Today, Jessi, Jen and I drove the road to Hana (well, Jessi and Jen technically rode the road to Hana but who cares!). We had an awesome time. We got up at the way-to-early time of 5:00 am and were well on our way by 7:30 (we had to stop at Safeway for snacks and stuff).
The road was incredible as usual. Everyone enjoyed the views and Jessi recorded some shots from the sun-roof while we drove (I'll get to those in T-Dot). For those of you who have never heard of the Road to Hana, it's really about the drive not the destination (as the name implies). The road hugs lush tropical rainforests and plunging cliffs. You drive past spectacular waterfalls and mind-numbing vistas. You drive through Bamboo forests, past fire-blossom trees and under ancient canopies. All told it's a long windy narrow drive (pictures and video to come I promise!) and a little harrowing at times (like when this giant truck barrelled around a corner over the center line and I had to swerve into the one foot shoulder without going over the edge of a cliff...) but it's a must-see attraction in Maui.
This time we were more adventurous and drove past the half-way point (a very scenic spot called the Ke'anae pininsula). In fact, we made it all the way to Hana and even further to the Seven Sacred Pools. The pools are part of Haleakala park and are a series of pools connected by waterfalls that cascade down the volcano to meet the ocean. Jessi and Jen went for a dip in one of the pools and frolicked under a waterfall (they almost gave my a heart-attack climbing up the slippery rocks!). Up to this point there had been very few others on the road or at the pools themselves, but as we left the roads became packed with caravans of tourists (they seemed to stick together in groups of four or five, probably to avoid conflict with the locals!).
We drove back over to Hana where we were very adventurous again. On the advice of my Auntie Anne and almost everyone who has read the book "Maui Revealed" we parked on a little dead-end street in Hana. We found Jessi a bathroom (our fourth of the day!) and strolled across an open field to a little path. On the path we met some very odd and unfriendly locals having a beer under a tree with their loose pit-bull. Needless to say we hurried on past them. The path wound along the side of a cinder-cliff which looked far from stable. The path itself shifted with every step. It was barely a foot wide at points and evidence of slides was prevailant! As you may assume, we made it through without injury (in fact the only injuries occured at Safeway where Jen cut her big toe leaving the car and Jessi dropped a can of Diet Coke on her foot!). We were rewarded with an awesome sight (Again, pictures to follow later!). The beach itself was small but very red. We made it to the fabled red sand beach of Hana. The sand wasn't actually very nice to walk on, but it was a very unique place and I must now join the throngs of others who will tell you how to get there.
After making it safely back to the car, we engaged on our final stop: The Lava Tubes. Some entreprenuer moved to Hana a while back and bought up the land that contained these caves. He excavated them and made them easier for tourists to visit. So for a well-worth-it $12.50 we descended into the darkness of the lava tube. Having never been in a large cave before it was quite awe inspiring. To add to that awe was the fact the the tube was carved out by consecutive flows of lava. The whole cave (it took about 20 minutes to walk it's length) was neat but part of it looks just like a giant pile of chocolate ice cream.
As we emerged from the cave we were greated with torrential downpour. This is what the windward side of the island is famous for (and why they call it a rainforest). Suprisingly, despite the fact that I've been at least part of the way to Hana four times before this, it was the first time it rained on me. And boy did it! The sky opened up and let lose. We got totally soaked. We had PB&J sandwiches (rice cakes for me!) in the car before driving home through the rain (which was actually very fun). We got some neat footage of the rain so you can see it once we get back to T.O.
All told it was a fantastic (though exhausting) day. Now we are skipping happy-hour for some much needed downtime.
