If you follow Maui news, you have probably seen the erosion headlines this year. Two Kona low storms in March, a big south swell, and a run of tropical storms and hurricanes over the summer and into September hit the south-facing beaches one after another. Some stretches of Kihei and Wailea that are usually soft sand turned into rock and coral rubble almost overnight.
Po'olenalena, the beach in front of Makena Surf, lost sand too. Here is the good news: it is coming back.
What we're seeing
Po'olenalena is wider than it was, and it is growing every day as the calmer surf pushes sand back ashore.
You don't have to take our word for it. The Makena Surf association runs a public beach camera pointed at Po'olenalena. Check it now, and again in a week.
Why the sand comes back
Most of the sand a storm strips off a beach is not lost. Big waves drag it offshore into sandbars just past the break. When the surf settles, smaller everyday waves carry it back up the beach, a little more each day. That is the stage we are in now.
Scientists expect South Maui to recover. In a Maui Now report this week, Tara Owens of the University of Hawai'i Sea Grant program put it simply: "the beaches still will recover." The problem this year was that the storms came back to back, so there wasn't much time to recover between them. South Maui is a sand-rich system and bounces back better than West Maui. The same report says even badly hit Keawakapu could recover within weeks.
What it means for your stay
Po'olenalena is one of the quieter beaches in Wailea-Makena, with more than 2,000 feet of sand between two lava points. The lava points at either end are where the snorkeling is, and where you're most likely to see turtles. As the beach widens there is more room to spread out a towel.
Conditions change with every swell, so we'll keep posting updates here. If you're planning a trip and want to know what the beach looks like right now, ask us. We live on Maui and are happy to tell you.