Traveling the Road to Hana in Reverse
Hana Highway
In March of 2020, I found myself in Paradise, watching the world begin to shut down. My friends from school and I took a trip to Maui and Kauai and read the news as if from another world that New York was beginning to lock down. Should we stay in Hawaii and deny reality a little longer? What would happen with our friends, family, accommodations, and classes? Maybe we didn’t want to find out. Alas, real life was waiting for us back on the mainland. But we enjoyed our time in Hawaii while it lasted. One highlight of the trip was driving the Road to Hana, a 60+ mile road encompassing much of Maui’s eastern coast that includes numerous natural sites along the way. We started in the northwest and drove clockwise in what would be a roughly 10 hour day.
I didn’t know when—if ever—I would come back to Hawaii, and during peak pandemic when things looked most bleak, that trip had felt like a “last hoorah”. While I realize the pandemic isn’t “over”, it feels more endemic and under control than it has at any point since March 2020. So, full loop, here I am in Hawaii, again. And driving in circles, again. This time, in reverse. Yesterday’s Road to Hana adventure began on the southern tip at Wailua Falls and Venus Pools, and we continued counter-clockwise.
We decided to do the “reverse” order (since most people do it clockwise) to potentially beat the flow of the crowd, but I didn’t see much difference. The biggest advantage of driving counterclockwise is that (at least from our Airbnb), the longest uninterrupted part of the drive was to our first stop, when we were fresh. The drive home from the last stop was much shorter, which was nice after a long day when cranky, hungry, and tired become the dominant emotions. Also, since people tend to have the most energy at the beginning, we saw things at the beginning that my friends and I had missed in our last trip, as they would have been stops near the end we had decided to skip. My advice is to pick the direction where you’ll minimize your drive home from the last stop and front load the activities you most want to do. We hit Wailua Falls, Waioka Pond, Ke‘Anae Peninsula and Aunty Sandy’s Banana Bread, and the Bamboo Forest Waterfalls before deciding to journey home.
Wailua Falls
This was a good first stop, since it is nearly impossible to miss. Right off the road is a waterfall with a pool at the bottom big enough for a few lazy swimmers. The “trail” (not more than two minutes from the road) was muddy, but other than that it is a highly accessible waterfall.
Wailua Falls
Waioka Pond (Venus Pool)
Though this was a more treacherous hike for sandal-wearers due to slippery mud down a steeper grade, it was worth it. Cliff jumpers can brave the ~50 foot drop, and swimmers with less daring can jump from a spot farther down.
Venus Pools
Cliff jumping into Venus Pools
Ke‘Anae Peninsula and Aunty Sandy’s Banana Bread
Unfortunately, Sandy was out of banana bread by the time we arrived, but I wasn’t disappointed by the fat, soft chocolate chip cookies. More than the food, though, I enjoyed looking out at the wild beach of lava rocks. Also, the lookout point has public restrooms, so that was a big win.
Aunty Sandy’s
Lookout from Ke‘Anae Peninsula
Bamboo Forest Waterfalls
A hidden bamboo grove marked only by a slight parting of the brush and a flip flop tied to a post, this magical forest was my favorite stop on the trip. Walk for 5 minutes through densely packed bamboo and come out to a waterfall pool area with rocks so big I was even able to get across without getting my sneakers wet.
Bamboo Forest
Bamboo Forest Waterfalls
