If you ask me, the Road to Hana is the crown jewel of Maui. Sure, there are several spots on the island that are amazing, but there’s something about this highway that traces the shoreline of nearly half of Maui. We actually ended up spending three days exploring the highway, because there are so many incredible places to stop.
It began with the bamboo forest. When we first explored this area, the bamboo forest wasn’t very well-known; we’d learned about it from a guidebook and had to look carefully to find the three parking spots alongside the road and the sketchy entrance to an unmarked trail. Six years later, it’s popular and even marked on Google Maps. There were several cars parked there (right beneath the No Parking signs), but we found a spot and headed down into the forest.
This area is fascinating because the bamboo is incredibly thick– basically impassible except on the trail.
The first big waterfall is awesome.
I took some shots of the ladies, but didn’t notice at the time that the mist from the falls was all over my lens. As a result, many of my photos are kind of blurry from water.
Continuing through the forest, we eventually came to the second waterfall. Glorious.
There’s a nice rope swing near the falls, so we took turns jumping into the water. It was cold.
Along the highway is a great stop at Ho’okipa Beach, and we were mesmerized by the crashing waves coming into shore.
The water just smashes into the rocks, exploding upward and coating everything with spray.
As the sun was setting, we watched surfers enjoying the waves.
Then someone shouted “whales!” and to our delight, we saw a pair of whales breaching in the distance. They were probably half a mile off the coast, and kept coming to the surface to spout water and occasionally slap their tails. It was pretty cool.
The next day we picked up where we left off, stopping at a number of points along the highway to hike to waterfalls.
And of course a few beaches. Along this stretch, the beaches are all rocky, not sandy, but it’s black volcanic rock which is interesting.
Down by Ke’anae we discovered an arboretum we didn’t know about, and saw some cool trees.
At Ke’anae Point, we were disappointed that the famous banana bread place was closed, but we weren’t disappointed with the water smashing into the sharp black rocks.
More driving, more waterfalls!
At last we came to Nahiku, the best swimming hole on earth.
The air was getting chilly, and the water was frigid, so Pepper opted to sit on the rocks and enjoy the waterfalls. Kyra and I went swimming (what else do you do at a swimming hole?) and rememberd the last time we were there, when it was considerably warmer. Still, it’s an amazing little spot.
Oh, and of course there’s a huge waterfall just down the trail.
And more waves crashing on more rocks.
That night we stayed in Hana, which is pretty much the only way to really explore the road– otherwise you’re spending a lot of time driving back and forth. It was great to wake up to a cool glass of orange juice with a view of Waikaloa Bay.
That morning, we had an early start for our drive along the south shore of Maui. We went to Wai’anapanapa which has stunningly blue water.
Of course there’s a hike to be had, so we walked along the shoreline through the trees and across the black rock. The weather was glorious.
Then it was onward to the other half of Haleakala National Park, and the hikes in O’heo Gulch. The waterfalls are pretty, but sadly it’s still forbidden to swim in the pools.
We opted not to hike the jungle to see Waimoku Falls, and instead got back on the highway to enjoy the radically different landscape along the southern coast.
The green gradually gives way to a dull gold, and eventually miles of black volcanic rock. We continued around the island, because our destination for the night was Lahaina– far to the northwest. Even in the arid, deserted southern regions, the Hana Highway is beautiful.