Maui Beachcombing (Kihei, Maalaea: hotels, home, restaurants)

[Koale]

Aloha,
I'm hoping to get a little insight as to some good beaches for beachcombing on Maui. All the beaches have that 'just vaccummed' look...lolol... we're so happy to be here. Each weekend is a new adventure...
Koale

[whynot?]

Yeah, sorry! I think the reefs break up a lot of the shells. Very little to "comb" for. Still, we have lots of great sand on almost any coastal area of the island.

E komo mai.

[hotzcatz]

Some of them are "vacuumed", especially the ones near the big hotels. There are machines which comb the sand to remove rubbish.

[winkosmosis]

There is a little bit of stuff at Baldwin but I haven't really seen anything at other beaches.

Even at Baldwin it's just pieces of wood and some coral. No shells, no glass, no pieces of ships

[Calico Salsa]

You can take the 5 mile walk from Northern Kihei (Sugar Beach) up to Maalaea Harbor. You'll be more likely to find tiny shells than in the more visited beaches in Southern Kihei/Wailea. After the healthy 5 miles walk, have lunch at the harbor restaurants, and take the Maui Bus from the harbor back to Kihei, only $1.00.

For bits of white coral, look to Makena beaches, the little turtle bay south of Makena Landing.

But please, after your fun at checking out everything you find, would you please put it all back? The reason everything looks vacuumed is because of people taking things off the beach and keeping it. If you don't like that pristine look, chances are others don't either. Plus it's better for the eco system to have the natural bits on in the cycle, rather than on your shelf.

Thank you!

[Koale]

Aloha,
Thanks for all the info. We actually find it nice that the shoreline is so clean and welcoming. We always have our 'empty' backpacks with us when we set out for the day. By the time we return home both of them are full of rubbish and other debris (lots of plastic bags and such) that get tossed or left behind by others. Each day we try to do our share of maintaining a safe and clean shoreline. I was actually hoping to get direction to particular areas for possibly finding sea glass.
Again, mahalo for all your kokua.
Koale

[hothulamaui]

I have never seen sea glass here other than one or two bits here and there. never enough glass or shells to collect. I'm not sure if any of our island beaches are known for shell or glass gathering???

[winkosmosis]

I just figured it was because of the geography. We don't have a big continental shelf for stuff to grow on, just the reefs, right? And we're in the middle of the Pacific so the only flotsam we get is what happens to hit the islands.

[Alohikea]

Another thing too is that there isn't a real big tidal surge in Hawaii like we have on the West Coast. Big tidal surges bring all the bits and stuff up and deposit them on the beaches but I can see how the reefs would bust up anything around.

[Calico Salsa]

And thank goodness people maybe here aren't so prone to tossing glass bottles in the ocean.

Kudos to you for your beach cleanup, very admirable.

That stretch of beach I mentioned... I've picked up some small bits of glass, but not a whole lot. It all depends on how the tide and waves have been. One trip had a lot of tiny whole but empty shell and bits of glass. The next time...clean.