Last night we were talking with my parents
about the Road to Hana,
so I figured this morning was a good
time to finally blog about our amazing day! ;)
Here we are...all smiles...
getting ready to start our adventure!
I wanted to document this because I had
heard/read that sometimes the
Road to Hana can be a bit "stressful"
on couples.
When you first start out, it almost
feels like a drive through the country.
Before our trip I did a TON of
research on the Road to Hana.
I read dozens of blogs, websites, asked
for advice from friends...and so I had all of my notes
and tips with us...to try and get the most out of our day
as possible.
My first tip for you...that we LOVED...
was download the Gypsy Road to Hana app.
It is a guided tour on of the road and gives great
tips for places to stop...because many of them are hidden
and we probably would have missed them.
First "stop"...rainbow eucalyptus trees!
There is a very small grove of these beautiful trees!
As we continued on
the road got a bit more windy...and we went
from feeling like we were on a country drive,
to being more of a jungle feel.
Even though I had done all kinds of planning...
of course...I found myself needing a bathroom.
I was excited to know, from my research,
that around the next corner was a
hiking trail with a restroom!
Then we saw this sign!
Excuse me...3 mile hike to the restroom?
That wasn't going to work...ha!
Meet my little friend.
Oh...and this was the view from
my "restroom." ;)
We were back on the road.
Next stop...Keanae Peninsula!
This is the home to Aunt Sandy's...
only the best banana bread on the island!
We had packed a bunch of snacks and water,
but this banana bread was a delicious treat.
I also grabbed some coconut candy...so yummy!
The peninsula is surrounded by jet black, ragged
lava rock. So pretty against the bright blue water.
Who's that cute guy?
Aww...romantic little pic!
As we were looking out at the water I made
the comment to Chad about all of the coconuts along
the shore...there were TONS!
Then we looked up...
and discovered this right above us.
We decided it probably wasn't the best place to stand. Ha!
We drove around the peninsula for a bit,
got out to enjoy the amazing view,
and watch these little crabs scurry about the rocks.
Isn't this the cutest little church?
We hopped back on the road and continued on our way.
Next "stop"...
Three Bears waterfall
This was just a quick get out, snap a pic, get back in the car
stop...because we wanted to try and see the black sand beach,
red sand beach, and hopefully even more.
You can't go to Maui without seeing a black sand beach.
Waianapanapu did NOT disappoint!
Absolutely STUNNING!
The views were simply amazing!
It was pretty crowded...but still incredible.
We took a couple of short hikes looking for the sea caves
and blowhole.
Note: There are not any signs in the area guiding
you to these "famous" spots.
After hiking around for a bit,
we discovered that the sea cave opening
was right back where we had started!
It was a little opening that I would have never gone in,
but when you do...it opens up to this!
A little opening in the "ceiling."
Awww...cute pic alert! ;)
We never did find the blowhole...oh well.
We jumped back on the road and kept going until
we got to Hana. We were getting pretty hungry
by this point. In my research I learned that we HAD
to stop at this food truck. ;)
Oh my goodness...it was DELICIOUS!
So much food...so yummy...and just to let you know
how hungry I was...I ate every single bit of it!
Our lunch view!
Then it was time to hop back in the car
and find the red sand beach.
I had read that this was SUPER tricky to find...
and it was. The Gypsy App didn't mention
anything about it. I had printed the blogs that gave
tips to finding it...but we still couldn't find it.
At first I was so bummed because this was
a "must see" for me.
Chad was such a sport! I finally asked
him to just park and we would "explore"
until we found it. It was kind of like a treasure hunt. :)
We saw a group pf people headed down a random path
and decided to follow them.
Smart. I know. :)
Then we came to this sign...
and continued on. Ha!
We still weren't sure if it was going to lead
us to the red sand beach.
It was definitely quite a hike...and a bit treacherous
in parts. The trail was very narrow, rocky, and covered
in pine needles. Yes, you read that right...pine needles.
So, it was pretty slick and steep. One wrong slip...
and you were going down a cliff to the water.
But...then we turned a corner...
and saw this!
I am not even exaggerating when I say
that I felt like I was in a movie, and music started
playing when we saw this. :)
STUNNING!
We walked down to the small beach area.
I had read that this is considered a nudist beach,
so I wasn't sure what we might find.
No nudists on this day. :)
Do you see the yellow rope? That is the trail leading
down to the water.
We made this our last stop on the Road to Hana.
I had really wanted to go farther, but we got a later start
to our day than I had planned on. We had made
it to all of my "must sees" up to this point,
and I knew that the last stop would include
a lot of hiking...and we were already pretty
tired...so we decided to just head home.
We had done so well not getting "cranky" with each other
that we decided not to push it any farther. ;)
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