The road to Hana was nothing short of AMAZING! The only bummer was that because it hasn't rained lately (like, at all!) the waterfalls were puny or non-existent. :o( Sad. BUT, oh my gosh, the drive was lush, tropical, GREEN, and so insanely beautiful. Some of the leaves on the trees were so huge. They really looked prehistoric. But, that is what it looks like - like you are in some jungle from another time. It is (for the most part) so untouched, which is what makes it so awesome to experience. We saw what I call "Tarzan vines" hanging from trees covered in what look like Philodendron on steroids - so cool! We also saw crazy flowers...I can't even describe them, but I took pictures! We also saw bamboo forests (let me tell you, if you want a natural privacy fence - try bamboo)! What else did we see... hm ...oh yeah - WILD FERRETS! We went to this state park right on the outskirts of Hana and they were EVERYWHERE. I didn't like it. Creepy, long, weird rat-things. Anyway, those are just a few things we saw.
We went hiking at that state park (the name is too long to remember...plus it's Hawaiian) along crazy lava formations, black sand beaches, blow holes, caves (and yes, we went in them too!), and old burial grounds. It was cool!
We then drove through the town of Hana (or "Hana Town" as its called by locals) which was small and serene and so old world. It's what everyone calls "real" or "true" Hawaii. And I believe it. On the other side of Hana Town, we went to a beach called Hamoa Beach, which is a salt and pepper beach (which means a mix of black and white sand) that is managed by a local hotel, so it's very nice. The break was great for bodyboarding and Mark spent some time doing that and tumbling in the waves...they got pretty big! I went in the water and just floated over the waves or dove under if they were gonna break on me. I love doing that. I know that I've stressed how CLEAR the water is around Maui, but I think this beach had the clearest water...it was so beautiful. It was a great beach to spend a few hours baking in the sun and swimming...a good place to stretch our legs from the few hour drive to Hana Town!
It was a long day, but a great one! I'd recommend this trip to anyone traveling to Maui. Just beware that the road can - at times - get a little scary: coming around a corner and a car being in your lane! Yikes! Take your time, go slow, and stop to enjoy the view when you can. :o)
Aloha for today! (Only 3 days of "aloha" left....sad.)
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