Featured Maui Real Estate Property Listings

Pukalani - Upcountry Real Estate 131 Makailoa Street - click here for more infomation 11,761 square foot vacant lot, cleared, level and mowed with a County water meter installed. Best priced vacant lot (with water meter) Upcountry! $369,000
Olinda– Upcountry Real Estate 25 Lumahai Place – click here for more info This is the perfect Olinda home! Tucked away off Olinda Road – just a few minutes above Seabury Hall – lots of privacy and views AND a recently remodeled 1-bedroom, 1-bath cottage with its own driveway and yard. 2.88 acres. $1,450,000
Pukalani-Kulamalu – Upcountry Real Estate   33 Ala'apapa Place - click here for more info The views from this 3-bedroom, 3-bath home overlook the 6th fairway of the Pukalani Golf Course to the ocean and West Maui Mountains beyond. The home and yard are impeccably maintained (challenge: try to find a speck of dust in the house or a weed in the yard!). $789,800
Makawao – Upcountry Real Estate 230 Mokuahi St. – click here for more info TWO charming homes on a beautifully landscaped, incredibly private half-acre. $749,000
Baldwin Avenue – Upcountry Real Estate 1900 Baldwin Avenue – click here for more info You will feel like you stepped back in time when you enter this property! The 1930’s era house, cottage and studio are on over an acre of land that over looks miles of sugar cane fields to north and south shore ocean views. $1,885,000
Olinda – Upcountry Real Estate 25 Lumahai Place – click here for more info This beautiful 4-bedroom, 3-bath home and detached 1-bedroom, 1-bath cottage are on 2.88 acres with great north shore views and tons of privacy! $1,550,000
Kula – Upcountry Real Estate 8060 Kula Highway – click here for more information 7.9-acres with coast to coast views! New gated large lot subdivision with only 5 lots. Spectacular! $1,300,000
Haiku – Upcountry Real Estate 2470 Kaupakalua Road. – click here for more info A lovingly remodeled 5-bedroom, 2-bath home on 2-acres that is fenced and cross-fenced with Keawe posts. There is a 2-stall barn with tack room, a horse pasture, a 2,800 sq. ft. greenhouse and lots of fruit trees. $888,000 - In Escrow
Pukalani– Upcountry Real Estate 2886 Ualani Place Immculately maintained 3-bedroom, 2-bath, single-level home on the 9th fairway of the Pukalani Country Club. $699,000 - SOLD
Pukalani– Upcountry Real Estate 124 Ala’apapa Place Custom 4-bedroom, 3-bath home, detached cottage and 5-car garage! Hardwood floors, central AC, central vacuum, granite counter tops, travertine bathrooms and dramatic views. $1,095,000 - SOLD
Haiku – Upcountry Real Estate 1390 Kokomo Road Maliko House – a romantic and unique property with complete privacy, mature tropical landscaping, a 2,000 sf workshop/studio and much more on 1.9-acres. $2,350,000 - SOLD
Kahului – Central Maui Real Estate 13 Ho’owehi Place Like-new 3-bedroom, 3-bath home in a great new neighborhood! $609,000 - SOLD
Haiku – North Shore Real Estate 241 Waiama Way Haiku Hill at its best! 3-bedroom, 3.5-bath, 4,500 square foot home. Amazing attention to detail. Sweeping ocean views. $2,850,000 - SOLD
Kula – Upcountry Real Estate 65 Maud’s Place This is a beautiful 5-bedroom home with a wonderful floor plan! Located in the Keokea area on a 2-acre view lot – this is one of the nicest homes on the market in Kula. $1,595,000 - SOLD
Kula – Upcountry Real Estate 2936 Lower Kula Road This 4-bedroom, 2.5-bath home in lower Kula has a detached cottage and sits on a level, half-acre lot. GREAT views! $890,000 - SOLD
Kula – Upcountry Real Estate 295 Pulehu Road Architecturally-designed home in desirable Lower Kula, surrounded by multi-million dollar homes on 2- to 20-acre parcels. $2,995,000 - SOLD
Haiku – North Shore Real Estate 2080 Lilikoi Rd. This C.W. Dickey-designed home and detached art studio was built in 1930 for Ethel and Harry Baldwin and moved to its present site in 1997. A “must see” if you are looking for views and privacy! $1,225,000 - SOLD
Makawao - Upcountry Real Estate 670 Hoene St., Maui Uplands Beautiful 3 bedroom, 2 bath home with ocean views and detached 1 bedroom, 1 bath cottage on a half-acre. $985,000 - SOLD
Olinda – Upcountry Real Estate 2188 Pi’iholo Road Great cottage on a .5-acre in Olinda! Check it out! $598,000 - SOLD
Kula – Upcountry Real Estate 28 Ka Drive Located in one of my favorite neighborhoods, Kula Kai, this single-level home sits on a private 14,255 sq. ft. lot with ocean view. $698,000 - SOLD
