On an island in the sun.: May 2012

Hunters Road- Wailua Iki- 2/10 mile past mile maker 21

Wailua Falls

I found this stop in the guidebook. It's completely hidden from the road, which made it that much more amazing when we finally stumbled upon it. We had to park on the side of the Hana Highway, then walk 10 minutes up a "hunter's road." It started lightly misting as soon as we got out of the car. The road veered to the right, and then ta-da!

The Wailua Valley

Hello baby waterfall!

Walking around the Valley opening to stand on top of the big waterfall! :)

This waterfall was a baby one--we walked across it to get to the bigger one.

Standing on the bridge, looking down at the big waterfall

The mini-falls behind the big one.

Justin said, "I told you to wear shoes!

"Let me take a picture of the mist in your hair." What is that face?!

That's better! :)

"Now you take a picture of the mist in my hair. Not of my boobs!"

~~Lava Caves- 2 turnouts after mile marker 23~~
Never found them. :)

Makapipi Falls

Makapipi Falls- Far side of bridge past mile marker 25

At this point, we'd obviously seen a lot of water falls. This one was cool because it was just a tiny bit different than the others we'd seen. When you stand in the middle of the bridge and look down, you are standing right on top of the water fall as it breaks! It was a little tricky since you had to stand in the lane of traffic to look down--no one thought to incorporate a foot lane on the bridge. :)

The view from under the bridge

The pool below the falls

Makapipi falls from under the bridge. Courtesy of Justin. :)

Next stop was actually a diversion...we turned off the Hana Highway and onto
Nahiku Road- left off the highway, 2.5 miles

Standing next to the car.

Nakihu is a tiny little village just off the Highway. There's one road--can you guess the name? :) I wish I would've taken pictures from the car, but I didn't. The road on both sides were surrounded by the prettiest plants and trees I've ever seen. And so dense! There were little huts and houses scattered sporadically on both sides of the 2.5 mile road. Justin is convinced we will buy a little shack there when we retired. :) The real treat for me was when we got to the bottom of the road. There is a tiny state park with a tiny parking lot, and then, its just ocean! Lots and lots of beautiful ocean. I couldn't believe how gorgeous the views were, and how close the road was to the water.

It was so great we decided to stop and have our lunch here. :)

View from the parked car! Hello ocean!

Justin appreciating the amazing ocean views! :)

View from the lower rocks.

The Hana Highway in the distance

Views from a shady bench.

Lunch time! :)

Anddd...that ends part II. Tune in tomorrow for the last installment of our trip! :)

Greetings! It's been a long time!

On Sunday, Justin and I decided to travel the lengths of the Hana Highway. We've been here 5 months now, and I realized that I still haven't been past where we were living in Haiku, and that I haven't visited the far away town of Hana!

The cool thing about this excursion is getting there. Hana itself is a small town, and doesn't exactly have a lot to offer. But, the road to Hana is filled with beauty, waterfalls, hikes, views, and other miscellaneous amazingness. :)

Justin drove the whole way, and I actually managed to not get car sick! (Dramamine also helped!). I flipped through the guide book the night before, and picked several points to stop along the way. I packed us a lunch, and we were off. To avoid super amounts of traffic, it is suggested that you be heading out of Kahului by 8 AM. We made it out by 7:35! :) (If you know me at all, that is amazing by itself...haha.)

Here is my list of stops along the way--we stopped at nearly all of them. :) One we couldn't find, and another we skipped due to time constraints.

Lower Puohokamoa Falls- 8/10 mile past mile 10.
Views of Honomanu Bay- ½ mile past mile 14
Ching’s Pond- Right after mile 17
Wailua Valley Stateside- Right before mile 19
Wailua Iki waterfall & Valley- 3/10 mile past mile 21
~~Lava Cave- 2 turnouts after mile 23~~
Makapipi Falls- Farside of the bridge past mile 25
Nahiku Road- right after Makapipi Falls bridge
Wai’anapanapa Park- Just past mile 32
Red Sand Beach- Park on Uakea & Havoli, walk past the second lamppost on the lawn
~~Venus Pool- Just past mile 48~~
Seven Sacred Pools- Lots past mile 32
Infinity Pool + Pipiwai Trail- Above 7 Sacred Pools

Before we even made it to the first sight on my list, we were already encountering beautiful waterfalls! It was raining on and off most of the day, which meant all the waterfalls were GUSHING!

Lower Puohokamoa Falls- 8/10 mile past mile 10

Lower Puohokamoa Falls are actually underneath the Hana Highway. In order to see them, you have to stop before you’re actually near them, and admire them from a distance. The viewing point is not marked, and actually had a busted wire fence with a “No Trespassing” sign falling off of it…haha. The views were gorgeous! Upper Puohomkamoa Falls can only be seen from inside The Garden of Eden—and entrance into said garden is 15 bucks a person. Psshhhh…

Views of Honomanu Bay- ½ mile past mile 14

The next vantage point we stopped at gave us a view of Honomanu Bay, as well as the highway ribboning along the mountainside. In the hills above the bay and the road are several ancient Hawaiian burial sites. Hawaiians today do not go near them though—too much bad juju and evil spirits.

Also, some Hana Highway trivia for you: Before 1926, a highway to Hana did not exist. That year, an unpaved road was cut into the mountainside. In the 60’s, the road was finally paved, but the job was done very poorly. It wasn’t until the 1980’s that the highway was made the way we know it today. (Too bad they couldn’t have made the road wider, right?)

Ching's Pond- Right after mile marker 17

Ching's Pond is a freshwater pond located under a bridge in the town of Ke'anae. It is supposed to be a fantastic place to swim, but due to all the rain that we were experiencing, the stream that runs through the pond was rushing instead of trickling. If you look at the picture on the right, there is a little space right at the beginning of the bridge where apparently people jump from. According to my guide book, the drop is 25 feet down, and has literally no margin of error. Unfortunately, no one was risking their lives while we were there. :)

He wasn't smiling in any other pictures, so I kissed him! :)

Next stopppp....
Wailua Valley Stateside- Parking lot before mile marker 19
From this cute little viewpoint, we got 2 amazing views! On the ocean side, we could see the town of Wailua, complete with taro fields. If you turned around and looked mountain side, the Wailua Valley complete with 2 awesome waterfalls came into view. :) I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.