Day 5 - Maui, Hawaii

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Big day today. It is our most anticipated “Road to Hana” day. We had decided to stay overnight in Hana. So, we had to pack an overnight bag. We decided to leave a little late so that we could avoid some initial traffic. We made the readymade MTR Upma for breakfast! We left home around 9:15 am. First stop was Pa ‘ia to get boxed lunches for all of us. We got veggie sandwich boxes. I took Dramamine too, since they were selling it in the shop. By the time we headed back on the road it was already close to 11 am. We stopped at couple of lookout points. Restrooms were only port-a-johns. Praveen called them Papa John!
First major stop was “Twin Falls”. There was lot of cars parked. The falls were off the road. We had to hike about a mile to see the falls. Even then, we were not sure, if those were the falls. Some of the hikers suggested that we need to go off the trail for a while to see the falls. We didn’t want to do that. It was bit of a disappointment after hiking for nearly 1.5 miles. In books or the CDs, most of the attractions are referenced using the mile markers on the road 360. One needs to pay attention to that. We also found that the pull-over spots suggested can usually hold 1 or 2 cars. If you miss them, it is difficult to turn around. We got banana bread, mango bread, sugar cane etc.. in a shack. We went on a trail called “Waikamai trail” on the way. After another 5 miles or so, the road became narrow with lot more bridges that is usually one lane. When you cross the bridge, you got to make sure, there are no cars from opposite direction. Soon we came to the “Garden of Eden” Arboretum. There is a $10 fee. But the location is beautiful with lots of flowering plants and peacocks. There are couple of locations inside from where one can view Jurassic park rock formation and Poahokamoa falls. We had our packed lunch here in the picnic area.
After leaving the garden, we continued toward Hana. Waterfalls abound from here on. We also found a simple way to spot a waterfall. If there is a bridge on the road, there should be a falls somewhere in that area. Most of the times, the falls is directly under the bridge. We saw lots of locals, jumping from a ledge onto the pool of water beneath the falls. That’s probably some of the entertainment they have here, I guess. After mile marker 20, we lost count of the number of falls. We also took a detour are drove through a quaint looking village between the road and the beach. It looked like a tropical paradise!
By 5 PM, we reached the Wai’ anapanapa beach, we had to skip the old Hawaiian temple on the way since it closes after 4 PM. This is was one of our regrets. This beach is a state park, well maintained. There are lava caves, lava tubes, and black sand beach. We walked around and spent an hour there. Another 5 miles, we reached Hana. Our vacation rental was right at the entrance of Hana. It was a studio converted from an outhouse. It had all the essentials other an a/c. It was hot and humid. Now, we are on the windward side of the island. When talking to the housekeeper, we realized that all the eateries close around 7 PM here. We freshened up and rushed into the town. Hana ranch house was the only place open. By the time, we checked the menu for veggie items, they closed the retaurant. Other open place was “Hotel Hana Maui”. This is the first resort to be opened in Hana about 30 years ago. They had only one veggie dinner item. Hotel also has a dress code. We were not ready for it. Last attempt for food was to get some readymade from “Hasagewa General Store”. They carry almost anything that is needed in one place. We bought some frozen pasta (fettuccine), soup and ice cream. We were very tired and wanted to sleep early. The air was so hot and humid inside and had a lot of trouble sleeping. Around midnight, it rained and cooled the air. All of us slept well after that.

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