On the road to Hana
On Maui we are sort of in the middle but at the south west of the island again, like Kauai. Today we were travelling to the east side of the island but due to the roads – mainly the state or lack of them – we would be going to the north and then right along the coast to the eastern point.
One of the bridges
The “Road to Hana” (pronounced Harna) is one of those iconic road trips and features in a lot of “must do drives” literature. From where we are staying, even allowing for the roundabout way we had to go, Hana would be less than 90 miles. So you would expect that even with a few stops it would probably only be a half day trip there and back.
The first part of the trip from Makena to Kahului (where the airport is) is probably about 30 miles and takes about 40 minutes. At this point we were driving past Haleakala volcano and as it was still early in the morning, the trade winds had not yet bought in the clouds around the mountain and we could see the top of the volcano – very different from our experience yesterday.
Then 
Hana is about 52 miles from Kahului and it takes about 2.5 hours to drive when no stops are made as the highway is very winding and narrow and passes over 59 bridges, 46 of which are only one lane wide. At these you have to give way to any oncoming traffic. There are approximately 620 curves along the way and virtually all of it is through lush, tropical rainforest.
As it is also in the shadow of Haleakala volcano, the weather also changes constantly with dark, grey, threatening sky one minute and bright sunshine the next. Depending on the actual weather, there are waterfalls cascading at some of the bridges and there are a few small towns with lovely outlooks – some with black sand beaches and others with craggy volcanic rock coastlines with the waves battering them.
There are also various spots which have contributed to Hawaiian legend. One of these is the Waianapanapa Caves which are right on the coast and fed by sea water. The legend is that a princess fled from her cruel husband and hid in the cave. He found her when he saw her reflection in the water and murdered her. At certain times of the year masses or red shrimp appear in the water and this is said to be a reminder of the blood of the slain princess. Today there were only tourists jumping down into the ponds in the cave.
At the end of the road and slightly beyond Hana, there is another section of the Haleakala National Park and an area called the “Seven Sacred Pools”. This was supposed to be another legend but it turns out it was a promotion to attract tourists in the early days of tourism in the area. Adrienne had found a great app for her Ipad which gives a commentary along the way, tells you the best places to stop and all based on your current GPS position. It was an excellent find. Hana itself is a bit of a non-event but as the app said, this trip was in the journey and not in the destination.
One of the “sacred pools”
Having travelled to Hana, the only way back was to turn around and go back the same way. But with the different views and viewpoints going the opposite direction on the tight road, it was almost like a different trip.
We stopped at a spectacular surf beach on the way back were guys were surfing, para surfing, and paddle boarding.
So having left just after 9 this morning, it was 4.30 by the time we got back again. It was certainly a day of quality miles not quantity of miles !
Although there was a fair bit of cloud around when we got back, we wandered down to the beach to get a different perspective of the sunset. There were a few people swimming but probably more just taking in the sunset. Again the sunset didn’t disappoint. Tonight we headed back to the restaurant for our dinner. We both had the special for the night – opakapaka – which is pink snapper. This also came with purple sweet potato – very lurid but nice. We made the mistake of having entre as well – not because they weren’t tasty, just now we are too full ! – Adrienne had chowder – it was supposed to be clam chowder but turned out to be turkey chowder (getting rid of the Thanksgiving leftovers !) and I had crab cakes.
We’ve decided we will need a brisk walk tomorrow !
