Maui #10 -- Hāna and the Kipahulu District of Haleakalā National Park

Caty and me at Pua'u Ka'a

When I was with Caty, we spent a day driving the famous “Road to Hāna.” Scott wasn’t interested when he and I went because we had done it back in 2014. This time was quite different because there was a fairly significant drought in 2014 and many of the famous waterfalls were dry.

2014, left; 2019; right

This time, however, there had been some very significant rains, so everything was green and lush.

The Road

Photo: The Snorkel Store

The Hāna Highway (Road to Hāna) is a 64.4-mile stretch of Hawai'i Routes 36 and 360 that connects Kahului to Hāna in east Maui. Then, it continues to Kīpahulu and the Kīpahulu District of Haleakalā as Hawai'i Route 31 (Pi'ilani Highway). 

Although Hāna is only 52 miles from Kahului, it takes at least 2.5 hours to get there WITHOUT stops because the highway is winding and narrow. 

Map: Seattle Times

We decided that we would motor to the end of our route – the Kīpahulu District of Haleakalā National Park – with minimal stops and then meander back. As it turns out, we sort of followed that plan. We did stop at a few places along the way and then, by the time we headed back, there wasn't much time to meander.

I think it took us about four hours to make it to Kīpahulu. Fortunately, even though the road is famous for heavy traffic, I didn't feel that it was too bad. And, the weather was gorgeous.

The Road to Hāna passes over 59 bridges, of which 46 are one-lane wide. 

One of the road's historic bridges

Plus, there are approximately 620 curves, almost all of it through lush, tropical rainforest. If you are prone to car sicknesses, this might not be your route!

Photo: BMW

Many of the concrete and steel bridges date back to 1910 and all but one are still in use. 

That one bridge, badly damaged by erosion, has been replaced by a portable steel bridge put in place by the Army Corps of Engineers. 

There were also several places along the road where washouts had reduced sections to one-lane wide with concrete barriers against the drop-offs. I am not sure how recent these washouts were. There had been an awful storm between the first and second times I was in maui this year, so they might have been fresh.

The driving process is described in guidebooks as "harrowing," "treacherous," "terrifying" and "white-knuckle-inducing." 

I didn't find it so. Most of the road is well-paved, although the section between Hāna and Kīpahulu is a bit rough. The most difficult part about the drive is the limited sight distance around curves, which also gets worse on the Kīpahulu section.

The traffic is managed with yield signs; some are specific about which driver should yield and some leave it up to the drivers to do the right thing. Most drivers do, but occasionally there are jerks who are in a bigger hurry than everyone else. I just let 'em go. I like to enjoy the scenery; I don't need to speed.

Streams and jungle plants

Fortunately, there are lots of turnouts, so we could let the speed demons pass and explore the Road to Hāna at our own pace. Unfortunately, the turnouts aren't necessarily synced to ocean views, so they are more utilitarian than scenic.

Of course, the other class of annoying people is the people who can't take a curve without straying into the oncoming lane. Well, 620 curves is plenty of time to learn how to drive! We had a few encounters on curves that I would rather forget. But, most of it was good. And, I was glad we had a small car. This isn't a road for big vehicles.

The two most common cars encountered are Jeeps – the Jeep rental business on Maui is pretty significant, all of them silver or red, it appears – and the Toyota Tacoma, the preferred truck of the locals.

Look out!

When I went on the birding tour with Beth, she regaled us with tales of crazy Tacoma-driving locals. Her advice, "get out of their way." Turns out she was right. We saw so many Tacomas that it became a standing joke.

What's on the Route
The Hāna side of the island is the wet side . As a result, the lava cliffs are deeply eroded with too many streams and waterfalls to count. These deep clefts in the very steep cliffs are the reason for the multiple bridges.

Streams flowing down the mountain

I had difficulty finding a good attraction-by-attraction list of places along the route, odd because the Road to Hāna is one of the most popular destinations on Maui. But, I don't think it's that important. It certainly wasn't for us, because we struck to the road and didn't opt to hike or swim along the way. I think to do those things, you need a longer time and some kind of guide book.

To give us more time, we had looked into staying the night in Hāna, but there aren't that many accommodations and the only thing available was very pricy.

Suffice it to say that the Road to Hāna passes through lush – very, very lush – jungle filled with lots of exotic-looking plants ...

