alive I hope it was 1) a lone male 2) an unfertilized female or 3) a pet that isn't even a brown treesnake and won't make it for long in the wild.
In terms of Hana, its a really nice place. The town is very small, with two stores, a few restaurants (two of which are owned by the Hana Ranch/Hotel) one gas station, a church, and a high-class resort, the aforementioned Hana Ranch/Hotel. The resort seems to be a pretty popular destination for couples on their honeymoon. You can get a package deal there of 5 nights in a private cottage with spa for a mere $4500. What?! You're kidding? No? Damn. Obviously the fine accommodations come at a princely cost. I guess that's why the ranch owns some insane amount of land in Hana and a few thousand head of cattle (at least, that's what it looked like... with an equal number of cattle egrets flying between them).
The cattle were hilarious during our night searches. They were about half a mile away, but with so many of them, they could easily be heard from where we were. And, my God, did they make a racket! Apparently breeding season was on (or maybe all the cows were simultaneously in heat) because there was constant, often violent-sounding, mooing from the fields. Some of the "moos" were more like cries of frustration that built up to outright screams. Picture the sounds of a huge bull simultaneously being stuck with a branding iron, castrated, and having food dangled just out of reach. That's about what we were dealing with.
Apart from setting up transects, night searches, and sitting in our cabin at the nearby state park, the main thing we did was go cliff jumping in the area around the seven sacred pools. We went down a path I went with my Dad and Carol when I was a senior in high school and even got to swim through the same pools. This time, however, I was jumping more than swimming. Although I wasn't as graceful as Pete or Haldre, it was a lot of fun. My main tip with cliff diving would be keeping your arms tucked in when you hit the water. Otherwise your arms get bruised or sting like hell for a while afterwards. We all got photos of each other jumping, which I'll post here when Haldre gets back from the states next week.
For those who may have heard, there was a typhoon that passed through the southern Marianas while I was away. Typhoon Chaba wasn't too bad on Guam (from what I've heard the highest winds were 100mph), but Rota, just 40 miles north of here, was beaten pretty badly. We're lucky the storm hadn't started from father away because once past Guam it intensified into a severe typhoon with winds over 200mph. Also, the storm was fortunately moving quickly, which averted a lot of damage. So, for now, all is fine here apart from the usual ridiculous heat and humidity.
Well, that's the main story for now. I actually have a lot more to fill in here, such as the entire month before the last entry! I'll try to recall the exciting parts for your reading pleasure sometime soon. For now, it's time to get some sleep.
Posted by Isaac at August 25, 2004 7:38 PM