Makawao - Upcountry Real Estate 111 Keleawe Street This 4-bedroom, 2-bath home has a flexible floor plan, a detached 2-bedroom cottage and a large workshop/storage building. It's a great value at $779,000 - SOLD
Kahului - Central Maui Real Estate Kahului Ikena #40-221 1 bedroom, 1 bath condo with NEW: carpet, tile, paint, faucets, blinds refrigerator and closet built-ins! Convenient location. $239,000 - SOLD
Makawao - Upcountry Real Estate 50 Ahuwale Place 3 bedroom, 2 bath home plus detached studio/workshop with bathroom on 2 level, useable acres only 15 minutes to town. $885,000 - SOLD
Pukalani - Upcountry Real Estate 320 Hololani Street Impeccably maintained, 3 bedroom, 2 bath home on the 11th fairway of the Pukalani Golf Course. $819,000 - SOLD
Haiku - North Shore Real Estate 373 Ulumalu Road Tucked back from the road among beautiful big trees is this 3-bedroom, 2.5-bath home with 3 large bonus rooms. $750,000 - SOLD
Makawao – Upcountry Real Estate 1000 Ukiu Rd. Classic 3 bedroom, 1.5 bath ‘plantation’ home in perfect condition on a 10,000+ sq. ft. lot.  Large kitchen and bedrooms; private backyard. Perfectly priced at $550,000 - SOLD
Kula - Upcountry Real Estate 11 Welina Place This is a beautiful 4 bedroom, 3 bath, 4,364 square foot home on 2 acres in Kula 200. It is all on one level with the exception of the 816 square foot master bedroom suite which has a bi-coastal view. Fabulous! $1,685,000 - SOLD
Kula - Upcountry Real Estate 297 Kulamanu Circle This like-new home has great curb appeal. Very nice landscaping and sideyard. Private and tranquil inside the home. Upper and lower decks overlook ranchland and Maalaea. Beautiful ocean view from living room and master BR. 9' ceilings upstairs. Fireplace (with blower) in living room. Double-pane windows throuighout. Built-in Bose sound system. Stainless steel appliances and Corian countertops. Walk-in closet in master BR. Whirlpool tub in master BA. Big family room with half-BA (and closet )downstairs. Easy to show. $860,000 - SOLD
Pukalani - Upcountry Real Estate 157 Pi'imauna Street Kua'Aina Ridge: This gorgeous 3-bedroom, 2-bath home has amazing attention to detail (crown molding, plantation shuttered windows, bead-board wainscoting, etc.), a gourmet kitchen, perfect landscaping and nice north shore ocean views. $760,000 - SOLD
Kula – Upcountry Real Estate 1576 Lower Kimo Drive Immaculate 4-bedroom, 3-bath (OR: 3-bedroom, 2-bath with attached 1-bedroom, 1-bath ohana). Newly painted inside and out, brand new flooring and new appliances. Nothing left to do but move in and enjoy the great south shore ocean view and the fabulous Kula climate! $715,000 - SOLD
Pukalani - Upcountry Real Estate 256 Hololani St. Beautiful 3-bedroom, 2-bath home with 1-bedroom, 1-bath ohana on the 12th fairway of the Pukalani Golf Course. $929,000 - SOLD
Kihei - South Maui Real Estate Menehune Shores #416 Oh what a view! Walk in the front door and all you see are islands and ocean! This 1-bedroom, 1-bath, 4th floor, ‘front & center’ unit was completely renovated in 2001 – new EVERYTHING! $650,000 - SOLD
Haiku - Upcountry Real Estate 2080 Lilikoi Road This is the classic C.W. Dickey-designed home on 2-acres with an amazing view! $1,550,000 - SOLD
Kula – Upcountry Real Estate 28 Mano Drive, Kula Kai Nice, big, comfortable 4-bedroom, 3-bath home in Kula Kai with a very flexible floor plan. This would be a great house for a large or extended family as the downstairs offers independence from the rest of the house. $825,000 - SOLD
Pukalani - Upcountry Real Estate 350 Lokelani house A cute 3-bedroom, 2-bath home with 2-car garage and panoramic north to south shore views! $700,000 - SOLD
Makawao - Upcountry Real Estate This is the classic “old plantation house” that everyone wants! Complete with glass door knobs, French doors, a big porch and an old “wash house” out back! Located across from pineapple fields this is a great buy at $495,000 - SOLD

Natural History

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Arts & Culture

Ecosystems In Flux

One of the most fascinating things about Maui is the diversity of climates and physical environments that make up our island home. If you're tired of the weather in one part of the island, we tell each other, relief can be found just by driving for an hour or two until you get to another part.