African Tulip Trees

... beautiful flowers ...

A sampling of roadside flowers (the lower right is a banana flower, really!)

... waterfalls ...

Lots of waterfalls

... and more waterfalls ....

Lots and lots of waterfalls

... and even just drippy places where water seeps out of the rocks and flows across the road ...

Weeping rock walls

Plus, there are segments that overlook dramatic lava sea cliffs ...

The coast is very steep in places

... and side roads that you can take to some beautiful beaches ...

Hamoa Beach, 2014

Water views aren't as common as you might think, considering the road's proximity to the ocean because the jungle is thick ...

A riot of jungle plants

But, it's not all Tarzan territory. There are some surprisingly uncharacteristic agricultural areas, as well, with wide, open fields, cattle and some dramatic vegetation.

A pastoral scene

According to what I read, many of the attractions listed in guidebooks – waterfalls, gardens and views – are either on or are reached via private property and will often have "no trespassing" signs. This is sometimes misleading because all beaches in Hawaii are public. Since we weren't hiking, this wasn't an issue. Once, we did pass a house with a huge sign indicating that "spectators" were not welcome. But, later, we pulled off the road in front of a large Hawai'ian-style house and, when the resident returned with a stroller from the beach, she did not seem at all disturbed by our presence. Of course, we weren't photographing her house, we were looking across the street.

Not a bad view

History

In the 16th century, when Maui's King Pi'ilani conquered East Maui, he built the Alaloa, the "long road," from West Maui. The ancient roadway had places where travelers swung themselves over streams with ropes made of vines. 

Early Hāna; Picture: TourMaui.com

Pi’ilani's son, KihaPi’ilani, extended the Alaloa into the Hāna District. When completed, the road was 4-6 feet wide, 138 miles long and paved with hand-fitted basalt (lava) rocks. 

Modern road construction to Hāna began in the 1870s, with an unpaved road built to facilitate the construction of the Hämäkua Ditch, which brought water from the rainforests of Haleakalā to semi-arid central Maui to support the sugarcane industry.

Construction in the early 1900s; Photo: Maui.bz

Road construction continued in the early 1900s and was extended piecemeal until the full road to Hāna was officially opened in 1926. Bridge construction continued through the 1930s, but the road was not completely paved until the 1960s.

Banana Bread, Dangerous Jumps and Huli Huli 

We did make a couple of important stops along the route. The first was to buy some banana bread for our "second breakfast." Banana bread is as important on the Road to Hāna as are the one-lane bridges. There are stands all along the route.

Maui banana bread is usually made with local apple bananas and some breads also have fruit, such as mango and pineapple, chocolate chips, coconut or macadamia nuts. Ours, purchased at a barbecue stand that smelled amazing, was very pure. Caty was thrilled it had no nuts. We munched on it was we drove and it was delicious.

Whatever ...

Then, later we stopped for a bathroom break at Pua'a Ka'a State Wayside Park. There are picnic tables and some pretty waterfalls that plunge into a pool that is open for swimming. We stretched our legs a little and watched as a couple of guys blatantly disregarded to the "No Diving or Jumping" sign. The waterfall gets fairly low marks in reviews, but it was very pretty. 

Someone took our picture for us at Pua'a Ka'a, so it was one of the few places we got a decent photo together. 

Although the weather was lovely, there were some hot sticky parts (particularly a Kīpahulu) and we looked worse and worse as the day wore on.

Caty and me

We weren't hungry for a picnic lunch (too much banana bread), so we headed on.

And, we fully intended to eat lunch from our cooler. But, well, we encountered a rustic food court of sorts that smelled as amazing than the place we got the banana bread (and after stopping there, we had been thinking about barbecue). We had to stop. We split a plate of Huli Huli ribs and brown rice. 

Roadside deliciousness

Huli Huli means "turn, turn" in Hawai'ian and is the local name for meat cooked on a spit or rotisserie. The place we stopped had just completed cooking a batch of ribs and chicken and was busy re-loading the rotisserie. We arrived when it wasn't busy, but it was quite crowded by the time we left.

Lunch was yummy. A bit messy, but yummy.

While there, I also bought coconut that had been thinly sliced and toasted a deep brown. the guy selling it looked a bit like Willie Nelson after a bad night. He was very generous with free samples to anyone who passed by and seemed actually surprised when I told him I wanted to BUY some. It's a really nice snack.

