On our second day on Maui, we drove the famous “Road to Hana” – one of the most amazing drives anywhere!
We had an early start from the condo in Kihei. It took about an hour to get to the start of the road. It was absolutely breathtaking! The first stop was an overlook just past Paia – the waves were huge!! From there, it is nothing but amazing views through the rainforest. One minute it was the perfect green coast, then it was the forest. There was even some bamboo, which is a bit surreal.
One of the highlights was the black sand beach just before Hana. The black sand and lava rocks against the green vegetation is indescribable! Pictures won’t do it justice. We walked right down to the beach and I hiked out to the blowhole as well.
The other major stop was at Oheo Gulch, part of Haleakala national park. It seems that due to heavy rains, you couldn’t get into the actual pools. The falls were basically rushing rivers. We walked along the coast and stream taking in the views. The most impressive waterfall was actually a bit before here – Wailua Falls.
It was an awesome drive, that is for sure. It has something like 600 curves but is well worth it. Note that the section past Hana is *very* narrow especially with all the tour buses!! One last tip: get some banana bread!
We finished the day in Paia, which is s funky little town of shops and restaurants. We enjoyed a bit of browsing here, and had dinner at the Paia Fishmarket which was some of the best fish I’d ever had. And the waves just outside of town were the biggest waves I’ve ever seen – had to be 15 ft or so.
It was a long day but filled with some of the world’s great scenery. A good day.
Tags: hawaii · maui · Travel2 Comments
I loved the road to Hana! Sounds like you had a good time. Oheo Gulch was closed to swimming when we were there too. It was still pretty to look at though.
Wow! sounds Great!