The first stop was Twin Falls, which required a “3 to
5-minute hike,” according to the book, but it was much farther than that but
well worth it, but once we got to the first waterfall, we noticed you had to
walk through water to get to the natural pool.
We both wore our hikers and didn’t want to get them wet. Shannan ultimately walked through the water. I watched.
The water was too cold to swim in, so after taking a couple dozen
pictures, we hiked back and took another trail to the second waterfall. There were lots of tricky rocks to climb but
you should have seen my face when we approached a plank. Yes, I would say a five-foot plank connecting
one piece of land to another. It wasn’t
that long but it wasn’t a permanent fixture.
It looked like somebody just found a piece of wood and tossed it there. I was terrified to walk over it. Of course, brave Shan had no problem. I requested that she carry on first to see if
the ultimate destination was worth conquering this particular fear. She returned a short time later to declare it
was. So I did, conquer my fear, that
is. It was pretty scary but I’m a
trouper (sort of!). Beautiful
waterfall. Again, the water was too cold
to take a dip.
Next stop was Waikamoi Ridge. This time it was all about the hike, no
waterfalls, just incredible views and scenery, very cool looking trees and
vegetation. We hike for about 45 minutes
or so. As you enter, a sign reads “Quiet
Trees at Work.”
We continued on this extremely windy, narrow, steep,
treacherous road in complete awe of everything we were seeing. Just when you think you’ve seen the most
beautiful sight in your life, you turn the corner and there’s an even more
magnificent view. It was just
breathtaking! There are not enough
adjectives to describe what we saw that day.
It was a lot of fun zipping around in a Jeep Wrangler! Incidentally, I did great driving and wasn’t
scared except for a couple of times when we were on a cliff. There are no shoulders or guardrails on the
Road to Hana and there are over 50 one-lane bridges to contend with. Before I forget to mention it, this was my
favorite activity on Maui. It would end
up being a very long day, 13 ½ hours round trip, but worth every minute.
Next came the Keanae Peninsula. The wild ocean was rough and giant waves were
crashing into the lava rocks along the coast.
I could watch that all day. It’s
so incredible. We drove down into the
village and got a glimpse of how the locals live. I struck up a conversation with a local named
Nelson, whom I spotted “picking” coconuts from a coco palm tree with a 30-foot
homemade pole. I asked him if he ever
gets used to such beauty. He was a
little standoffish at first. He admitted
he and many locals do not care for tourists, and I can understand why. We’re like ants, pests, invading their homes
and congesting their roads. We
experienced a little animosity by a couple of boys on bikes a few minutes
earlier who shouted something in what sounded like another language. I gave them the Official Hawaiian hand
signal, ShaKa, “hang loose,” but what they said in return, I can assure you,
was not said with love. I was determined
to show Nelson not all tourists are bad.
I asked him a couple of questions about the coconuts and life in
Hawaii. He warmed up quickly, mentioned
he was in New Jersey during his time in the military 20 years ago. Then he offered us a taste of the water in
the coconuts he just worked so hard to pick.
We happily accepted. He proceeded
to retrieve a large object from the back of his like-new Ford truck. It was a knife…no, more like a machete! He swung it high in the air and with great
force whacked the coconut, which was on the ground, straight down the middle! I may have shrieked; I’m not sure.
I thought the liquid inside a coconut was coconut milk. It’s not; it’s water. It was very good too. Then he offered us the “meat” of the coconut. Again, my experience with coconuts is pretty
limited. I thought it was dry and flaky,
like what you see in candy or on a cake, which I don’t care for. Fresh coconut meat is nothing like that. It’s soft with the texture of tofu. It tasted okay, nothing like the flaky stuff
in candy and cakes. We thanked
(“Mahalo”) Nelson for the coconuts and continued back towards the main road. But not before stopping at another local’s
house to buy a brownie. Everything is on
the honor system here. There are two
large bins, one where you place your money, $2.00 in this case, and one with
the food (or whatever item is for sale).
You rarely see people, but you always see dogs roaming around the
property. Leashes are optional in
Hawaii, and it’s frightening to see dogs running around loose because they
often run into the road or get lost. I
miss my dogs terribly. When I get home,
it will have been a month since I’ve seen them, because Shan drove them to her
mom’s a week and a half before we left, and her mom is returning them a couple
days after we return.
Probably the most anticipated checkpoint for Shannan was the
Nahiku Coffee Shop (for obvious reasons).
