SUNDAY MEMORIES
Judy Wills
Our next adventure took us on “The Road to Hana.” Never heard of it? Neither had we until this trip. I guess it’s fairly famous in Maui terms. We were up early – on the road by 7:00 a.m. The “road” is only 52 miles from Kahului to Hana – but it takes four hours to drive it – each way!! It has 59 one-lane bridges to go over. So it was to be an all-day trip for us. As one advertisement told us – “On the Hana Highway – The Journey is the Adventure.” And so it was.
Hana itself was on the complete opposite side of Maui from Napili, where we were staying, and there is no through-way to get there. Of course, the Haleakala Crater is right across the pathway, so that explains the round-about way we had to drive.
The road is almost completely filled with hairpin or serpentine curves. And I don’t mean just those little squiggly curves – this road sign is VERY descriptive!
In any case, we thoroughly enjoyed the ride, stopping along the way to see some gorgeous scenery. Waterfalls everywhere.
We saw sugar cane fields in abundance. A note from the historical side – “Before WW2, Hana was a busy sugar port. After the war, cane fields gave way to pasture for beef cattle, and the town developed into a trade center for surrounding ranches.” Interesting.Miles and miles of eucalyptus trees – the fragrance was incredible! And we saw a rooster walking down the middle of the road, just daring us to hit it! We didn’t.
On the way up, we stopped at the Wai’anapanapa State Park and Cave. This area completely fascinated me – the sand is BLACK!
It’s actually the small Honokalani Black Sand Beach and is composed of small, smooth lava pebbles. The volcanic rock must be good soil, as the area is quite lush with greenery. One of the most fascinating sights to me was the “arch” – the volcanic rock worn away by the ocean, leaving the arch.
I’m assuming that some day it will be worn enough to collapse. And there is a legend about the caves, but too lengthy to share here.
Again, since we are so directionally challenged, we missed the town of Hana! However, we were headed to a restaurant that was recommended to us by the AAA travel book and other people. It was Mama’s Fish House in Kuau Cove. The food was excellent, but the advertised low price was not! It was one of the most expensive meals we had while on Maui! So be warned!
We finally made it home for a quiet evening together. It was a long and exhausting day – for the driver and the riders. But we enjoyed everything we saw!
~~~~~More to come~~~~~
Old Things R New 