Aloha Day2 - Road to Hana and beyond

Hoopika Beach

Painted Eucalyptus

Black Sand Beach

Seven Sacred Pools

Today we headed to the town of Hana. Supposedly a trip to Hana is a must when visiting Maui and I would have to agree with that statement. Elaine and I debated about doing the drive ourselves but after talking to people about it, we decided we to forgo the stress and pay for a guided tour. (See below in regards to the stress.)

Our first stop of the day was at Hookipa Beach to watch the surfers. The waves must have been good today because there were a ton of surfers out. After that we hit the very curvy winding road to Hana. There are approximately 617 curves and 46 one lane bridges. I sat at the front of the van and I think I screamed twice in fear of on coming traffic. I was so glad I wasn't driving. It is a beautiful drive into a sub-terrain rainforest and our driver Bruce pointed out all the interesting foliage. We saw the famous painted eucalyptus trees, yellow bamboo and bamboo, ginger plants, red ti plants, green ti plants, poinsettias, African tulip tree, Chinese Banyan tree, Bread fruit tree, Jack Fruit tree and the list goes on and on. We also saw some waterfalls along the way and we stopped at the black sand beach. We stopped in Hana for a quick lunch before heading back to the Hana highway to the Seven Sacred Pools. The hike down to the pools was too hard for me but Elaine said it was beautiful down there. After the pools, we continued around the backside of the mountain to a very dry part of the mountain. The contrast between the two areas was amazing. We went from a tropical lush area to an area that reminded me of the desert. The view along the south side of the island was amazing and the road just as scary as the drive up. The tour ended at Ulupalakua for a wine tasting at Tedeschi Winery. I sampled a tasty white pineapple wine and a white passion fruit wine. Too bad it's so hard to bring wine on the plane.

So new things I learned today:
1. There are no snakes on Hawaii - you can't even have one for a pet.
2. Oprah bought 100 acres of land by Hana to protect it from being developed. She's so nice!!
3. Spam type sandwiches can be bought at McD's and BK for breakfast on the island. I would have to be really hungry to try one!
4. The Hawaiian flag has the union jack on it because of it's historical relations with Great Britian. Brits influence is everywhere!!