Highlights From Road To Hana - Maui
The famed road to Hana - it's kind of the thing all tourists do on first their trip to Maui. I spent many hours researching this thirty something miles stretch of windy road, but when it came down to actually doing it, I still felt unprepared. I actually did it in the course of 2 days, and I'll combine both days into this one highlights post here. My previous post about Road To Hana is here: 6 Tips For Your Drive On Road To Hana
Here are some notable highlights:
Paia Beach
The beginning, before the real Road To Hana begins. Drop by to pick up some snacks or eat some breakfast. I checked out the beach on my first day after getting out of the airport and I managed to see 3 sea turtles on the beach!
Twin Falls
One of the first attractions on the Road To Hana, it is a short walk from the parking lot. The upper falls were closed at the time I was there, due to all the rain. There is a snack stand in the front if you are interested in getting some morning grub like smoothies, offee, fruits, and baked goods. These are the lower falls:
Random fact: There are also a lot of chickens around. Apparently they run in circles when a car is coming at them and they don't know what to do.
Waikamoi Nature Trail
One of the loops is less than a mile. If you do the bigger loop it has a couple more extra lookouts. It's not anything spectacular, I do like being surrounded by all the lush greens. It's a pretty easy loop, but it does have stairs.
Garden of Eden Arboretum
Free, with lots of places to take pictures. You'll be able to get an up close look at the beautiful rainbow eucalyptus trees. There are also a variety of fruits trees visible from the main path as well. Further up the main path are taro fields with a cool irrigation system (you'll learn about this on the GYPSY app).
If you follow the trail past 2 gates, the path get more and more narrow but you'll see that the stream leads to a waterfall in the back. For us, it also got more and more muddy and the only reason we stopped on the way to the Falls in the back was because of the spiders.
Halfway to Hana Stand
Won't be easy to miss. There will undoubtedly be signs and a lot of buses and cars stopped nearby. Still, we were able to manage to snag a bench. The Banana bread was as fresh as it gets -- it was still piping hot to the touch when we bought it. They also have other foods and drinks as well, if you're not a fan of banana bread. I grew up eating it during Thanksgiving break, so it was quite a treat.
Coconut Glens Ice Cream
There are signs for it, if you are paying attention. It's not listed on the GYPSY app. It is a bit expensive at 7 dollars, but you get to choose 2 flavors, which came out to be almost 2 scoops worth anyway. Plus, it's served in a coconut shell. We got passionfruit and coconut, and it was a great snack to help us cool down. He also has fresh coconut juice as well! Also, everything is vegan and organic.
Wai'anapanapa State Park
The water is really as blue as it seems in the pictures. There's a lot to see here (caves, beaches, lookouts, and lava arch), so allocate enough time if needed. There is also a lot a lot of tourists as well, so keep that in mind.
We waited by the blowhole but saw nothing because it is a waiting game. We stood there for 15 minutes and nothing happened. As soon as we walked away, it happened. We also watched people cliffdive, swim out to island cliff in the water, climb all the way up, and jump off again.
Black Sands Beach is pretty small (much smaller than I anticipated), and quite often crowded. Take pictures and move on. There is an ocean cave on the right side if you're facing the beach, that tunnels through to the ocean.
Also, don't be fooled by blue skies. As many of the locals told us, the weather is very fickle out here, especially in the last year. We got caught in a gigantic rain cloud about a couple hours later.
Wailua Lookout
The pull out will be on the LEFT hand side of the road past the Wailua Valley State Wayside Park. We missed it on the way in, but stopped by on the way out:
Nahiku Marketplace
Everything here closes early so plan to come here for lunch or be back before 5pm. They open around 9 or 10. We tried coconut shrimp and chips ($20) which was really good -- the coconut flakes were really big. Came with sweet and sour sauce, tartar sauce, and ketchup. Portions are enough to share.
Do get the the coconut candy at the stall to the right of the thai food truck. Or at least try a sample. They guy makes it fresh every day... We tried one sample and ended up buying a bag. It's 5 dollars per ziploc bag. It's so addicting we almost ate the whole bag on our way home. We left it in the car after the first night so we wouldn't eat it all in one go.
Hana Farms
A 7 acre farm with a small shop where you can buy a variety of stuff including jams, jellies, hot sauces, banana bread, coffee beans, to name a few. They also have a small drink stand, where we got iced Maui coffee and starfruit soda. We sampled some of their hot sauces (lilikoi, banana coconut curry was so good we debated checking in our luggages just to bring these sauces back) and bought some coffee beans to bring back.
Red Sands Beach
I heard a lot about the hike to Red Sands Beach. Everyone says it's a bit sketchy hike to get there. It's not, for any able-bodied person. Bay area natives who have been to Alamere falls will probably agree with me. The tide mightve been higher than usual, past the rocks you see in the picture. I suggested Brian to film in the water with a gopro to find fish, and actually there were a lot in there! Also, the sand hurts to walk on, so maybe have some shoes to wear aside from flip flops.
Island Tacos by Haiku Marketplace
Just. Get it. Yelp the location if you need to, or look up Haiku Marketplace and look for them in the parking lot. After a day of exploring, this is going to taste delicious. We bought one fish taco and one kalua pork taco, 9 dollars and 6 dollars respectively. The amount of avocados that they put on the tacos were ridiculous! I was expecting crunchier fish like the usual american fish tacos but instead they were tender. And if I thought that was good, the pork tacos were even better! We finished both really quick, and thanked the lady running the stall.
If you're looking for something other than tacos, the poke selection inside the marketplace was pretty great. The deli lady, once she found out we were tourists, let us sample all the different kinds they had (about 5 or 6). Let's just say... that poke was better than the poke I had at our very expensive very highly rated luau. I am not a Poke connoisseur, but that's how I felt :)
Exploring Waterfalls
Did Some epic routefinding for this picture courtesy of our Airbnb host's instructions. It was really crowded when we first arrived, but the crowds thin out really quickly. We ended up finding a trail but because of the recent downpour of rain, the stream that was supposed to be easy to cross became a crazy rapid.
Keanae Peninsula
Small town on a peninsula formed by lavaflow from Haleakala. There are a lot of taro farms, which you can see from the lookout. Getting down to the peninsula requires a turnoff but is only a 10, 20 minute detour from the main highway 36.
The waves here were really harsh., but really spectacular to see as they crash against the lava rock. This area was once completely washed out by a tsunami in early 1900s, leaving only the stone church standing.
Keanae from the highway:
Hasegawa General Store
A general store we passed by after Hana and decided to check out. I bought a postcard. They are one of the oldest family owned business in Hana, with a lot of history (founded in early early 1900s). I wish I took a picture or bought something more memorable.
Haleakala Park
I spent 2 days in Haleakala, one day on the south side, and one day up on the summit. A post about my day up near the summit is here: Haleakala National Park.
The other side where the famous Pipiwai Trail is will be written up in an upcoming post.
And... that's about it! We crammed a lot of sightseeing into two days, and there's still more that we glossed over because of time constraints. All in all, I had a great time out there despite the fickle weather and long, long drives.
Has anyone else done the Road to Hana trip before? What was your experience, and what were your highlights?