Sunday, January 9, 2011

Adventure #2 - The Road to Hana

One of the most highly recommended activities om Maui is the Road to Hana - a tiny little town on the far eastern side of the island.  The road is extremely windy - there is almost not shoulder to speak of along most of the road and a sheer cliff down in many parts. 
















 I can't imagine driving on it but Sam really enjoyed it. I think that having the Mustang contributed directly to his joy level.  




While it is definitely possibly to do the drive out and back in one day, Sam and I really recommend doing it in two.  There aren't a ton of places to stay out in Hana but we stayed at the Hana Kai Maui Resort. We did have to pay a premium because we were only staying for one night and it is a condo rental place but the setting was beautiful and the room super clean and comfortable. It doesn't have a TV but the view makes a TV totally unnecessary. 




The Road to Hana isn't just a road - it's all the views and places to pull off and stop along the way.  The next pictures and videos are from our first stop at Waikamoi Nature Trail.  Our first "hiking" of the trip.  Funny story about our trek to top - there was one way that was very, very easy and the other was very, very muddy.  Guess which one we picked to take up. In our defense, we didn't realize that there were two trails and we were smart enough to take the dry one down. 







 Half way along the Road to Hana is the little town of Ke'anae.  Although we didn't drive down to take a look around, the view from the Road was very picturesque and peaceful. 







Just before you get to Hana is the gorgeous Wai'anapanapa State Park.  A black sand beach, blow holes and caves make it an interesting place to explore! 








For dinner in Hana we went to the Hotel Hana Maui - very swanky - tasty - although my stomach was still not thrilled.  One of the highlights of the meal was the French Canadian family at the table next to us.  They had an truly adorable 15 month old who adopted us and spent a decent amount of time sitting on my lap - we played "Row, row row your boat" and toasted using the traditional French "chin-chin." 


The next morning we got up and winded our way up an even more twisted stretch of the road to the Maui Wailua Falls. 





All the guide books say that this spot is constantly crowded but if you hit it first thing in the morning, no one has had a chance to make the drive out with you.  

 

I was intrigued by the birds that followed along right next to all the cows. 



The Road From Hana had one last treat for us - a spectacular rainbow. 




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