Maui Trip Report contd...
Sunday 15th January
Today we had decided to do the Hana Highway tour. This is the highlight, much written about and talked and hyped of all the tours in Maui. But, we hadn’t really gone with any expectations, and hence, were genuinely amazed at the sights of Hana Highway.
We started a bit later than expected, and by the time we hit the road, we were wondering how much of the whole trip we would be able to cover in a day’s time. The entire journey was around 3-4 hours drive, mainly along narrow extremely winding roads. We thought we had hit the highway by 8.30 and started looking out for all the markings / pointers given in our guide book for the sightings. However, we were shocked and disappointed in not finding even a single marker mentioned in the book. We had already passed 3 such “sightings” and we didn’t see anyone of these! We even stopped by what seemed to closely match a spot mentioned in the book, and tried walking through a huge sugar field looking for a waterfall! Obviously, there wasn’t one in sight for miles. Finally, exasperated and wondering how the book could be so wrong, we decided to ask an old lady for directions and not follow the book at all. The lady greeted us in the usual Hawaiian aloha spirit and asked where we had come from and wished us a great vacation on the island. She explained to us, that we hadn’t approached the actual highway as described in the book and we had to go a mile further down the highway on which we were to find the all the locations! That’s why we hadn’t found even one of the sights! She exchanged some more warnings of taking care of our belongings and wished us again. She was our angel in disguise and helped us to get on the right path to the much awaited Hana highway. Thank you angel.
Well, having lifted our spirits we set our odometer back to zero and started again from the first highlight given in the book, the Lower Puohokmoa Falls. These falls could be seen from above unlike what we would normally expect. They were in an amazing setting and we were quite scared of the height at which we had perched to get this particular view. Next were the Upper Puohokmoa Falls, which are popular tourist attraction. We had to by pass this one since we didn’t get parking, and the book promised better sights further up ahead.
We headed towards our next attraction; a small waterfall with a pond below called the Chings Pond by the locals. The Chings pond was indeed a remarkable sight, setting was picture perfect with the idyllic pond glistening in the sun and the lovely waterfall forming a stream before ending up in the pond. We spend some time there taking pictures, not wanting to leave just yet…. We set out feeling guilty of spending so little time in such a lovely place.
All along the way were some extra-ordinary views of the valley and the bay with the ocean backdrop. The views were just stunning and Rex kept stopping at every opportunity to get some pictures.
As we drove onwards, we came across numerous stalls selling fresh fruits, banana bread and Hawaiian flowers. We picked up some tasty banana bread at a stall called “halfway to hana” and devoured it. At the spot where we stopped for this snack was a nice spot were the sea came right onto a driveway and we stopped here to take the pictures. The view was simply wonderful.
Onwards we came across the nice Three Bear Falls where more photos were taken. We hit a private road on the side of the highway u near the 24 mile marker. This road needed a 10 minute upward hike to a lovely absolutely private spot where a waterfall made a small pond before falling off into a stream. The view also had a stunning valley view. We parked at the side and hiked up. We had some great views on the way, but that was nothing compared to the awesome view of the waterfall and the pond. It was absolutely perfect. We were amazed at the perfection of this place. We spend some more idyllic moments just taking in everything that insight, before we started off back down to the next site.
The book described some good waterfalls up ahead which had to be reached though some adventurous hike and we were quite excited after our last experience. This was the Waikamu Falls, which was pretty crowded, and many people seemed to know of this particular hike unlike other places which didn’t seemed to be visited by many. We headed up the squishy path after jumping across a brook of water and got good amount of mud onto our shoes, only to come across bridge which was more of a water duct. This was 10 feet above the ground, and the minute I saw it I got the goose bumps. I am normally courageous and don’t chicken out of strenuous hikes or other such physical challenges. But at the sight ahead I simply chickened out!
Back on the road, we came across many small waterfalls on the mountains surrounding us.
Next diversion was the road to Nahiku which the book described as the heaven for plants who died. Who could pass over such an opportunity? Rex and I were not disappointed. We were completely mesmerized by the beauty of this village. The tiny road which wound downwards to meet the ocean was surrounded by forests straight out of Jurassic park and we kept stopping at every turn and corner for pictures. We came across yet another waterfall and pond setting which only completed the setting. The detour was well worth all the sights that we had just seen. Again with a very heavy heart we left Nahiku.
