Hearts in Hawai'i
Our Trip To Hawai'i (2002)--More Maui
3/26/2002
Trip To Hana
You have a few options if you wish to visit Hana. Some go and spend the night there; others (such as ourselves) made it a day-trip. There are tours which will take you there, or you can simply drive the long, winding and very scenic highway yourself. We chose the latter; this way we could stop where we wanted to, and take as much time at each place as we chose. We weren't sorry. This was one incredible drive.
First, I need to plug a book we brought with us. Entitled "Maui Revealed...the Ultimate Guidebook" by Andrew Doughty and Harriett Friedman, this book provided a wealth of information to us before we left and during our stay on Maui. There is an exceptional chapter devoted to the drive to Hana, complete with directions for getting to various places of interest (many require taking off-roads or walking on paths which lead off the main Hana Highway) which you would likely not know of otherwise. This chapter enabled us to see things which you wouldn't normally be able to see from the highway. I highly recommend purchasing this book.
Anyway, we got off to an early start and were on the road before 7 a.m. This is necessary if you want to avoid the heavier traffic which you will encounter if you start later in the morning or in the afternoon.
There are more scenic outlooks and vistas than I can easily summarize here. The primary places of interest to us were the Ke`anae Penisula, the Wailua Valley, and the Wai`anapanapa Penisula, home to an awesome black sand beach.
It's a slow drive; very slow in some stretches. With a speed limit of 15 mph, combined with all those one-lane bridges and hundreds of curves, the Hana Highway is anything but a speedway. But why would you want to rush to get there? Take your time, slow down (very good advice for certain idiot locals who like to nest on your back bumper at 10 miles over the speed limit and expect you to accomodate them), and enjoy the wide variety of views available.
Hana doesn't have much "in it". A beachside burger joint (Tutus) was actually better than we had expected. What Hana has is atmosphere. This is a very laid-back place...not too well suited to a tourist mindset which depends on a timetable or schedule. Leave your watch at home when travelling to Hana.
If you're inclined (and we should have been, but for some odd reason we went no further than Hana on this day), once you've decided to move on from Hana, continue down the road to other places such as the Seven Sacred Pools, or the Lindbergh Grave near Kipahulu. These are two places I wish we had seen. Hana trip rating: 10
View of the coastline from Kaumahina State Park
Closer-up view
Patty at Kaumahina
Unknown stop along the road
Keanae peninsula
Another shot at Keanae
One more
Lots of lava rock here!
View of Keanae from the Hana Highway
Three Bears Falls
Patty at Three Bears
Black Sand Beach at Waianapanapa
View from the trail above the beach
Waianapanapa
Patty at the Black Sand Beach
Pier at Hana Bay
Hana Bay Beach
Hillside toward Haleakala
Patty enjoying the sun at Hana Bay
Lookout at Wailua Valley
Looking down at the Hana Highway at Wailua
Another vantage point looking toward Haleakala
Windjammer Dinner Cruise
Patty and I really couldn't come to an agreement when we compared the Starlet Dinner Cruise (which was reviewed in the Oahu section) and the Windjammer Dinner Cruise. The food on the Windjammer was better but we found the show on the Starlet to be much better (no show other than a soloist on the Windjammer). The scenery was tough to gauge; it really depends on your preference. For myself, I loved seeing Honolulu and Waikiki from out on the ocean. Patty's preference followed more along "natural scenery" lines. Unfortunately, there was a small craft advisory for the waters around the Islands on the night we went on the Starlet. This prevented us from getting a better look at Diamond Head. On the other hand, hey, we had a front row seat view of Diamond Head every time we looked out our window at the Park Shore. What more could we want? I would give the slight advantage to the Windjammer dinner cruise over the Starlet. Rating: 6
Checking out the Windjammer before boarding for our dinner cruise
Fond memories of the Lahaina Princess (dinner cruise the night after our 1996 wedding)
Getting ready to set sail
From just outside the harbor
First look at the Ka`anapali hotels
Daily ceremony at Black Rock
A final view at Black Rock
The Final Days
We decided to go beachcombing on our last "activity day" on Maui, with a sidetrip to the Iao Valley State Park. Having always wanted to see the Iao Needle, this would be essentially our last chance. Beaches we visited were; Kapalua, Baldwin and Ho`okipa. We wanted to check out Napili Bay but could not find a decent spot to park. Ho`okipa, we had been told and had read, is a prime spot to observe windsurfing. Alas, a slight Kona wind blew that day (from the south it prevents large swells on north-facing beaches throughout the Islands), so there are was only a smattering of regular surfers to be found. This was disappointing. Nothing of note on the other beaches we visited other than some nice views. Iao Valley was everything I had expected and more. I found the vantage point of the Needle from the trail to be much better than I had assumed. With cooperation of the weather, we managed to shoot many decent pictures of the valley.
Looking down from Lahainaluna High School at the Lahaina Shores
Kapalua Beach
Kapalua Villas
Iao Needle
Patty at Iao Valley State Park
Front Street in Lahaina
Overall Impressions of Maui
1.This island is so much quieter than Oahu, and this should come as no surprise to anybody. The pace is better suited to couples who want to relax.
2. Is there a better restaurant anywhere on the planet than Kimo's on Front Street? If there is, I haven't experienced it yet.
3. We were saddened to see the place we had been wedded in '96 now cleared out for new hotel construction. Sometimes progress carries with it a price you would rather not pay.
4. I don't know what the sight of the West Maui Mountains from Lahaina does to anybody else, but for me it's almost spiritual. It's awe-inspiring to see what nature has done here through the ages. An amazing sight.
5. If you like crowds, then Front Street in Lahaina at night is the perfect place for you. Combined with a nearly funky atmosphere, that place is unique. And a blast to be a part of when the mood strikes.
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