Day Three, Maui. The Road to Hana

Every guidebook, and everyone I know who's been to Maui, lists the road to Hana as a must see.  As with so many things in life, the journey is more important than the destination.  Not that Hana isn't a funky little town and a representation of old Hawaii.  It's just tiny, with not too much to do.  But the road to Hana is lovely, mystical, and full of worthwhile stops.  We spoke with several people and got all kinds of recommendations on the best way to see this twisty, challenging road.  We had lunch at the Ulupalakuua Ranch Store with a couple from Calgary who had taken the trip the day before.  They opted for a very pricey van tour followed by a helicopter ride back.  We didn't think we wanted to spend $600! 

We'd read about a Shell station that sells a CD narrated by a local man, complete with a DVD and a map, for $20.  We left at 6:30 this morning and headed for the Shell station, which is at the intersection of Highway 380 and the Hana Road.  The same guidebook, which hasn't steered us wrong yet, suggested that we have breakfast at Anthony's in Pa'ia.  We stopped for Kona coffee and mango scones, and also ordered a picnic lunch (sandwiches, chips, cookies, and orange passion fruit soda).  Fortified, we pointed the Jeep toward Hana.

As we drove out of Pa'ia, we turned on the CD.  It's very informative, giving some Hawaiian history and telling us the best places to stop.  We relied on it and our guide book, Maui in the Lonely Planet series.  We walked tthe Waikomoi Ridge Trail, stopped at the Kaumahina State Wayside Park, and walked the Ke'anae Arboretum Trail up into a valley.  The plant life was spectacular.  We drove the half mile road down to the Ke'anae Peninsula, one of the most beautiful spots we stopped at.  Along this short road we bought mango bread from a woman selling from her garage, and warm banana bread at Aunty Sandy's food stand.  We sat at a picnic and sampled the banana bread.  Not usually one of my favorites, but this one was great.

Further down the road, we stopped at Pua'a Ka'a State Wayside Park to check out the two waterfalls.  Like every other waterfall we could have seen, these were barely running after a dry spell.  By now it was one o'clock, and we stopped to eat lunch at Waianapanapa State Park (a mouthful - don't try!).  The black lava rock beaches here, as in many other spots along this north shore of Maui, is spectacular.  We were lucky to have a bright sunny day for the Hana part of the day.  The white foam, black rock and blue, blue ocean was amazing.  After lunch we walked part of a trail that leads all the way to Hana, stopped to admire a native Hawaiian cemetery, and finally got back in the car to finish our journey to Hana.

Hana is eclectic, native, and has an interesting history.  Hana Bay is nondescript, and we didn't stay there very long.  We opted to continue driving east past Hana.  We stopped at the Pools of Ohe'o, inside the Haleakala National Park at Kipahulu.  We walked the mile loop trail that overlooks the first two pools and waterfalls.  It was scenic, and several people were diving off the rock ledges into the pools.  We had brought our bathing suits but decided against swimming.

At Kipahulu, a major choice faced us.  Most people opt to go back west, through Hana, and retrace their steps back to the starting point at Kahului.  Our CD guide warned us that the road west would narrow to one lane, and include several miles of gravel road along steep cliffs.  My hero, Pat the intrepid, opted to take the road less traveled.  We found that, while there were a few stretches of gravel, most of the road was heavily patched asphalt.  A noisy but wonderfully wild, isolated, and beautiful drive that we wouldn't have missed for anything.  We saw grassy plains, high cliffs, many lava rock formations, high cliffs, and vast lava fields that I can't find words to describe (but see pictures below).

It was 6:45 p.m. when we stopped back by the Shell station to return the cooler we borrowed and collect our $7 deposit.  We were feeling tired and in need of showers, and decided to carry in dinner from a tiny restaurant near our apartment, simply called Mixed Plate.  It specializes in Chinese.  We both ordered a combo plate that featured two entrees, two scoops of jasmine rice, and macaroni salad.  It was very good washed down with pineapple wine!

Thanks to my friend Nancy, who pronounced my flawed photos "artsy" and encouraged me to just use the camera anyway.  I did that today, and so have some really wonderful shots to share if you overlook the black crescent on the lower right side.  Ultimately I'll use picasa to edit the photos, but for now here are a few in their original state.  For some reason, the photos are in a different order from the chronological sequence on the camera, so they're out of order.  There are over two hundred more from today on our picasa website.

The beach at Wai'anapanapa State Park

A view of Haleakala from the back country on the road east from Kipahulu

A view from a random stop along the road.  Many cliffs along this shoreline.

The road to Hana from a roadside stop, with a backdrop of ocean and clouds

Another cliff - from a back country stop.

Our rental Jeep at the side of the gravel road. 

Another shot of Haleakala.

The gravel road over the hood of the Jeep

Clouds moving in over Haleakala.  Most of the land east of Kipahulu belongs to Hana Ranch

Pat heading out to inspect a currently dry blow hole at Wai'anapanapa State Park

More black lava rock - gorgeous!

Our banana bread haven on Ke'anae Bay

Wild surf at Ke'anae

We completely understand the urge to let someone else do the driving on the road to Hana.  But for us, the drive was worth it.  And the added bonus was the back country drive back to Highway 36.  We're used to traveling the wilderness in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, and have also driven some scary roads in Colorado, Utah and Ontario.  The road to Hana, while challenging because of all the turns and one lane bridges, was an easy drive.  The more rustic road back reminded us of H58 in Alger County, Michigan before it was paved.  We thoroughly enjoyed the day!