Maui Day 6 - June 18

Entrance to Bamboo Forest

Road to Hana. Many, many miles of winding switchback roads along the coast to Hana. Another long but amazing day. I didn't think anything could amaze me as much as Haleakala, but this trip did!

Banyan Tree on the way to Bamboo Forest

We left at 8:30am and didn't get back until about 9pm. Thank God for ginger chews, open windows and being close to the front! It was such a windy road of one lane bridges and roads so narrow that drivers had to honk their horns before turning corners. At one point our driver honked her horn and started to go around a corner, but a semi truck didn't hear us or didn't care and came barrelling around the corner and made us back out so he could get through.

Beautiful views of waterfalls and ocean and rainforest all along the drive. We stopped at a Banana Bread Stand (there are many along the road but apparently this one is the best) and saw a dolphin jumping out of the water. I totally thought it was a giant fish at first. Our first beach stop was Wai'anapanapa Park, which had a black sand beach and caves with pools of water. You could swim under into other caves and there was a tunnel we tried to swim along, but it was so dark that we couldn't see.

 

 

Along the road further we stopped at one of the waterfalls for a quick dip and some pictures. I totally bailed on my elbow on the way out, but it just joined my other cuts from the trip. Then we went for lunch at a Fish Stand, but I didn't partake as I still had my banana loaf, and didn't want to tempt my stomach with all the driving we were doing.

The next beach was Hamoa (nicknamed Peppercorn by the locals for the mix of black and white sand) where Kelsey (from Toronto who arrived the same day as me) climbed a fairly tall coconut tree and picked a coconut! She's pretty intense. She got down and banged it against a rock until it opened and we drank the young fruit's juice.

 

Our last stop of the day was to hike through a bamboo forest to a super tall waterfall. We were warned not to go close to the falls because the water is so high up that if a small rock fell from the top and hit you it could kill you! About 2 miles each way, the bamboo is so thick that it is dark while you are walking along the wooden walkways through it. The photos of the area definitely don't do it justice.

Then we walked back through streams and the bamboo to rejoin the rest of the group, some who went to swim in the seven sacred pools, (which is usually closed but they were deep/shallow enough to be safe) stopped for groceries and went back to the hostel. It was a long day and I was tired, but as it was my last night I stayed up late visiting with everyone.