There were several other food stands selling fish tacos, fish and chips and coconut shrimp, but, once we saw the ribs, we couldn't resist.

Photo: Caty Stevens

And, then we had a shave ice, which is a traditional Hawai'ian ice-based dessert made by shaving a block of ice. 

It is NOT a snow cone: snow cones are made with crushed, rather than shaved, ice. 

On the Big Island of Hawai'i, locals use both "shave ice" and "ice shave" to describe the frosty treat. But, on Maui, it's universally "shave ice."

Shaving produces an almost snow-like substance to which flavored syrup is added. 

Although traditional American snow cone flavors are common, shave ice in Hawai'i is often flavored with local ingredients such as guava, pineapple, coconut cream, lilkoi (passion fruit), lychee, kiwi fruit and mango. After trying several flavors throughout our trip, we decided lilikoi is too delicate to stand alone. Guava is the key! Shave ice can be served alone or with a scoop of ice cream and/or adzuki bean paste at the bottom of the cup. Sweetened condensed milk drizzled over the top is sometimes called a "snow cap."

Shave ice originated in Taiwan in the 7th century AD. It was imported to America by Japanese immigrants when they came to Hawai'i to work in sugar plantations.

Bird Sighting
Of course, as we traveled, we looked for birds. I was still hoping to get a better picture of an 'Apapane or to actually see an ‘Alauahio, but I didn't see any along the way. We heard a lot of birds, but most just stayed hidden in the jungle.

Jungle Trees

When we passed one of the places where you could look down on the ocean, we pulled over (breaking our "don't stop on the way" rule) to take quick look. As we surveyed the vast blue Pacific, we got an unexpected treat: a White-tailed Tropicbird. 

White-Tailed Tropicbird

This is a bird I had hoped, but not expected, to see. It was far away and tricky to photograph, but what a beauty!

On the wing

The smallest of three closely related tropical ocean birds, the White-tailed Tropicbird is found primarily in the western Pacific and Indian Oceans. 

It also breeds on some Caribbean islands, where it is called a "Longtail." It disperses widely across the oceans when not breeding and, when breeding, lays eggs directly on a cliff edge. It feeds on fish and squid, caught by surface plunging from as high as 65 feet above the ocean, but is a poor swimmer.

The name, obviously, comes from the bird's very long tail, which measures double its body length. 

Its cousins are the Red-Tailed Tropicbird, which has, obviously, a red tail; and the Red-Billed Tropicbird, which, well, you know ...

Kīpahulu District of Haleakalā National Park

After winding past miles and miles of beauty, driving through the town of Hāna and enduring the rough patch of road beyond Hāna, we finally reached the Kīpahulu District of Haleakalā National Park. The Visitor Center, which sits on a broad open field overlooking the sea, was open, so we were able to get our National Park Passport stamps.

Behind the Visitor Center

The Kīpahulu District has been inhabited by native people for hundreds of years and remains an integral part of a thriving culture. It protects an intact ahupua'a, a traditional Native Hawai'ian land division that protects all resources from sea to summit. 

The stream emptying into the ocean

A key attraction here is the ʻOheʻo Gulch. Even though this area isn't that far from Haleakalā Summit, the only way to get there is via the long and winding road.

There is no road access between the Haleakalā Summit District and the Kīpahulu District. We took the half-mile hike to ʻOheʻo Gulch to see the "Seven Sacred Pools."

It was a bit steamy, but nice when we got down to where the Palikea Stream, the waterway that carves the ʻOheʻo Gulch, empties into the ocean.

Over millennia, Palikea Stream created a series cascading waterfalls and plunge pools. After tumbling through the seven pools, the stream empties into the ocean. Swimming is allowed in the most accessible pools, but because the water is warm, there is danger of dangerous bacteria in the water. We looked at it from the observation area, but didn't walk to the waterfall. 

Seven Sacred Pools

I have a serious phobia about walking on slippery rock and the rocks there are fairly slick. Caty walked part of the way and then came back because she didn't have the right shoes to cross the stream. Lots of other people, who don't share my fear, were happily leaping across the rocks to the pool and waterfall.