The island has been divided into numerous ecosystems by scientists who like to categorize such things. An ecosystem is defined as "a community of organisms interacting with its physical environment." About 150 of these ecological communities have been identified. They include aquatic ecosystems that include waterways, lakes, ponds and pools; subterranean ecosystems that go underground and terrestrial ecosystems that are described by their elevation, how much moisture they receive and the kinds of plants and animals that live in the area.

Of course, in the past 1,500 years or so of human habitation, there have been many changes to the naturally occurring ecosystems that existed before people came to the island. Humans change things. They build homes, construct roads and install all of the other amenities of civilization. They bring in many useful plants and animals, and generally make things comfortable for themselves and for their own favored plants and animals. They use the available resources of the land.

Wet valley bottoms and the moist slopes of mountains become prime sites for agriculture and, later, preferred living areas. Forests get logged. Dry coasts are transformed into the favorite gathering places for visitors and others for whom "life is a beach." From the tops of the mountains, down to the sea, intrusions of people and alien animals and plants have taken a toll on the native plants and animals and continue to change the landscape and affect the native ecosystems in many ways. Efforts are being made to preserve what is left of the natural ecosystems, but it seems to be a losing battle.

The coastal areas lie from 0 to 100 feet elevation, along the seashores of all the islands. (The key environmental factor is the reach of sea spray.) All other lowland areas are from 0 to 3,000 feet. The areas between 3,000 to 6,000 feet are called montane, while those at 6,000 to 9,000 feet are subalpine. Everything over 9,000 feet in elevation is called alpine.

For each of the five elevation zone, three general moisture categories are recognized, based on prevailing soil moisture due to rainfall, fog, cloud drip, soil drainage, proximity to groundwater and exposure to wind and sun.

Dry communities get less than 50 inches of annual rainfall. Mesic (moist) areas get 50 to 100 inches of annual rainfall and wet areas get more than 100 inches.
The third level of ecosystem classification involves the kind of plants an area sustains. Forests and woodlands are dominated by trees. A forest canopy is dense, with 60 to 100 percent cover, while a woodlands canopy is more open. Shrublands are covered with shrubs; grasslands, by grasses and sedges; and herblands, by small, non-woody plants. Meanwhile, deserts are defined as areas that get less than 20 inches of annual rainfall and don't have many plants.

The summit of Haleakala, above the 9,000 feet elevation, is considered an alpine desert. The vegetation there is sparse, with some shrubs and a few mosses, lichens and grasses. Very few people visited or lived in these mountains during the early days. There is an adze rock quarry in the park that was probably an important resource. Now, of course, the summit is a tourist attraction as well as a haven for scientific research of various sorts.

The subalpine forests, woodland and shrubland occur above 6,000 feet elevation. They are relatively dry with an annual precipitation of between 20 to 50 inches. There is a large difference between daytime and nighttime temperatures and sometimes there is frost. Some seabirds which nested in the subalpine areas were hunted by Hawaiians for food. Rock shelters, habitation caves, heiau and sections of cross-island trails are still extant.

Before human settlement, the montane dry and mesic forests and woodland occurred mostly on the leeward slopes as a transitional zone between subalpine forest and shrubland and wet forest or lowland dry vegetation. The annual rainfall there is less than 100 inches. Usually summers are very dry and the climate is temperate. These forests at one time were the traditional resource for the koa trees used for canoe construction, plants for medicinal practices as well as bird feathers for featherwork. 

The wet forest and woodland occurred on the windward slopes of East Maui and used to extend from sea level to the 6,000 feet elevation. They also were in the upper reaches of the West Maui Mountains, around Mount Eke. Annual rainfall in these areas is between 80 inches and less than 400 inches. Bogs are a distinct possibility, since much of the area has no regular dry periods. Temperatures are warm at the low elevations and cool in montane areas. The area was the traditional realm of the Hawaiian gods (wao akua) and not for casual human visitation.