The next stop was a waterfall and pool called the Blue pool. The book promised it to be a “Real Gem”. We had to take another detour and head down an unpaved path, park on the corner and hike out half a mile across a rocky beach towards a fresh water waterfall right opposite the beach. The picture in the book had heightened our expectation. However, we were quite disappointed because the waterfall was at a trickle, but I am pretty sure that during monsoons, it had the potential to be quite breath-taking.
Back on the Hana Highway, we made our way towards Hana Bay, which was a small beach setting. We didn’t spend too much time there since the Hamoa Beach was another “Gem” not to be missed. Indeed the Hamoa Beach was spectacular and we were quite happy that we had come all the way and hadn’t missed this one. By this time we had started to regret not having taken the decision to spend a night in Hana and spend more time around this side of the island.
Further ahead were two major spots not to be missed called the Venus Pools and 7 Sacred Pools. These were beyond Hana, but we knew that coming all the way was going to be difficult. The Venus Pools required a mile hike and we were running out of time. So we headed straight for the 7 Sacred pools. These pools were formed by the waterfall which fell from a height and formed smaller mini waterfalls falling off ponds made by the last one. These were quite beautiful. The water was perfect and we were tempted to just jump in. Rex and I were just amazed at the beauty of the island. We couldn’t believe that till now every site that we saw was just as much if not more spectacular than the earlier one. Each one unique in its own way, and yet absolutely breathtaking!
We headed out to one spot which we missed on our way called the Black Sand Beach. Having seen so many of them over the last 2 days, we were not quite sure why we took the decision to go anyways. But our question was answered the minute the beach came into view. The bay was surrounded by volcanic mountains black and red in color, some of them with vegetation. There were these occasional rocks jutting out of the ocean a few feet from the beach. The beach itself was black gravel and sand; the waves came gushing and raging towards the shore. The water was a beautiful and striking blue and shone so bright in the sunlight. We couldn’t take our eyes off this view. We spend some time on the beach hoping that the sun wouldn’t go down… not just yet….
With that last stunning visit of the ocean, we made our way back home. Indeed the drive was long and strenuous for Rex especially, but we couldn’t help wondering if the Gods themselves hadn’t chosen this island as a display of what They could create!
We like to call today as an adventure. It truly felt like one, with the guide book pointing to some really exotic scenery, and Rex and me hiking, jumping and literally stumbling onto some fantastic sights that we had never seen before.
Sunday 15th January
Today we had decided to do the Hana Highway tour. This is the highlight, much written about and talked and hyped of all the tours in Maui. But, we hadn’t really gone with any expectations, and hence, were genuinely amazed at the sights of Hana Highway.
We started a bit later than expected, and by the time we hit the road, we were wondering how much of the whole trip we would be able to cover in a day’s time. The entire journey was around 3-4 hours drive, mainly along narrow extremely winding roads. We thought we had hit the highway by 8.30 and started looking out for all the markings / pointers given in our guide book for the sightings. However, we were shocked and disappointed in not finding even a single marker mentioned in the book. We had already passed 3 such “sightings” and we didn’t see anyone of these! We even stopped by what seemed to closely match a spot mentioned in the book, and tried walking through a huge sugar field looking for a waterfall! Obviously, there wasn’t one in sight for miles. Finally, exasperated and wondering how the book could be so wrong, we decided to ask an old lady for directions and not follow the book at all. The lady greeted us in the usual Hawaiian aloha spirit and asked where we had come from and wished us a great vacation on the island. She explained to us, that we hadn’t approached the actual highway as described in the book and we had to go a mile further down the highway on which we were to find the all the locations! That’s why we hadn’t found even one of the sights! She exchanged some more warnings of taking care of our belongings and wished us again. She was our angel in disguise and helped us to get on the right path to the much awaited Hana highway. Thank you angel.
Well, having lifted our spirits we set our odometer back to zero and started again from the first highlight given in the book, the Lower Puohokmoa Falls. These falls could be seen from above unlike what we would normally expect. They were in an amazing setting and we were quite scared of the height at which we had perched to get this particular view. Next were the Upper Puohokmoa Falls, which are popular tourist attraction. We had to by pass this one since we didn’t get parking, and the book promised better sights further up ahead.
We headed towards our next attraction; a small waterfall with a pond below called the Chings Pond by the locals. The Chings pond was indeed a remarkable sight, setting was picture perfect with the idyllic pond glistening in the sun and the lovely waterfall forming a stream before ending up in the pond. We spend some time there taking pictures, not wanting to leave just yet…. We set out feeling guilty of spending so little time in such a lovely place.