Cliff jumping is prohibited, but people do it anyway. I didn't see any this time, but I hear it is common. The Park does not heavily enforce the "no jumping" rules, but they have a notice board by the ranger station posted with newspaper articles about accidents and deaths that have occurred at the pools and at the waterfall up above that feeds the pools.

We didn't see anyone jumping, but there were a lot of people walking over the rocks

There is a four-mile roundtrip hike, the Pīpīwai Trail, up to waterfalls.we didn't take it -- we didn't have the time and it was just too steamy to hike.

The name, "Seven Sacred Pools," was coined years ago by the owner of what is now Travaasa Hāna (previously Hotel Hāna Maui) as a marketing tactic. So, they really weren't sacred to Hawai'ians. There are more than two dozen pools along Palikea Stream that contain rare native freshwater fish.

The loop trail to the Seven sacred Pools passes through some interesting vegetation, including banyan and hala trees.

Banyan, left; Hala, right

A member of the fig family, the banyan tree is characterized by aerial prop roots that mature into thick, woody trunks that, as the tree ages, can become indistinguishable from the primary trunk. Old trees can spread laterally by using these prop roots to grow over a wide area, often resembling a grove rather than a single tree. Native to India, banyans were imported to Maui in the late 1800s.

A hala roof

Native to the south pacific, the hala tree looks like a tree built by a committee. 

It has a trunk and branches like a deciduous tree; its roots are more like a mangrove and the leaves and fruit resemble a pineapple plant. 

The fruit is made up of 38-200 small wedge-like husked phalanges that can be eaten raw or cooked. Hala fruit is a major source of food in Micronesian cuisine. 

The tree's leaves are often used as flavoring for sweet dishes and curries. Leaves were used by the Polynesians to make baskets, mats, outrigger canoe sails, thatch roofs and grass skirts. The art of weaving with hala leaves is an important part of Hawai'ian tradition, with everything from houses to pillows being made in this fashion. 

Palikea Stream outflow framed by a Hala tree

The Seven sacred Pools are a "must do" for visiting Maui, but I feel that they are somewhat overrated. They are pretty, but I think there are many prettier places on the island. And, because they are open to swimming, all the tourists mar that perfect picture anyway. Perhaps if I were the kind of person who simply must climb every waterfall I see, I might feel different.

Beaches
After seeing the pools, it was time to head home. This time, we veered off the main road in Hāna to drive along Haneoo Road. First, we stopped to look at Alau Island just past Hamoa Beach. 

Alau Island

It was peaceful with no crowds and some delightful birds, including Ruddy Turnstones ... 

Ruddy Turnstone

... and Pacific Golden Plovers at the water's edge ...

Pacific Golden Plover

... a Red-crested Cardinal in the tree above our heads ...

Red-Crested Cardinal

And, right around the corner is a striking lava arch that reveals a line of surf on the other side. Inspiring? I think so.

Black Lava Bridge

In 1939, Georgia O'Keefe thought so, too. Her painting, Black Lava Bridge, Hana Coast No. 1, hangs in the Honolulu Museum of Art.

 Black Lava Bridge, Hana Coast No. 1 by Georgia O'Keefe

After the hot stickiness of Kīpahulu, the sea breeze was a relief.

And, just a smidge further down the road was Koki Beach, also breezy and pleasant. We wandered around a bit and then hit the road.

Koki Beach

Waiʻānapanapa State Park
Our next stop was Waiʻānapanapa State Park. What a lovely place and quite popular, too! It was filled with campers, beach-goers, picnickers and sightseers.

A tunnel of trees at Waiʻanapanapa

Waiʻanapanapa views

Waiʻanapanapa means "glistening fresh water," referring to nearby fresh water streams and pools. 

The abysmal road in (potholes upon potholes upon potholes) belies the beauty of the place. 

The 122-acre state park has camping facilities, including a small lawn where campers may pitch a tent, picnic tables and a public restroom. 

There are nice paved walkways to overlooks and down to the black sand beach. The view includes that beach, lava arches and sea stacks. Plus, on the grounds is a fenced off area that houses a small local Hawai'ian cemetery.  

As we pulled into a parking space (a lucky find on a crowded day), we saw a Mongoose rooting around in some grass, probably looking for insects (based on his dirty little nose). I had been trying for days to photograph a Mongoose and here was one posing for us. 

