Episode 11 | The Road to Hana, Maui, Hawaii

Hope you don’t get motion sickness, because on this episode of Aimlessly Wandering, we’re taking on the Road to Hana!

The Road to Hana, also known as the Hana highway, is a 64.4-mile-long highway consisting of very narrow roads, 46 single-lane bridges, and 620 curves. Today, we’ll be checking out some amazing black sand beaches, tropical rainforests, beautiful waterfalls, swimming holes, and so much more. Buckle up, it’s time to goooo!

Before we hit the highway, we had to make a quick coffee stop for my sister My sister does love her Starbucks. With my sister freshly caffeinated we loaded up The Gypsy Guide app, and with that it was time to begin the road to Hana. The Gypsy Guide app is a flexible & fully automatic audio tour guide app, with perfectly timed stories, tips & directions. The narration was like having a private tour operator. . . but we just referred to it as Bob. If you’re making the trip along the road to Hana, you must download the app to help you make the most out of the trip.

After passing through Paia, the last major town along the way, we were officially on the road to Hana.

Now, the beginning of the adventure consists of a lot of tropical flora, and some windy roads with tight hairpin turns. But those tight roads left to Bob’s first suggested stop, the Garden of Eden Arboretum. We should have got there earlier, because by the time we got there, there was already a long line waiting to get in, and we didn’t want to waste the day waiting in line. Thankfully, we found our own little Garden of Eden just past the Garden of Eden. Through a tropical path, we were led to our first of many waterfalls. Though this one was minor in comparison to what would follow.

After a brief stop, we were back on the road and off to our next spot.

Now the thing about the road to Hana is that if you do it straight without driving, you can reach the town of Hana within 2.5 hours, but our round-trip tour took just over ten hours. In saying that, it was worth every hour to get views and experiences like this. However, next time I would probably suggest splitting it up over two days to maximize the trip.

Shortly past the Garden of Eden, we found our next spot to pull over and explore, and it was probably my second favourite stop on the entire trip.

Now if this view looks familiar, you’ve probably seen Jurassic Park. Just around the corner from here, they filmed the opening scene of the first Jurassic Park movie. Thankfully there were no dinosaurs on the road to where we were heading… This is one of those moments where I wish we had had a jeep, but it was a pretty walk never the less and it lead us to such a beautiful place…

Welcome to Honomanū Bay! My second favourite stop on the trip. We’ll get to my first favourite a little more ahead. Honomanū Park is located near between mile marks 12 and 13 on the road to Hana, and is open without reservations from 7:00 am - 7:00 pm. If you’re looking for a spot to have a lite picnic breakfast or enjoy a cup of Hawaiian coffee, this park offers stunning views and black-sand beaches. Breathtaking is truly an understatement. Just take the great Arial shots from my stepdad as your proof.

While we were there, my kid sister fell right into the water, thankfully she was okay. And she wasn’t the only one to fall that day, but more on that later.

By now you can hopefully see why we loved this beach so much, The black sand beaches were lined with amazing flora, surrounded by the sounds of waves crashing and endless views out into the Pacific Ocean. It almost made me want to put up a hammock and spend the entire day here. Soaking up the sun. Besides black sand, the beach was also lined with fascinating volcanic rocks, leftover from volcanic eruptions over 600 years ago. My mom just happened to find one while we were there! The entire beach was littered with similar rocks, great for looking at but not for taking home - because that’d be against the law!

While some guidebooks say that there isn’t an access road to get here, if you are in a jeep and your lease agreement allows it, you can follow the road down to the entrance of the park, seen in the bottom left of this shot. And while swimming isn’t necessarily easy here, you could cool off on the freshwater beach if the tide is low enough. But perhaps the best thing about this little gem is that it wasn’t that busy at all. We felt like we had the entire beach to ourselves. While we may have been alone, this spot is a favourite amongst locals and fishermen and serves as a stunning reminder of just how beautiful nature can be!

This park also serves as a great backdrop for all of those amazing Instagram photos.

When I married Adrienne, she told me I was a great Instagram husband. This behind-the-scenes shot shows you the lengths I go to to get her at all the best angles.

Of course, Honomanū Bay wasn’t the only stop on our trip, so it was time to walk back to the car and see where our next stop would lead us. We took one last view before reaching the car and were excited to see where the road lead us next.

Our next stop was the Ke’anae Arboretum which is located shortly past mile marker 16. If you’re a tree and plant lover, this spot is for you! Before the 1940s, this park was used to farm food, medicine, and fiber-producing plants, before becoming an agricultural work site for prisoners at a local prison camp. In 1971 it was established as an Arboretum. If you are looking for a place to hug a tree, this botanical paradise might just be it! I was blown away by these rainbow-coloured Euciplitus trees, something I had never seen before in my life.

The garden was also home to many other types of plants, including Narra, Breadfruit, Ginger, and Taro. The park contains 2 walking trails and contains about 150 varieties of native and introduced tropical plants. If you’re making the stop, you should plan to spend at least twenty to thirty minutes here.

I’ve said it in past videos, and I’ll say it again, when hiking anywhere hot, drink plenty of water! This holds especially true in tropical rainforests! It got hot fast! This 6-acre garden was certainly magnificent and really was a nice gorgeous place to get out and photograph. Tropical plants are most definitely my favourite plants! After spending about 30 minutes here, we made our way back to the car and set out to find a nice place to have lunch.

