Our first stop on the Hawaii Cruise was in Maui and we chose to go on the Road to Hana adventure. An absolutely beautiful seven-hour drive, that I probably will never need to go on again. Don't get me wrong, it was worth every second, but let's just say the first half is four strait hours of curvey roads similar to the Lariat trail followed by another three hours of dirt roads on a cliff side. Occasionally, it breaks into something that was paved in the 60's but has never seen a pothole repair crew in its life.
Our driver, Henry was fantastic. a local Hana guy who knew tons about all the vegetation and trees. At one point when we stopped he just grabbed a bunch of baby fern and we all tried it. Tasted like asparagus. It would be great in a salad. He said growing up in the 40's and 50's he and his parents just lived off the land and the only time they ever needed money was to go to a movie or a dance. Food is abundant on this part of the island with avocado mountain apple and guava trees everywhere.
Hookipa Park
Birds of Paradise at a roadside stand. ($1)
Rainbow Eucalyptus Trees
The colors are amazing
The Road to Hana (This is the smooth part)
Nua'ailua bay
...almost liiks like she is superimposed on a green screen.
Kaenae Park
I love these trees!
Agriculture land in the little town of Wialua
The falls at Pua'a Ka'a
Waianapanapa State Park
The Black Sand Beach at Waianapanapa
The sand was more like the kind of gravel you would put in the bottom of a fish tank.
The legend of the caves
My Princess... (I'll save her!)
The Arch
Lush Park
Henry our tour guide
When we actually made it to the little fishing village of Hana, there was a bank there. Colleen has decided that this will be her new branch, as she loves the hours....
The Falls at Kipahulu
Beautiful
The swimming ponds at Haleakala State Park
A Huge Banyan Tree
This was the halfway point, beautiful and paved around the right side of the island. The left side, not so much....
Tomorrow we do sunrise at Haleakala and the bike ride!