waianapanapa state park
October 21, 2018
Hana is a small town at the end of Maui. It is an underdeveloped area on Maui considered by many as unspoiled paradise. Although it is only 52 miles from Kahalui, the road to Hana is a narrow road with a lot of hair pin turns and one lane bridges. It can take hours to get to it which is the reason that it probably remains isolated and underdeveloped. Although Hana is beautiful, it is not about the destination as it is the road to Hana with gorgeous views of the island, dozens of waterfalls, bamboo forests and plenty of small places to stop to along the way.
We had considered renting a car to make this journey but I quickly put that idea to rest, I had made that mistake many years ago when I was doing an installation at the Royal Lahaina Hotel. I was working the Night Audit shift and when I got off at 7AM, I took the rental that my coworkers and I shared and headed out. It was a beautiful but slow and at times white knuckled drive. When I arrived in Hana I stopped and reconsidered my plan, why go back the same way? Why not go around the other side of the Island which is actually shorter?
Unfortunately, the map that I was using, had omitted a very important piece of information; the road along the backside of the Island was for 4 wheel vehicles only. I set out in that direction and the narrow bumpy roads into Hana began to look like a superhighway. I almost got stuck a few times. I kept thinking, do I continue on or do I turn back? I continued on and I eventually got back to the hotel – 3 hours later than I was supposed with the white convertible covered with the red and black soil. My coworkers were waiting for me to return so that they could go to dinner and they were not happy. I remember them looking at the car and asking “What did I do?” I said I was going to bed, I would explain another time.
Needless to say, I did not want to do that drive again. I wanted to see it again but I wasn’t going to drive it again. We booked a tour and our guide/driver Kelani, picked us up at 7:00 AM. He was a wonderful guide, loved to chat, told us stories and had a great sense of humor. He was full of interesting information including how certain flowers were used in Paul Mitchel’s Awapuhi Shampoo and which flower smelled like Fruit Loops.
We stopped for breakfast at that Kuau store where we were told that included in the tour was $15 for breakfast, I got a Poke bowl and a breakfast sandwich. Not sure what possessed me to get both. Not too long after that, we stopped at Aunty Sandy’s Banana Bread on Keanae Penninsula. I did not get any banana bread but I did try it and it was good and not overly sweet. We got into Hana just in time for lunch and I couldn’t help but thinking there was no plenty of food on this tour.
We got into Hana just in time from lunch and then headed to the black sand beaches. I cannot tell you how many pictures I took; in Hawaii, clouds shift, the sun looks a little different than it did a few minutes earlier and I feel like I have to take another picture and another picture and yet I know, that with all the pictures that I take, none of them really capture the beauty of what it looks like in person.
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