Sunday, June 14, 2009

The Road to Hana

Starting at 7 am, Lyle and I got in the beach and headed South.  We drove around the small side of the island and then continued to the south side of the big part.  It was beautiful landscape and pretty straight roads going though the sugar cane fields and down around the coast.  THere were cows EVERYWHERE.  Maui's landscape is very diverse.  Where I'm staying it's all golf courses and resorts, this area was dry wilderness.  The wind was fierce and looking over this cliff pictured below, there were at least half a dozen wrecked cars on the beach.  No wonder why there was no traffic or homes.
As we continued the pavement left us and we had choppy roads making us so happy we had a Jeep!  The landscape started to change, there were some random homes here and there and the lush jungle started to show itself.  Little rodents were running across the road, which we realized later were mongooses!  Crazy little devils.  I tried to catch one...didn't work.  We stopped at a small church near the Maui Stables that was too dangerous to walk into but had a fantastic graveyard where Charles Lindbergh is buried--random....but very cool.  Haleakala National Park was our first destination.  The Jeep was parked and we took on the 1.8 mile hike up to some waterfall we heard was pretty...  The hike was marked with signs saying "fatal drop" and we walked through huge trees and grasses, hearing water falling periodically.  Then, crossing a bridge we entered the bamboo forest!  
It was so dense and beautiful that when inside the canopy, it looked like it was twilight, not 11 am.  I can't describe how amazing this was.  When the wind went through the bamboo it would creek and bend making it almost a creepy experience.  I loved it.  When the bamboo started to fade, the water sound got louder and finally we saw it: Makahiku Falls!  180 feet of water :-)
Lyle took a shower as I walked around and explored my bum off.  It was very peaceful and beautiful, worth the strenuous hike for sure!  We went back down the way we came and then went further towards the ocean to the Seven Sacred Pools.  This is an area of low water level where the different pools can fill up with water.  About half of them were filled at the time, but according to the signs, it can sometimes fill up to be rushing waterfalls and cause deaths...so...I was glad it was empty as it was!  The following picture is of one of the pools.
After hiking 4 miles and being quite winded, we drove to Hana (the back way) and ate a wonderful lunch at the ranch.  It was quite the experience to be in the middle of a nice restaurant in a small town surrounded by honeymooners...  The consensus was that you don't go to Maui on a honeymoon unless all you want to do is talk to your newlywed for the entire time you're there.  Most of the couples were silent through lunch, and the man would be sneaking glances at the TV to catch some of the game.  It was sad but hilarious.  We then drove The Road to Hana backwards to get back home.  We weren't going to hike anymore, but the stops that were right off the road we stopped at and looked around.  There were waterfalls like the one in the following picture, and also lookout areas with breathtaking views of Maui.  
The road was super curvy and crazy, but we had the top off on the Jeep, even in the short rain storm, and it kept the wind blowing so there was no car-sickness happening, thankfully!  The only thing I decided this drive was missing were some monkeys swinging from the viney trees.  There was a stop, however, that had chickens and kittens running around...  It was a lovely adventure, I'm so glad I got to see all of this island!  

3 comments:

  1. chickens AND kittens? that is quite the stop =)

    This sounds like a lovely day and I'm so glad you have a fantastic friend to explore with. That last shot is so pretty! And I can't imagine how cool the sound of the bamboo was. So cool!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Wow! I am trying to imagine myself inside your pictures, seeing things from your point of view. I would love to jump right into that last pic. I really wish I could go hiking and exploring with you. We could have trail mix, and maybe even go potty in the bushes. I am officially caught up with reading your blogs, now I just have to get myself caught up with writing them : ) I got your email today, and it made me feel like this..... : ( I miss you. I feel like we are a world apart! I am going to be more on top of blogger while we are in such different time zones, since phone time seems to be much harder to find. I am watching the clock tonight though! Only 1 hour and 35 minutes until I am calling you : )

    Love you SO much

    ReplyDelete
  3. PS - there is a present for you on my page. It is called a new post.

    Love

    ReplyDelete