I wanted to cover 2-3 days every entry, but on day 4 (11/10), we did Road to Hana! We stopped by enough places that it deserved its own entry.
Our plans for day 4 were a bit more ambitious than we expected. Prior to our vacation, I looked up places to photograph in Maui and came across Iao Valley. It looked beautiful, so we started there in the morning.
It was beautiful indeed! It was also kind of misleading as I thought it was a hiking spot, but the path was paved and very short. After we went up to the lookout area, we came across this sign:
Yep. Phallic stone. Now I cannot unsee… well, uh, yeah.
So after that short stop, we started on the Road to Hana. In hindsight, we probably should have dedicated more time to it. The road is winding, and in some places, only narrow enough for one car, so it’s a very slow drive. It takes close to 2 hours to drive from Paia to Hana, and you also want to leave enough time to drive back before the sun sets.
However, the point of the Road to Hana isn’t actually to get to Hana. That’s just what the road leads to, and most recommend going past Hana. All of the stops along the way are actually why people make the journey, and it’s why it ends up taking many hours. There’s amazing views, waterfalls, and parks all along the way.
So first stop! Shortly after we started the journey, we reached Twin Falls, which as you can guess by its name, is known for two waterfalls next to each other. And well, for some reason, I didn’t take a photo of both waterfalls together. I think I was too excited at using the chance to try long exposure with a waterfall XD;;
Our next stop was the Garden of Eden. At $15/person, I’m not sure if this stop was worth it, but it had some nice walking trails with views along the sides.
The Keanae Peninsula afterwards was worth the stop though. We drove down to the shore where there were large, breaking waves against the rocks. It was an amazing sight… and also another chance to do long exposures! (Yes, I love long exposures.)
We made a few small stops after that at food stands and overlooks. During the journey, we were using the GyPSy phone app as a guide, which was super informative and worth the $5. As we approached Waianapanapa State Park, the narrator told us the legend of the cave there. Popoalaea, wife of a chief, escaped and hid from his cruelty in the freshwater caves until she was seen by her reflection in the water. This sadly led to her murder, and now tiny red shrimp appear in the caves during parts of the year, causing the waters to be red like her blood.
That… isn’t a very pleasant story, and the narrator kept bringing it up as a recommendation to see the cave, which was kind of weird. We ended up nicknaming the place the “murder caves“.
But! It was actually a really nice stop. The view was beautiful, and there were other things to see, like a blow hole and black sand beach. We also spotted a hiking trail that we some people were on. Well, we thought it was a hiking trail at least, but it never looped back around to the park. At some point, we just had to give up and backtrack. Great views along it though! (Note: I didn’t end up taking photos of the “murder caves”. The one pictured was near the black sand beach.)
Because of how much time we spent at the park, we decided to call it quits, even though we were very close to Hana. We knew that there wasn’t really anything special about Hana and that we wouldn’t have time to reach the spots past the town. We turned back, giving us enough time to drive back to the hotel before sunset. We ended the night with Japanese food at a restaurant called Izakaya Matsu!
That’s it for day 4! My next Maui post will cover some hiking trails and scenic places we went to 😀
All of these Hawaii experiences you’ve shared makes me want to go to Hawaii really soon! I love how peaceful the island looks :).
The Twin Falls look amazinggggg. The waterfalls look almost like an invert of each other. For $15, I think it’s worth the visit at the Garden! At some point, these little fees are worth the sightseeing you get.
The food you eat looks amazing, as always XD!
Oh wooow that waterfall sight! Looks amazing! Aaaahhh I want to go on holiday again! Maybe when I’ve collected more and have money again ahahaha. Your photos look so beautiful! x
Next time take me with you, Cat. 🙂 The picture of the waves crashing against all the rocks is amazing. I love all your long-exposure photos. They are all so serene. It sounds like a great day!
Haha! The phallic stone reminds me of when I traveled to Pompeii in Italy. They had carved a phallic shape into the stone on the ground and they considered it a good luck symbol. 😛 Which I guess ironically, it wasn’t too lucky.
OMG that waterfall photo is absolutely gorgeous!! I have always wanted to take a photo like that! It looks so peaceful. It was nice to see that picture after a long day. It relaxed me 🙂
I want to go to Hawaii soooo bad!! I want to make it a goal/dream to go there but it will be a family trip for sure unless I can get Grandma and Grandpa to babysit our little one LOL >.<
I actually love listening to creepy old history stories. Maybe I'm just morbid hahaha.
The scenery is absolutely beautiful.
I have to say that I was more amused by “Dike Stone” than “Phalic Stone.” I amuse myself easily, I know.
Oh my goooodness, those are BEAUTIFUL views!!! Great photos you took. Makes me just want to jump through the pictures and right into the water Lol! That is so weird that the selling point for the cave was the murder story. I guess it works though? Or maybe it’s beauty is enough to stand alone despite the depressing story, haha. Yum, bet your Japanese dinner was a great way to end the day!
Such beautiful sights! Following a trail seems to be a common motif for tourists wherever you go. XD I couldn’t get to the end point of the Freedom Trail either when I went, but it was the stops along the way that made it work it.
Aaahh all these pictures make me miss the tropics. I haven’t been to the beach in a long time!
Beautiful photos of all the places 😀 Thanks for sharing! The Keanae Peninsula photo is my favourite. Those waves/water look like fog! In fact, I thought it was like a foggy mountain until I read your post and realised what it was.
And phallic — HAHA! Yep, mountains are definitely phallic symbols XD
I think I missed your first Hawaii post so I’m going to go back and read it.
Phallic stone! Haha, that reminds me of a lecture I had at university on volcanic deposits and my lecturer described a particular one as having a “phallic shape”!
Hawaii is such a photogenic place. Your photo of the Twin Falls looks absolutely incredible!
Phallic stone?! Hahaha! I didn’t even think about that when I saw the photo for the first time, but now… ugh XD
The Keanae Peninsula is so beautiful! The long exposure photo looks really great. Ah, Hawaii looks like a really great place to visit 🙂