All along the way were some extra-ordinary views of the valley and the bay with the ocean backdrop. The views were just stunning and Rex kept stopping at every opportunity to get some pictures.
As we drove onwards, we came across numerous stalls selling fresh fruits, banana bread and Hawaiian flowers. We picked up some tasty banana bread at a stall called “halfway to hana” and devoured it. At the spot where we stopped for this snack was a nice spot were the sea came right onto a driveway and we stopped here to take the pictures. The view was simply wonderful.
Onwards we came across the nice Three Bear Falls where more photos were taken. We hit a private road on the side of the highway u near the 24 mile marker. This road needed a 10 minute upward hike to a lovely absolutely private spot where a waterfall made a small pond before falling off into a stream. The view also had a stunning valley view. We parked at the side and hiked up. We had some great views on the way, but that was nothing compared to the awesome view of the waterfall and the pond. It was absolutely perfect. We were amazed at the perfection of this place. We spend some more idyllic moments just taking in everything that insight, before we started off back down to the next site.
The book described some good waterfalls up ahead which had to be reached though some adventurous hike and we were quite excited after our last experience. This was the Waikamu Falls, which was pretty crowded, and many people seemed to know of this particular hike unlike other places which didn’t seemed to be visited by many. We headed up the squishy path after jumping across a brook of water and got good amount of mud onto our shoes, only to come across bridge which was more of a water duct. This was 10 feet above the ground, and the minute I saw it I got the goose bumps. I am normally courageous and don’t chicken out of strenuous hikes or other such physical challenges. But at the sight ahead I simply chickened out!
Back on the road, we came across many small waterfalls on the mountains surrounding us.
Next diversion was the road to Nahiku which the book described as the heaven for plants who died. Who could pass over such an opportunity? Rex and I were not disappointed. We were completely mesmerized by the beauty of this village. The tiny road which wound downwards to meet the ocean was surrounded by forests straight out of Jurassic park and we kept stopping at every turn and corner for pictures. We came across yet another waterfall and pond setting which only completed the setting. The detour was well worth all the sights that we had just seen. Again with a very heavy heart we left Nahiku.
The next stop was a waterfall and pool called the Blue pool. The book promised it to be a “Real Gem”. We had to take another detour and head down an unpaved path, park on the corner and hike out half a mile across a rocky beach towards a fresh water waterfall right opposite the beach. The picture in the book had heightened our expectation. However, we were quite disappointed because the waterfall was at a trickle, but I am pretty sure that during monsoons, it had the potential to be quite breath-taking.
Back on the Hana Highway, we made our way towards Hana Bay, which was a small beach setting. We didn’t spend too much time there since the Hamoa Beach was another “Gem” not to be missed. Indeed the Hamoa Beach was spectacular and we were quite happy that we had come all the way and hadn’t missed this one. By this time we had started to regret not having taken the decision to spend a night in Hana and spend more time around this side of the island.
Further ahead were two major spots not to be missed called the Venus Pools and 7 Sacred Pools. These were beyond Hana, but we knew that coming all the way was going to be difficult. The Venus Pools required a mile hike and we were running out of time. So we headed straight for the 7 Sacred pools. These pools were formed by the waterfall which fell from a height and formed smaller mini waterfalls falling off ponds made by the last one. These were quite beautiful. The water was perfect and we were tempted to just jump in. Rex and I were just amazed at the beauty of the island. We couldn’t believe that till now every site that we saw was just as much if not more spectacular than the earlier one. Each one unique in its own way, and yet absolutely breathtaking!
We headed out to one spot which we missed on our way called the Black Sand Beach. Having seen so many of them over the last 2 days, we were not quite sure why we took the decision to go anyways. But our question was answered the minute the beach came into view. The bay was surrounded by volcanic mountains black and red in color, some of them with vegetation. There were these occasional rocks jutting out of the ocean a few feet from the beach. The beach itself was black gravel and sand; the waves came gushing and raging towards the shore. The water was a beautiful and striking blue and shone so bright in the sunlight. We couldn’t take our eyes off this view. We spend some time on the beach hoping that the sun wouldn’t go down… not just yet….
With that last stunning visit of the ocean, we made our way back home. Indeed the drive was long and strenuous for Rex especially, but we couldn’t help wondering if the Gods themselves hadn’t chosen this island as a display of what They could create!
We like to call today as an adventure. It truly felt like one, with the guide book pointing to some really exotic scenery, and Rex and me hiking, jumping and literally stumbling onto some fantastic sights that we had never seen before.
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