The Road to Hana: "If heaven had a highway..."

So for new years we went camping at in the Kipahulu area of Haleakala National Park. We left from where we live in Kihei and followed the road along the coast.




Our first stop along the road was a stand of trees, called rainbow eucalyptus.



Then we hiked a little ways off the road along a stream which fed into a pool with a rope-swing. However the swing was hanging about 20ft out from the side of the cliff and we had no way of retrieving it, so no swimming here.




We got back in the cars and continued along the road past some incredible coastal cliffs and winding tropical roads.
We next took a side road off to an area of the shoreline that is covered in volcanic rock and hammered by pounding waves.



Despite the continual barrage of surf there was still life to be found amongst the rocks.

The road to Hana is famous for its scenic lookouts and many beautiful waypoints any of which we did not want to miss.

As the drive was coming to a close and we neared our camp site, we rounded the a tight corner, and got hit (very lightly- no damage) by a national park ranger in his federal vehicle. So after a couple hours of paperwork (it was entirely his fault. seriously, he was on the wrong side of the road) we reached the campsite. We quickly setup the tents and then hiked around the corner to 'Ohe'o Gulch renamed by a hotel owner to the 7 Sacred Pools. Its a series of fresh water pools that feed one to the other by waterfall until connecting with the ocean.






That was it for day 1, overall pretty incredible and overwhelmingly beautiful. We returned to the campsite to ring in the new year with a couple bottles of champagne. The next morning we hiked through the park, past some incredible trees...
Awesome waterfalls...


A bamboo forest....

All to get to this.... (cue the theme from jurassic park)

Actually parts of the movie were shot here. This waterfall is over 400ft high and awe-inspiring. It even makes rainbows (can you find the rainbow?)
We had one last stop to make on the way back home. Another famous Maui landmark
Thats right, its black sand down there. This is Wai'anapanapa Black Sand Beach. It's in a small little cove, but this was the first time i'd ever visited a black sand beach and it was awesome. The sand just feels lighter and softer. The park also contained freshwater caves that we swam in and explored. We need to go back with a brighter light so we can go further in, and probably a wet suit since the water in their takes your breath away.

Anyways, the moral of the story is volcanic rock is really cool (see above) and Maui is breathtakingly beautiful. There is still lots to see and do here. I haven't even been on the water yet or gotten a chance to see any whales. But the boat arrived today and we're going out tomorrow. Based on the photos i've seen from previous field seasons there is going to be a lot of humpbacks and a lot of action.