Our own piece of paradise – PAW PAW

Wild mangoes

As the road to Hana winds its way passed Hana town and along some of the best shoreline views the island has to offer, including the legendary Koki and Hamoa beaches, we dove deep into Maui’s rainforest.

Sign at Koki Beach

Where ever narrowing roads and steeper terrain are draped in green and wild mangoes, breadfruit and guava trees are visible roadside, dropping their ripe fruit for passing cars to crush and birds to eat. Deep curves in the road reveal gushing waterfalls that have usually drawn a crowd but we were not stopping this time because we were heading just a little bit further to Maui’s lush lowlands, Kipahulu.

Sun rising behind the ironwood trees

Our favourite place on earth

We are not strangers to this part of the island and have been lucky to stay out in Kipahulu before, it has since become one of our favourite places on earth. For us, Kipahulu embodies that Hawaiian dream of ripe fruit picked and eaten off of the trees and the scent of plumeria floating in the ocean breeze.

The beach at Cafe Attitude

A place where you can sit silently for hours taking in the beauty of the ocean and clouds from a chair on the lanai. Where people love the land and appreciate the paradise they live in, respecting tradition and the aloha lifestyle.

Lindbergh and Rockefeller

Kipahulu’s residents range from hippies to hipsters, retirees to surfers. Put on the map in the sixties by people like Lindbergh and Rockefeller buying up land, it has continued to draw an eclectic crowd of residents like actor Woody Harrelson and Mike Love from the Beach Boys staking out their own Hawaiian dream.

View of Haleakala from the property

Our Hawaiian mojo was definitely still working for us because we had lucked into house sitting one of the oldest and most beautiful properties in Kipahulu. For three weeks, we were alone on 26 acres of manicured rainforest, lush with fruit trees, flowers, bamboo and cane grass.

Tim picking our breakfast

Our job was simple, to look after the family dog, Reef, and oversee the property. The entire 26 acres are completely off the grid and powered by a very efficient solar panel array, where large banks of batteries store the sun’s power that is dispensed as needed.
The whole property is fenced off and patrolled by our boy Reef. Nobody could come near the gate day or night without him alerting us.

Reef posing with the soursop tree

We spent our days picking fruit, concocting smoothies and learning about the way people live in this special paradise.

Cafe Attitude

The neighbours, fruitarians, had had issues getting a building permit because their house does not include a stove. Everything on their land is edible, you could literally have all your meals while taking a walk around the property.
Furthermore we spent some time on our new friend Jeanne’s property and attended her pop up restaurant Cafe Attitude. Every Sunday a vegetarian meal is prepared by several people (usually those who are currently living on her land and helping with chores). Everyone is welcome and cost is a donation of $15. There is also an open mic and people are invited to perform if they wish.

Café Attitude menu posted at Laulima Farm

The night we were there dinner included tortillas prepared with only three ingredients, breadfruit, coconut oil and sea salt. They were then piled with garden veggies including fresh beans and coconut bacon. A large dollop of incredible guacamole along with a fresh and vibrant salsa filled the plate and finding its own room on top was a beautiful mix of freshly picked salad greens and edible flowers. There is no doubt the menu was healthy and nutritious but it was also quite delicious. This was farm to table in its simplest form with most ingredients barely cooked or raw and everything sourced within yards of the kitchen, picked at the height of freshness, bursting with all of its exotic flavour still intact.

Our own piece of paradise

We lived like locals as much as we could on our own little piece of paradise, with lilikoi continually falling everywhere we looked and quickly becoming our favourite for homemade ice cream and curd. There was a fantastic ulu tree laden with fruit, avocado trees of different varieties, bananas, tangelos, star fruit, mulberries, lemons, limes, sapote, guava and tons of papaya. There were also plants that we forgot to record the names of, one that had very interesting nuts and a green bush with leaves packed with protein planted along side fresh lemongrass.

Ulu donuts

Soon the railing of the deck was lined with ripening fruit and the blender got a good work out every day. Fresh squeezed juice and a bagel buttered with ripe avocado became a morning ritual with a cup of Maui grown coffee. Ulu donuts, lilikoi ice cream and plenty of guacamole were made as well and incorporating whatever we found into a meal became our goal.

Lilikoi ice cream and flower

We had been having the best summer of our lives on Maui and now we had lucked into this amazing opportunity that would close out our Hawaiian dream for now.

Our view of the sunrise

“Do we have to leave?” “Let’s just stay, we’re staying, yup that’s it I’m staying.” we joked, but Vancouver awaited and we knew our next adventure was just around the corner.

Full moon

Here is a recipe for a great blended drink featuring papaya that was on a regular rotation for cocktail hour and also without booze for an energizing pick me up anytime.

PAW PAW

2014-10-28 18:46:16

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Ingredients

1. 1 medium and ripe Papaya
2. 2 or 3 tablespoons honey
3. 1 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
4. 1 inch fresh ginger peeled and chopped
5. Juice of half a lime
6. 2 cups ice

Instructions

1. Put all the ingredients in a blender and purée on high until smooth.
2. Pour over a shot of your favorite rum or drink as is, it's incredible and you will love it.

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