Fortunately, we didn’t have to travel too far to find a nice place for a picnic lunch! The Ke’anae Point Lookout is a mere 3 minutes away from the Ke’anae Gardens. If you’re driving to Hana, you must make this a stop. This scenic and beautiful beach features big waves crashing along lava rocks, and while it’s not great for swimming - it certainly makes a great background to a picnic lunch.

Now, unfortunately, as beautiful as this park was, these are some of the last videos taken with my Sony DLSR A7 iii Camera. Shortly after eating lunch and taking these stunning shots, I lost my footing and fell into the ocean, bringing my camera with me. Fortunately, my memory card survived, and aside from having a bruised ego and a few scrapes, I was fine. The camera, however, was not. RIP my camera. Hopefully, you can be fixed. In that it was such a nice trip, and that we were surrounded by so much beauty, I couldn’t let one accident ruin what was otherwise a perfect day.

After using the restrooms and finishing our lunches, we were back on the road in search of more adventures.

It was around this time that I was truly thankful that my stepdad brought his drone, because, without it, we may not have fully appreciated the wonder of our next stop.

The Upper Wakani Falls (also known as three bears Waterfalls) is a spellbindingly gorgeous trio of falls located just beyond mile marker 19. They are referred to as the Three Bears thanks to the three separate but parallel falls of varying lengths with the third and smaller one being referred to as the baby bear. While they can somewhat be seen from the road itself, we found a pull-off spot that was perfect to launch my step-dad's drone from, and with his amazing piloting skills, we got these screen-saver-worthy shots. Thanks, Hawkview Arial Solutions!

After capturing these stunning shots, it was time to load up the van and once again chase down some excitement.

Now it’s tempting to stop at every waterfall along the way, but if you resist the temptation and follow Bob from Gypsy Guide, and take some of the suggestions we’ve offered in this video, we promise you’ll get plenty of opportunities to go for a dip beside some astounding waterfalls.

The first set of waterfalls that we were brave enough to try could be found at Pua’a Ka’a State Wayside Park, located around mile marker 22. This five-acre park is a great place to walk around, use the restroom or jump into some swimming holes. I can’t properly describe with words what it felt like to be surrounded by a cold tropical waterfall, so I will have to let the video do the trick. While the upper pools were busy with fall jumpers and swimmers, this lower pond was a fantastic - and cold - place to cool off.

I could only handle a few minutes in these pools, and after having a few pictures taken, it was time to hop out. After blowing up our camera roll, and making yet another bathroom stop (you got to use them as you find them along the road to Hana!) It was time to once again go searching for even more waterfalls.

Now, the great thing about being surrounded by waterfalls is that you don’t have to go far to find them. Our next one was located at mile marker 24, which is home to Hanawi Falls, a place popular with the locals. Once again, the waters were cold. Yes, it truly was cold, but seeing as I was in search of a true Hawaiian experience, I wasn’t going to let a little bit of cold water rain on my parade.

This is one of the hands most cherished and spectacular spots, and one I would say you must stop at. The water at the lower falls cascades from a height of two hundred feet and is a spring-fed river that tracks into the ocean, nine miles downslope. Because of this, both the upper and lower falls cascade year-round. The water is astounding and the jungle that surrounds it is truly picturesque. I wanted to get brave and explore as far back as I could, but as this video shows, I was getting cold, and the sun was moving in the wrong direction, not to mention there was actually a bit of a minor current to swim against.

I can’t remember the last time I’ve seen waters so clear, if ever, but it was truly something I would never forget.

After drying off, it was time to head to yet another one of The Road to Hana’s famous beaches.

Koke'e Beach State Park is one of the two famous Hana Surf Breaks and a favourite park for local surfers. This surfers’ paradise is located on Highway 31, just over half a mile from mile-marker 51. While it may look tempting to swim here, we wouldn’t suggest it as this beach is notorious for its rip tides and high waves. But don’t worry, you can always swim up the road at Hamoa Beach.

With time running out before sunset, and one more waterfall yet to check out, it was time to load up the van and head straight to our final destination.

If there was one spot that I had to choose as my favourite, simply for views and swimming alone then this would be it.

Wailua Falls is located just past mile marker 45. These waterfalls are not to be missed if you want a truly amazing road to Hana memory. Nestled behind a single-lane bridge built in 1911, these falls were the second busiest falls we encountered along our journey, and with good reason. Wailua Falls is easily one of Maui’s “most photographed waterfalls”, and while they can easily be seen from your vehicle, I strongly suggest parking across the bridge and carefully walking over to them to truly experience their full beauty.

These falls cascade approximately 80 feet down to a side of a lush jungle forest and feature a naturally built plunge pool where you can jump in and enjoy a nice cool dip surrounded by mesmerizing views. Of course, the best way to truly experience these falls is to jump in and embrace them. Looking up, I felt like I was on another planet. I couldn’t believe just where we were. It was unlike anything I had ever experienced before in my previous travels.

You know what I’ve been saying about swimming in waterfalls throughout the day though right? That’s right, they were cold.

While we meant to keep going past Wailua Falls, the day was coming to an end, and the sun was getting closer to setting, so if this was the way we had to end our trip, then by no means do I have any complaints. I cannot stress this enough, if you are making the trip along the road to Hana you must stop here. And with that, we can officially say we survived the road to Hana!

All-In our adventure was about 10 hours, and if I could do it again, I would in a heartbeat. You can’t make a trip to Maui without a trip along the road to Hana. This 10-hour adventure is certainly one of the highlights of our trip, but there was still more to come!