Adrenaline-pumping activities for today’s adventurous dads
It’s Father’s Day. Get him out of the house and into the wild.
Does your father enjoy living life on the edge rather than middle of the couch? If so, you can’t go wrong with Father’s Day fun built around action and adventure.
Maui has a wealth of exciting outdoor and extreme sports and excursions — from scuba-diving and snorkling to wakeboarding and wind surfing to ziplining over gulches and through Upcountry forests to downhill biking along the slopes of Haleakala — that are sure to make the hair on Dad’s neck stand at attention. If Pop would rather get his adrenalin rush sitting down, there’s always helicoptor tours of the island or a wild ocean ride on a turbo-charged flat-bottomed speed boat.
If you can’t make it happen today, think about a post- Father’s Day surprise just for the heck of it. Any day is a good day to get an adventurous dad’s adrenaline pumping.
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HELICOPTER HOVERING
Take a “doors off” private helicoptor ride over Maui with Pacific Helicopter Tours (871-9771; www.pachelitours.com). The company’s top-notch pilots are also called upon for special assignments including Medevacs, aerial construction or flying commercial film crews. Blue Hawaiian Helicopters (871-8844; www.bluehawaiian.com), a past winner of Maui News’ “Best of Maui” for Best Air Tour Company, has been helping visitors and locals alike explore Hawaii for more than 30 years and serves all four major islands: Oahu, Kauai, Maui and the Big Island.
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WICKED WAKEBOARDING
The rowdy love child of snowboarding and water skiing, wakeboarding appeals to a variety of water-sports enthusiasts. If you prefer a leisurely tow along glassy waters, early morning excursions are best. For those who like the mogul-effect, the wave terrain in the afternoons might be more your speed. Wake Maui ( (888) 347-4790; www.wakemaui.com) offers small groups with individualized attention tailored to your expertise and daredevil levels.
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EXTREME BIKING
Among the several bike-tour companies on island, Bike Maui (575-9575; www.bikemaui.com) is ideal for those who want to go at their own pace with a self-guided Haleakala dowhill experience. Biking connoisseurs might want to check out Upcountry’s Krank Cycles (572-2299; www.krankmaui.com) with a fleet of bicycles for all needs and desires — from rugged mountain bikes and easy beach cruisers to elite road and touring bicycles — and self-guided tours of Makawao Forest Reserve, Poli Poli / Maname and Haleakala Skyline Trail.
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‘INSANE’ JET BOAT RIDE
Dubbed as the “roller coaster ride on water,” Kaanapali Ocean Adventures’ (633-3138; www.kaanapalioceanadventures.com) “Insane” is a custom-built all-aluminum twin turbo-charged flat-bottomed jet boat with crazy maneuverability that allows sharp turns, slides, 360-degree spins and dead stops. With no props, rudders or shafts to injure sea life, it’s one insane eco-friendly ride.
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SPINE-TINGLING ZIPLINING
What could be more appropriate for Father’s Day than a visit to Pi’iholo Ranch –a multi-tiered activity destination with its origins rooted in a Baldwin family father-and-sons collaboration? Pi’iholo Ranch Adventures (572-1717; www.piiholozipline.com) offers two very different zipline courses: a dramatic ride on double ziplines that criss-cross Maliko Gulch or travel from tree to tree on a canopy course through Pi’iholo Ranch forests.