Today I experienced one of the loveliest drives in the world – The road to Hana. It was a lush, jungle-like trip that took us around 6 hours to travel 40 miles. The road has 54 one-lane bridges with over 500 curves! It’s quite a feat to finish it.
During the journey, I sipped a fresh smoothie from the Huelo Lookout fruit stand; hiked through the majestic trees on the Waikamoi Nature Trail; swam in a swimming hole (under a waterfall); tasted the best banana bread on the Ke’anae peninsula while listening to the surf crash against the rocks; and sunk my toes in the black sand beach in the Wai’anapanapa State Park. Oh, what a beautiful morning!
My highlight was definitely the swimming hole. I have always dreamed of jumping into a pool and swimming to a waterfall. It was tremendously cold and terrific! The waterfall was so forceful that it was hard to swim to it and even harder to stay under it once you made it. Love, love, loved that experience!
After we reached Hana, we decided to take the Upcountry highway back instead of retracing our steps. I’m so glad we did. We got such amazing views of the coast on the way back.
We ended the day in Pa’ia or hippie town. It’s such a cool, laid-back place. We had dinner at the Flatbread Company and it was delicious. I had the Mopsy’s Kulua pork and pineapple pizza. So yummy.
This day will definitely be remembered forever.
Waikamoi Nature Trail
Beautiful tree in Waikamoi Nature Trail
Palm tree in Ke’anae
My beautiful swimming hole
Swimming under a waterfall, oh yeah
Black sand beach in Wai’anapanapa
Rainbow!
Lovely sky
We even saw a canyon from the highway
From sea to sky
We spent three days in Hana… it was great to be able to get away from it all. We also took the other “road” back; not quite as lush but majestic in its own right. Did you stop at the Seven Sacred Pools (aka Oheo(sp?) Gulch)?
We drove by the seven pools, but had no time left to stop. The other road back from Hana was just as majestic. I’m amazed at how we went from lush jungle to dry barren rock landscape in a matter of 25 miles. Loved it!
Journey’s end « Between brush strokes
[…] The road to Hana (swimming under a waterfall, ya’ll) […]
I loved this post, I am moving to Hawaii in Oct to work at the Huelo Lookout Fruit Stand!!!
Thanks so much! You will love it in Maui! I didn’t want to leave.
Where was the swimming hole?
Hi Shelly, thanks for dropping by my blog. The swimming hole we were at was in pua’a ka’a state park on the road to Hana. There are other waterfall places too. We used the Lonely Planet travel book for Maui to plan our route. Have fun!