The Road to Hana - all the way this time (Tuesday)

< Waterfall near Hana, after rain
Linda's contribution...

The road to Hana (we drove half way the other day but decided to take the full trip by coach tour) includes 617 curves, dozens of one lane bridges, and changes in elevation of a thousand or more feet. It's no wonder the locals sell T-shirts emblazoned with, "I survived the road to Hana!"

When you leave the driving to a pro, like Alex from Valley Isle Excursions, you can relax and appreciate spectacular views of waterfalls, ocean, tropical rain forest, and local fauna, such as the occasional mongoose running across the road in front of the van.

The tour started with breakfast at 7:00 AM in Kahului - bagels, pineapple, watermelon, profiteroles filled with coconut flavored cream, cornbread, poppy seed cake, lots of hot coffee - and being introduced to our traveling companions. We were ten adults and two very well behaved children, all primed to have a great time. Alex, half Hawaiian, half Portuguese, narrated the trip with fascinating bits of local history and traditions associated with each site. David took great advantage of all the photo stops. See the latest photo gallery. The photos here show one of the taller waterfalls near Hana after the recent rain, a view through a lava tube sea cave at the Black Beach, and some of the stones on that beach.

< Lava tube cave through to the sea
We stopped for lunch at a private flower garden just past the town of Hana (as I write this I haven't had breakfast yet, so I'm focusing on food. ). BBQ Chicken, macaroni salad, veggie salad, sautéed fresh veggies, a Hawaiian dinner roll. Yum!

David's contribution...

The thing about going on a conducted tour is that you see stuff you miss when driving your own vehicle. Both because you have a better view (higher above the road) and because the driver knows where the best things are. And - of course - when you're not driving you get to look at something besides the road! The downside is that you don't get to stop at every interesting photo opportunity.


< Stones on the Black Beach
The other difference between the trips was that yesterday it rained intermittently (and had been doing so for two days) so the waterfalls had plenty of water in them (see gallery for the obligatory waterfall photos). Much more photogenic!

The trip took us as far as the Seven Sacred Pools (actually there are 24, but Seven sounds better), a black beach and lava tube.

All told, an excellent trip. We came back to the cottage for dinner. Linda introduced David to proper monster Nathan's American hot dogs! Things are looking bad... he likes Twinkies too

On the Road to Hana

< Pandanus on the shore at Ke'anae
Today we headed out on the road to Hana, located on the extreme eastern end of Maui. It's a long drive on narrow winding roads, with numerous switchbacks and one lane bridges. We didn't plan on going all the way to Hana, and in fact we turned around after reaching Ke'anae, a little over half way.

On the way to and from Ke'anae, we stoped at a number of places, particularly the Waikamoi Ridge trail, the Garden of Eden arboretum, a sort of private botanical gardens, and at Ke'anae itself.

The vegetation changes as you progress along the coast, from sugar cane country, through bamboo thickets, to (bizarrely) groves of large Eucalypts, and then to forest that starts to resemble rainforest. Ferns abound.

< Torch Ginger flower on Waikamoi Ridge
The roads - apart from being narrow and winding - are almost totally lacking in signage - so it's very difficult indeed to find the features (waterfalls etc) that are shown on the maps. One strange phenomenon that this generates is that if someone stops along the roadside for any reason, other cars also stop, in the hope the the first car knows where to find one of the attractions on the map. Parking spots are extremely scarce, too. It's not an easy drive!

But the scenery is worth the effort. We stopped at the Waikamoi Ridge trail, and went for a wander along the shorter part of the trail (about a mile overall). The vegetation verges on rainforest, with Swamp Mahogany (Eucalyptus robusta) and giant Melaleuca trees, introduced from Australia, as well as the native trees, shrubs and ferns. Banana and ginger plants occupy most of the understory, along with a dozen or more fern species. A very worthwhile stopping off point. See photo of a ginger plant, at left. An amazing bloom, nearly 6 inches across.

We then headed to Ke'anae, a small coastal village with gorgeous scenery, waves crashing onto black volcanic rock. (see photo, above left).

< Palms at the Garden of Eden
We've put up a new gallery of the day's photos. The ones included here show the wonderful coastline at Ke'anae, with Pandanus palm (top), a Torch Ginger flower we saw on the Waikamoi Ridge trail (middle); and Palms at the Garden of Eden arboretum (bottom).

Lunch was a large chunk of Banana Cake and some wild Strawberry Guavas, from a small roadside stall. Delicious. It didn't satisfy L's need for protein, though...

Then on the way back we stopped at the Garden of Eden - a small private arboretum. It did finally give us a view of one of the waterfalls we had failed to find while driving along the road!

For dinner we went into Pa'ia, but as usual, parking was nearly impossible, so the restaurant we wanted to go to had filled up by the time we had walked back from the car park. Maui is infested with cars. Everyone seems to have at least two of them...

