The Night Marchers of La Perouse Bay HI

On our recent visit to Maui, Charlie and I never thought we would walk into something so foreboding yet alluring.
We decided to see how far we could go driving south on highway 31. Our tourist map showed a dotted line indicating some kind of continuation after the one lane road's terminus. We parked our rented convertible by a stone marker informing us this 'end of the line' was called La Perouse Bay. It seems La Perouse was the first French explorer and Naval Officer to visit Hawaii. He came ashore at this point in 1788 shortly after Maui's volcano Haleakala's last eruption. (This volcano is still considered active) La Preouse's story is fascinating. He is one of history's figures who 's death has never been verified. No body. No date. No ship. We do know his two ships sank in a storm south of the Soloman Islands in that year of 1788.

Getting back to 2008.... Maui's southwestern edge is an eerie gigantic field of black lava rock still seemingly turbulent .You can almost see the thrust and steam, molten red rivers masticating all flora, fauna and human that was most unlucky to be in it's path! We walked gingerly through this land of past carnage staying on a path so faint it came down to guess work. Looking back up toward Haleakala you could recognize the flow patterns, it's ebbs and tides, the spines of valley ridges now cloaked heavy with the dark igneous rock.


You will find that the beach falls away quickly into a dark gnarled entanglement of trees, living and dead. You hear the deafening crash of the Pacific's assault onto land but you no longer see the shoreline. This is not the sunny skies of vacationing Maui. At this point you question if you should go on.
We crossed paths with two women . They seemed relieved to see us but scurried passed with no talk of "oh, where are you staying...have you tried the Ani?" Charlie and I decided to go ahead.
It was sudden! a dark form going at great speed through the gnarled trees .
"Did you see it?"
"What was it?"
"I...I don't know!"
I tried to settle my mind. I didn't know whether to hide from this thing or seek it out. We kept going. A screeching bird lit above us. The crashing waves out to our right kept up it's timeless tide. There it was .
"Charles!' I whispered"I think it's a black goat!"
On further study through the thinning light I could see it was a mountain goat with great horns like the Rockies Mountain Goats. There seemed to be a herd of them. We walked passed keeping our eyes forward but our senses behind. It was at this time we saw the ruins. It seemed to be more than a building. Like a whole city of piled rocks. I lifted one of the ancient rocks that had obviously fallen, back in it's place. I stepped inside the broken down stone walled area.
I don't think you should do that Sue!"Charles warned.
I agreed and stepped out of it. I did not want to anger anyone because I knew whomever I could anger was there! We felt the presence of ages....of times we had no knowledge. Like a shadow of passed time hovering about us, it seemed to want us to leave. We did.
That experience stayed with us and we decided to research the area when we got home. I found there are Huaka'i po, Night Marchers, in the area of Ahihi-kinau Natural area perserve that roam along the hardened lava landscape in search of mischief. Though I read in my research "GhostTours"are available on the island, no one has ever offered to take people through the unmarked trails of Ahihi-kinau. And black mountain goats? Islanders never speak of them.