Road Past Hana

After driving through Hana, I was so nauseous, I just wanted to be zipped back home so I  could rest. But I knew if we didn't take the time to see all the sights, I wouldn't get another chance. There was no way we were doing the whole drive all over again. So we pressed on. We drove into a tiny village called Nahiku right outside of Hana, and it was like being transported to another time. We wondered about the people who lived there as we drove past the houses. It was just so remote, with no services or amenities whatsoever. Or jobs. The jungle was cleared for each house, but all around the greenery was thick and dense. Every so often we'd see an abandoned car just decomposing in the midst of it all. And the ocean on the east side of the island is so violent, beating again rocky cliffs with large sprays. Not many places to swim and enjoy the ocean at all.

We went inside a lava tube (called Ka'eleku Caverns) that was created by lava flowing down toward the sea. As the crust of the lava hardened, it formed the tube. The lava is gone, but the tunnel remains. The entrance is actually a skylight--an area in the roof of the tunnel that collapsed. We got a flashlight, and were sent right in to explore.

There's another opening where the lava pressure was so great that it exploded out the top. It's amazing how greenery just makes itself at home on sheer rock like that.

In another half hour or so we came to a black sand beach, one of the few beaches around this part of Maui. You can see what looks like a cave right next to it, but is actually a lava tube that goes out into the ocean. The black sand is pulverised lava.

Inside the lava tube, the ocean shoots in with each wave, and slowly trickles out.

The landscape is becoming grassier now, with less vegetation and much more wind.

One more waterfall before it's over. Wailua Falls.

Next is Oheo Gulch, often called the Seven Sacred Pools. It was another place we really wanted to stop at, though we were both exhausted and I was still nauseous from all those turns. I don't throw up easily, which may have helped me feel better. Instead, the taste of banana bread I bought at a stop on the road kept coming back up to keep me company. It was lovely.

xoxo,

Tanya