Shan had a cup of coffee (duh), and we shared the best berry pie (still
warm) I’ve ever had! There was a group
of hippies (?) beatniks (?). I don’t
really know the proper term, but in Hawaii, especially in Kauai, there were a
lot of people with dreadlocks and long flowy type clothing with poor grooming
habits. In a way, I envy them for being
so free spirited, but I don’t want to smell myself after days (?) weeks (?)
without bathing. I think you have to like
fish tacos to be a member, so I don’t think I’ll be joining that cult anytime
soon.
We continued on to Waianapanapa State Park. Here is home to the Waianapanapa Beach, which
is one of the only black sand beaches on Maui.
It’s weird to stand on black sand.
It’s not hot; it’s actually cool, and it looks like gravel. I don’t think I could park my beach chair
there for the day. It’s kind of like
Heinz green ketchup. It tastes the same
as red, but there’s something just wrong about it! What was really cool, though, about this
place was the lava tunnel, which is basically a cave. I love the caves in Hawaii because there are
no bats!
Finally, we arrived in Hana.
Anyone who has taken this trip will tell you, it’s not the destination;
it’s the journey. I have to agree. There isn’t much in Hana or maybe I just
didn’t care. You see, I expected it to
take three to four hours to take this incredible journey based on what I had
read. In actuality, it took eight! We still had to hit the Seven Sacred Pools,
which was another 10 miles further (10 miles is like 30 miles on these roads!)
and we still had to drive back to our condo in Ka’anapali. It is no surprise that I was a wee bit cranky
at this point. After a short argument,
which often happens when two people are in a car together for eight hours and
running solely on sugar (remember that brownie? Very berry pie? Oh, and lemon
cake also picked up at the coffee shop.
That’s all we ate since breakfast.), we stopped at a general store (lots
of them in Hawaii), but not much here to eat, so I picked up some trail
mix. We ate a lot of trail mix on this
trip. We were off, our last stop and the
grand finale, Oheo Gulch, which is inside Haleakala National Park, the same
park in which we biked down the volcano but on the complete opposite end of the
island. We were now traveling along the
southern coast, which has nothing but a one-lane rough and dirt road for miles
and miles. Apparently, the wealthy
residents have enough clout to keep the roads from being improved (read: paved)
to prevent more tourists from looping around and traveling north instead of
backtracking over the Road to Hana again. But that didn’t stop us; we have a Jeep!
We hiked to three natural pools and waterfalls which were
majestic and stunning. Again with the
tricky rock climbing. I did okay and
managed not to fall or drown. The water
was cold, but when I saw Shannan get in, I was determined not to miss out. She swam to the waterfall; I only got in up
to my waist. It was too damned cold! I struggled to get in and out maneuvering
over the dangerously slippery rocks underneath the water. I’m sure you’re as tired reading as I am
writing the words “beautiful,” “breathtaking,” and “incredible,” but
unfortunately, my vocabulary is not large enough to include some more
descriptive terms. Un-f’ing-believable
views. How’s that?
Now the real fun begins – the drive home. Oh, my!
Talk about narrow, rough roads.
The book said the dirt road was a grueling four miles. I don’t know what planet he was driving
on. It had to be 20 miles of dirt
road. At one point, going over a small
bridge, the road was paved and lined!
Yahoo!!!!!!! Not so fast. It’s dirt again. What a tease.
I didn’t care. We were on another
planet, it seemed. This side of the
island is practically undisturbed. Every
now and then you would see a fence, a cow, a piece of farm equipment, a house
(not very often). It was primarily
mountains, cliffs, and ocean. No
beaches, just lava rock. It was so
awesome. I was pretty hesitant about
going home that way, but Shannan was very insistent. I am so glad we did. It was just as gorgeous and exciting as the
Road to Hana itself. No, I’m going to
take a leap and say it was more gorgeous, more scenic, more beautiful, more
treacherous, more scary, more deserted, more windy, more narrow, and BUMPY,
BUMPY, BUMPY! I’m sure if I ever return
to Maui I will never do either road again.
I am so thankful I had this experience.
It will be etched in my mind for years to come.
Every so often we would encounter locals “tailgating.” Yes, this seems to be a popular pastime in
Maui where locals pack up two or three pickup trucks with coolers, folding
chairs, and a bunch of other junk, park on the side of a cliff and have a
party. Fun.
After stopping for a brief moment to enjoy the sunset off a
cliff, we made our way back to the condo at 7:40 p.m. We were starving. We made sandwiches, had cheese and crackers
and beer and passed out, exhausted, dirty and smelly from on of the greatest
days here!
