Black Rock Cliff Dive at Sunset
Originally uploaded by webnelly

Perhaps one of my favorite photos that I’ve taken of one of our favorite activities in Maui. The Black Rock Cliff Dive Ceremony is nightly event that takes place on Black Rock at the Sheraton Maui Resort in Ka’anapali. Each evening at sunset, a man portraying a great Hawaiian Warrior bears a lit torch up the side of Black Rock and offers his lei to the heavens above before he dives into the water below. The dive is accompanied by a Hawaiian chant performed right outside the beach at the Sheraton.

Since we stay at the Sheraton when we visit Maui, we try to take in a cliff dive about 3-4 times a trip. It’s actually part of our “just arrived” routine, when we drive in from the airport, drop of our bags, and grab a seat at the Sundowners Bar at the Sheraton and watch the dive while having dinner and sipping on a cool frozen drink. Man, knowing that we’ll be back there in six weeks is giving me chills.

It is cool, though, to see just how many people crowd up along the beach to catch a glimpse of the dive ceremony, with video cameras and digital cameras. If you’re staying at one of the Ka’anapali resorts or condos, you can’t help but stroll along for a glimpse.

Behind Black Rock
Originally uploaded by webnelly

Most people that frequent the Ka’anapali area can recognize Black Rock from the beach, looking North from Whalers Village, or even from an aerial photo (bottom of page). Put in this photo, we actually are looking East towards Black Rock from a Pacific Whale Foundation sunset cruise. We hadn’t been able to get this close to the beach from the water up until last year, and had the opportunity to snap a few photos from this view. We didn’t, however, get to see the cliff dive ceremony from the cruise, which would have been neat to see.