Hawaiians believed that the forest attracted water to the land. An old proverb says, "Hahai no ka ua I ka ulula'au." (The rain follows the forest). This may be why the far uplands were little used. 

The naturally occurring lowland dry and mesic forest, woodland and shrub land was distributed over the lower leeward slopes of the island and through part of Central Maui, and covered much of the eastern part of Molokai and the central part of Lanai facing Maui.  The annual rainfall is from 20 to 80 inches and the climate is warm to hot with seasonal drought. These areas occur on old lava flows on Maui.

Many lowland areas were burned and cleared in Hawaiian times. Once- extensive sandalwood forests pretty much disappeared during the early 1800s. Pili grasslands, a source of thatch materials, were maintained by fire. Medicinal plants and hardwoods were gathered. Some mesic areas were converted from forest to dryland taro and sweet potato cultivation.

Lowland dry shrubland and grassland occurred in the mountain rain shadow of Maui. They also occur on western Molokai, the leeward lowlands of Kaho'olawe, the windward and leeward lowlands of Lanai. These areas are very hot and dry. The annual rainfall is less than 20 inches and seasonal.  Except where springs allowed for habitation, this zone was sparsely occupied. The dry environment along Maui's leeward coast was ideal for burial and storage caves.

The lowland environments were greatly affected by all human activities. It is thought that clearing the land by burning off the trees, bushes and grasses caused the disappearance of much of the lowland insect and snail life that had evolved in the dry-forest habitat over thousands of years. Pigs, rats, lizards and dog were all new to the land. They moved into habitats that had never before known serious competition and their numbers probably increased.

As planters, the Hawaiians fire-cleared the lowlands to build home sites and grow their introduced crops. The cultivation of taro set many basic patterns of the culture: the way water was regulated, where houses came to be located, the festivals and rituals in honor of the gods, the daily eating habits of the people.

Native planters became skilled engineers. They built terraces with great stone walls that had large rocks locked lengthwise into the walls and that were linked by intricate networks of irrigation gutters. As many as three hundred kinds of taro were cultivated. Distinct varieties were developed to different conditions of weather, water and soil. Numerous kinds of sweet potatoes and gourds were also developed. And there is evidence that the natives were expert at hand pollination to increase crop yield. Streams were dammed and diverted, drying out lowland wetlands and creating new irrigated areas.

The coastal communities were along the shorelines of the islands. The leeward shores are dry, with less than 30 inches of annual rainfall while the windward shores get up to to102 inches of rainfall. Strong winds are typical.

In ancient times, the coastal areas were the most densely populated.  Along the shore, shallow bays were ringed with long rock walls and stocked with fish, creating advanced forms of fish production. Hawaiian author Samuel Kamakau said, "Fishponds were things that beautified the land and a land with many fishponds was called 'fat.' "

The southern coast of Molokai was famous for its fishponds and a testament to Hawaiian's engineering skills and understanding of the complexity and interrelatedness of natural habitats. Elaborate systems designed to use the ebb and flow of tides for stocking of fish and creating a rich nutrient base to ensure rapid fish growth were developed and are used to this day in modern aquaculture projects throughout the islands.

Archaeological digs suggest that during the early period of human settlement, at least sixty species of birds, including two types of flightless ibis, eight species of flightless geese, a bird-eating hawk, an eagle, three long-legged owls, seven flightless rails and two species of crows disappeared. Each succeeding wave of immigrants had an equally devastating impact on the native animals and plants as well.

The introduction of alien species of animals and plants that either escaped domestication or were released or planted into the wild continue to have adverse effects on remnants of the native ecosystems that still exist.

However, it is also likely that because of all the human activity, new kinds of environments were created that promoted the well-being of other species that were not previously established nor as abundant. And, although the native plants and animals are losing ground, it cannot be said that the islands are any less verdant.

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Braddah-Nics Lexicon

Local Grinds

Delicious Dungeness Crab Appetizers

Ingredients:

• 1 can real crab meat
  
• 1 box frozen artichoke hearts
  
• 2 cups mayonnaise
  
• 1 cup Parmesan cheese
  
• 1 cup swiss cheese
  
• 2 tsp cayenne pepper
  
• 2 tsp garlic powder
  
  

Procedure:

Combine all ingredients and mix well. Place in pan and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until browning of top layer occurs. Let cool and serve with or seasoned garlic bread or foccacia.

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