Road to Hana

25 years ago Dan and I drove the Road to Hana. 

We came to Maui with Michelle, Brent & Morgan

and brought Rebekah and Rachel to babysit.

It was a very windy, often one-lane road and we had such a fun day,

but also weren't dying to try it again for a while. 

But didn't think it would take us 25 years to get back!

We left our hotel in Wailea at 6:30 a.m. and had previously downloaded an app

using GPS to guide us through the best stops. Highly recommend Gypsy Guide from the GuideAlong app.

(I also downloaded Shaka Maui and am curious about the differences.

But I preferred the guy's voice in Gypsy Guide. Dan thought they sounded identical.)

We skipped Twin Falls because we're going there another day with the whole family.

Our first hike was on Waikamoi Ridge Trail through a bamboo forest 

that I'd remembered from our previous trip.

It was super cool (until we went to the bamboo forest near Seven Sacred Pools).

We'd definitely choose that hike over this one,

but it was fun to have an excuse to get out of the car and take a two-mile hike.

It really was beautiful but not too much of a lookout as there was so much tall vegetation.

For a while we walked with our arms in front of our faces to protect from spider webs.

Felt like Phantom of the Opera.

Later we both got sticks to hold in front of us!

Kaumahina State Wayside Park

A nice overlook view and bathrooms!

Just after we parked, a bunch of sight-seeing tour vans stopped,

so we hurried to beat them back on the road.

The view isn't necessary to stop unless you need to stretch your legs, 

use the potty or really want a picture opportunity.

We didn't stop at the Honomanu Bay black sand beach because we had reservations at 

Wai'anapanapa State Park (also a black sand beach), but I wish we'd at least stopped for a photo.

That's where Dan and I stopped 25 years ago and took a panoramic. 

We didn't have any baggies in the hotel for our lunch and travel snacks,

but Dan had the idea to use the shower cap!

Do not miss the 10 minute diversion into Ke'anae to see this cute little town, Taro fields, 

and especially to buy banana bread at Aunty Sandy's (buy one for right now and another for later).

It's the best I've ever had. The coconut candy is amazing and the smoothies are too.

And don't pass up the Macadamia Nut Brittle either.

It was made just this morning -- buy two bags!

You can pull over to jog up some stairs for the overlook at Wailua Valley State Wayside.

It's only 5-10 minutes to see it, but I'd skip and spend more time somewhere else instead.

You just drive by Upper Waikani Falls (AKA The Three Bears), but don't stop or slow down to take your pictures because the locals will honk at you! 

You need to make reservations ahead of time for

Wai'anapanapa State Park. We chose the 10-12:30 time and arrived at 11:00.

We had plenty of time to walk across the beach to the blow hole and enjoy the gorgeous 

green/black/blue contrasting scenery. We hadn't prepared to swim since we believed the water was too rough in the winter. In reality it was great! Lots of people on the beach, hiking and swimming. 

Although it was semi-crowded, it's a great stop and we ended up swimming too.

Our audio guide told us about Waioka ponds (aka Venus Pools)

and there were Maui park guides stationed at the entrance welcoming visitors.

We were the only ones, but they said there are often hundreds of people there swimming.

Flash floods will often appear out of nowhere and people have lost their lives caught in them.

I also saw a sign on a house across the street to beware of bacteria in the water...

...and then I noticed a seal or whale skeleton at the bottom.

Needess to say, I was fine skipping a swim here.

You can park just off the side of the road and scramble along a short trail to get to Wailua Falls.

We finally arrived at the end of the drive (for us) at Haleakala National Park.

(We arrived about 2:00 p.m.)

We hadn't planned on hiking the four miles out and back on Pipiwai Trail. But we're so glad we did! 

The first falls at .4 miles in were fine, but keep going! 

The huge Banyan tree not far off was phenomenal.

As were a couple more pools viewed from a bridge.

The bamboo forest was exceptional and ends with breathtaking falls.

I jammed my big toe a few weeks ago and discovered walking on uneven trail in Tevas 

was NOT making my big toe happy today. The hike was worth it, and at the bottom we soldiered on another half mile to see the O'heo pools (Seven Sacred Pools--which we learned was a marketing ploy),

but they're closed off for swimming now and you can't get much of a view of them.

Maybe you can from the beach, but I didn't have the stamina to walk all the way down, and we were over our allotted time to get home before dark, so we rushed and were just fine with it.

From the bridge:

On the way home we stopped at an honesty fruit stand to buy lilikoi.

Great views all around. 😜

We left Haleakala park at 4:00 and were in Paia (Ho'okipa Lookout) by 6:35.

The roads were much less treacherous than we remembered.

Although from Hana to Haleakala Park the roads were a lot rougher so its possible 25 years ago they were worse. Also, I could have a lot more faith in my husband's driving after this many years together and he could be a lot better driver. We considered all the options. And didn't come up with a clear answer.

But bottom line, we loved it.

I'd love to go back and stop at an arboretum or botanic garden. Maybe look around Hana a little bit.
Stop at a roadside restaurant or two.