re: Road to Hana - Maui

The Road to Hana - It's like a slow motion roller coaster!

I was on Maui for a project in Aug., 2005. We were staying and working in Kaanapali, so we'd seen bits and pieces of the west side of the island in the evenings. On Sunday, we left the condo early, drove up to Haleakala and then made the Hana loop.

We started on the south (dirt) side, heading easterly toward Hana. The weather had been dry, so the road wasn't a problem. Potholes galore, but no big deal if you're from New Orleans. I remember that side as being very arid, lots of brown grass on the hillsides. I don't think we saw another car the entire time. There was a whole lot of nothing out there until, all of a sudden, there's a rather substantial church. It wasn't a cathedral by any means, but it was a tiny chapel either. A few miles further down the road, another church. One was Presbyterian and the other was Catholic. Apparently during the whaling days there was hot competition for native converts and sailors seeking salvation. Beside the spectacular views of the ocean, that was about all I remember seeing on the south side (aside from a couple of cars that had plunged over the cliff and were still down on the beach). It's weird that all remains of the whaling station(s), except the two churches, are gone.

It started getting green as we needed the east end. By Hana, it was a jungle. The north side road was as you described. Very lush, much more traffic. I think most people stick to the pavement to and from Hana.

Glad you enjoyed your trip. Hawaii is beautiful and fascinating.

You see the wrecks of cars down on the beach from marin north on 101. Cliffs 200' to 400'.
Driving south is an adventure some never forget.
I was in a jury where family of guy who went off cliff sued state. Hundreds of miles and no guard rail.
Do not drink and drive hana or west marin.

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The Big Island has this as well (Hawai’i).

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No doubt. Tropical paradise on the "old" side, volcanic moonscape on the "new" side.

You could walk right up to an active lava flow when I was there in the mid-90s. Kilauea had been erupting and the lava was pouring into the ocean. Orange lava, white foam from the waves breaking on the jet black beaches, gigantic clouds of steam ... Extremely badass!

It was so cool, I drove back out there at night to see it from that perspective. The entire hillside/pali had appeared to be hardened lava during the day, all black. At night, the thinner areas of hardened lava glowed orange. The whole pali was lit up with these orange areas. It gave you a much better idea of how large of an area was still an active lava flow.

I've seen a lot of shite, but "erupting volcano" is right at the top of my list of things you have to see in person to fully appreciate.

Just had to pop in and say that if anyone does the road to Hana, keep going once all the stops on "the road to hana" are over. That is to say, don't turn around to get back to wherever you're staying on the island. If you keep going, the road eventually turns into a nice highway and it was the best driving I've ever done in my life. The ocean to the left and mountains to the right and huge landscapes in between. It was spectacular.

eta. Piiilani Highway at that point. It is real rough for about 10 miles, but then it completely opens up.

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Jurassic Park was filmed at every island including the opening sequence which was filmed at the Garden of Eden on Maui.

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Point taken. However, the vast majority of scenes (especially those using extensive landscapes, which the opening sequence did not) were filmed on Kauai.

Jurassic Park Filming Locations

Just got back from Kauai. Need to update my thread for requests. That island is amazing.

We stayed at the Ritz in Kapalua, on the NW side. We were on a free trip with my SO's company, so restaurants were pre-picked.

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We stayed at the Ritz in Kapalua

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Well freaking damn. The 1000 a night rate didn't work for me.

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Its usually around $500ish.

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Not when I looked. Twas almost 1000. I was like...Jesus.

I think I am actually thinking of the 4 Seasons not the Ritz