Lahaina and cricket

< Cricket at Pa'ia, Haleakala in the distance
Yesterday (Friday) we drove out to Lahaina - a bit of a tourist trap but quite quaint. Today was hot and so not a day of high activity - supermarket shopping in Kahului, and a short drive to one of the local beaches. Quite nice though nothing exceptional. Except for a game of cricket being played on the sportsfield adjacent to the beach. Shades of the West Indies... See photo at left - the huge massif of Haleakala rises in the distance. Maui is nothing if not unexpected.

Volcanoes!

< Haleakala crater
Yesterday (Wednesday) we drove round to the south west coast of Maui, south of Kihei. The road runs out where it meets the lava flows that entered Laperouse Bay around 1790. The landscape turns from beautifully manicured resort gardens to dry scrub land to bare lava clinker fields in a few miles. The lava is a a mad jumble of jagged rocks from the size of a pebble to the size of a truck. Almost nothing has yet begun to grow on it. Amazing stuff.

Then this morning we decided to drive up to the top of the Haleakala volcano field, 10,000 feet up at the highest point on Maui. The drive was arduous, with dozens of switchback/hairpin bends on a very narrow road with numerous alarming drops - rather like the Tour de France! L, who doesn't like heights, was not a happy camper. The views from the top were breathtaking, however. We've put up a photo gallery elsewhere to show some of the sights.

< Silversword (Ahinahina) at 10,000 feet
Unlike the Big Island, the volcanoes on Maui haven't been active for hundreds of years, but the scenery is unearthly. Like something from Total Recall.

The first photo (above) shows a view into the Haleakala crater from near the summit.

The second photo shows a Silversword (Ahinahina), an attractive fleshy leaved down covered plant, a foot or so in diameter, that only grows at the highest parts of Haleakala. This one was at around 10,000 feet. It's making a comeback after nearly being eaten into extinction by grazing cattle.

Iao Valley

< Iao Valley west of Kahului
Yesterday (Tuesday) we drove up to the Iao Valley. It's about a 15 mile drive west of Pa'ia. The Iao Valley is an erosion valley on the western part of Maui, important in the history and culture of the Hawaiian people. The terrain is amazing - and nearly impossible to capture by camera. See photo, left. The valley is now a national park, and the walks are very easy. Several fern species new to DN were spotted.

Maui by the Sea

< Pink Franjipani (Plumeria)
There is an electrical outlet conveniently located a couple of feet behind the table I'm sitting at. The table is located just behind the railing of a lanai. The lanai is at the front of the cottage we have rented in Maui, guarded by an enormous Frangipani tree, to the right of a stand of clumping bamboo. The perfume of the pink flowers drifts in through the open windows, every night, as we fall asleep to the cradle song of waves crashing on the beach, and trade winds combing through the leaves of coconut palms. Heaven!

Our cottage is a few miles down the road from the town of Paia. Paia's main strip is an eclectic mixture of brightly painted wooden structures housing arts and crafts galleries, surfer shops, Hawaiian clothing outlets, and restaurants, like Charlie's, owned by Willie Nelson.

Dinner with Jerry

Our friend Jerry R., aka FatCat, took us to dinner at a place called the Pa'ia Fish Market. The food was wonderful, and Jerry, who has obviously discovered the secret to a long and happy life, was even cooler than he seems in the forums. Thanks Jerry! We hope we see you again soon.

To Maui...

< Rain showers off Molokai
On Saturday morning (at a criminally early hour) we headed out on the Hawaii Superferry to Maui. Definitely the way to get to Maui - a smooth 3-hour trip though the islands (Oahu, Molokai, Lanai to Maui). The photo at left shows the coast of Molokai in a rain shower, from the Superferry.

We've spent the first two nights of our 15-night stay at Maui-by-the-Sea - a cottage attached to a home near Pa'ia on the Hana Highway, on the north coast.

More later. We're heading into the Big Smoke - Kahului - for some shopping.

We've arrived!

Well, finally our blog is going online. It's been four days since we both reached Hawaii, but we've been a bit distracted, shall we say.

David arrived in Honolulu on Thursday morning from Sydney around 9am and had to wait five hours before Linda arrived from South Carolina.

The first two nights we spent at the Ala Moana Hotel in Honolulu - clean, modern but a bit short on conveniences (no room service).

< Aubrey the Bear in Honolulu
Aubrey, our team chaperon, was a bit overwhelmed by it all (photo of Aubrey with lei, with Honolulu skyline in the background).

The two co-located restaurants we tried were, however, outstanding - Aaron's and Tsukasa.

Aaron's is on the 36th floor (at the top of the building) and the views of Honolulu and Diamond Head are spectacular. Watching the Full Moon rise over Diamond Head, in particular, was a magic moment. The steaks were superb, too. Along with a nice St. Supery Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon.

The Tsukasa is a friendly Japanese restaurant. Good food, good service, good prices.