Java Mongoose

We took lots of pictures of that little Mongoose until he was eventually joined by a second Mongoose and they ran away.

Mongoose buddies

Then, we turned around and walked toward the overlook by the picnic area. there were Mongooses everywhere. Suddenly I got it! 

The dirty nose is from rooting

I had told Caty earlier that I was surprised that we hadn't been able to photograph any Mongooses because, years ago, when we were in Honolulu, we saw them everywhere when we went to a park. 

Aha! A park! Mongooses are scavengers. They scavenge in trash cans in parks! And, that's where all the other ones were – rooting through the trash along with the even larger contingent of Feral Cats.

I already talked about Java Mongooses in an earlier first Maui post. But, just one more comment about their impact on Hawai'i from the Hawai'i Invasive Species Council: 

"The small Indian mongoose has been blamed with the extinction of ground-nesting birds ... including eight federally listed endangered Hawai'ian birds, such as the Hawai'ian Crow ('alalā), petrels (ʻuʻau) and Hawaiian Goose (Nēnē). It was estimated in 1999 that mongooses cause $50 million in damages to Hawai`i and Puerto Rico annually."

These cuties are actually very destructive

Plus, Feral Cats are also a problem – just walking through the park demonstrated that. 

A Feral Cat scavenging

Wild-living variants of the common pet cat introduced to Hawai'i by Europeans, Feral Cats have established populations on all eight of the main Hawaiian Islands.

They contribute to widespread ecological disruptions that threaten native Hawai'ian wildlife.

In fact, the Invasive Species Council says that they are one of the most "devastating predators of Hawai'i's unique wildlife." 

They also spread a potentially lethal parasite (Toxoplasma gondii) that contaminates water and affects birds and mammals – including humans.

When we picnicked at Waiʻānapanapa, several sat expectantly at our feet. Oddly, they were never aggressive and they NEVER meowed. They just stay, hoping to be fed. We did not feed them.

Now, on to something more pleasant. Waiʻānapanapa has a black beach. Yep, a beach made of crushed lava rock as opposed to traditional brown or white sand. We didn't walk down to it; rather staying on the top to take pictures. Obviously, from the number of people there, the black sand beach at Waiʻānapanapa is quite popular.

Black Beach at Waiʻānapanapa State Park

While photographing the beach, a movement caught my eye. A sea bird! Perhaps it was a Brown Noddy. I had heard there were some on the Hāna coast. I shot some pictures and then walked up the trail to get a better look. Unfortunately, it disappeared and did not return while I waited with my camera. Signage in the area provided a better ID. It was a Noddy; a Black Noddy not the brown variety. Another new bird for me.

Black Noddy flying around sea stacks

Also called a White-Capped Noddy, this medium-sized Tern gets its name from the way it dips its head during courtship. Like the Tropicbird, it feeds on fish and squid that it gathers by flying low over the ocean surface and scooping them up. Allegedly, Noddies are very tolerant of humans to the extent that they can be picked up off the nest. So, to get a good photo, you simply have to climb a tall Pisonia tree and pillage a nest! Or not.

A quick fly-by

The Black Noddy has a worldwide distribution in tropical and subtropical seas, with colonies widespread in the Pacific Ocean and more scattered across the Caribbean, central Atlantic and in the northeast Indian Ocean. At sea it is usually seen close to its breeding colonies within 50 miles of shore. Birds return to their colonies, or to other islands, in order to roost at night.

Home
It was getting late at this point, so we headed home, stopping once more at Ho'okipa to see the turtles.

I think the Road to Hāna gets a bad rap. I didn't find it crowded or particularly scary. It does test your driving mettle a bit and I will admit that my arms and core were a bit sore after the all-day drive (but some of that could have been from snorkeling and from holding my heavy camera and from riding on a bumpy Zodiac to whale watch).

Road to Hāna bridge

I am so glad Caty and I went and that we took the road as it came with no real plan for what we wanted to do or see. It was just a nice day with lovely weather, a few cool animal and bird sightings and lots of nice scenery.

Dramatic lava cliffs

I think if I ever go again, I might skip the Seven Sacred Pools and try to see more beaches and waterfalls along the way. But, I am satisfied with what we did.

Seven Sacred Pools

Trip 1 date: January 31-February 8, 2019

Trip 2 date: February 25-March 2, 2019