The road to Hana starts in Kahului and winds around the coast of the island until you reach Hana- some choose to go beyond Hana, but the road gets a little more dangerous. There are 56 (one lane) bridges and over 600 turns on this 131 mile (round trip) road. The roads use to be terrible lined with pot holes and ditches, but these days they are smooth and fairly danger free. The only thing you have to worry about is running into an oncoming car turning the corner on their one lane bridges... Very scary.
The morning started off with a delicious resort breakfast. Next we headed to Kahului where we would find the Shell gas station with the Road to Hana map and audio guide. You can drive the road without it but we didn't want to take the chance of missing something incredible so we decided to purchase some help.
At first we couldn't figure out how the tape went with the mile markers on the road- they change and get very confusing. It was pretty frustrating at first to hear the guide talking about something we should have been seeing and nothing like it was around. After our first stop- a scenic hike up the side of the mountain surrounded by rainforest, we finally got in sync with the CD and all was well again.
Our hike during the first stop
Part of the fun is the scenery along the way, you're traveling the coast the entire time and get to incredible elevations with views that take your breath away. We took full advantage of every pull off we could.
After miles and miles of winding roads and beautiful locations we arrived in Hana and took the exit toward the black sand beach. We had saved our packed lunch for a great location and decided this would be the perfect one. We parked our car and started walking the trail toward the beach when we walked into the most beautiful piece of land that I have ever had the pleasure of seeing. The sky was a deep, pure blue, the lava formations a rocky black and the greenery looked like something out of a magazine. Every color was popping up at you, definitely a feast for the senses.
Taking in the beauty of God's hand
We unpacked our lunch at a pic-nic table overlooking the beach and ate our lunches in silence. There was so much to take in and so little time to do it. Eager, we finished our food and headed down the trail to the beach. They aren't kidding when they call it the black sand beach- sure enough the sand was black like coffee grounds and closer to the water it turned into smooth, tiny pebbles.
The waves crashed on the shore creating a sweet, fruity smell. I can't imagine a more beautiful place. Josh took pictures while I sat there in awe of God's creation.
Off the beach was a small cave, those who choose to go through it see that it opens up to the ocean, waves crashing inside. That sweet aroma was even more potent in here- I wanted to create a make-shift hammock, curl up with Josh and stay here forever.
We walked more of the location taking pictures all along the way, the sun was beginning its decent and we decided it best to get back on the road.
After a short visit to the Hana harbor we turned around for our trip back to Ka'anapali. The trip back was very peaceful. Both of us were exhausted and it was nice to sit in silence as we traveled through some of Hawaii's most beautiful landscapes.
We got back to our resort right as the sun was about to set and decided to take advantage of our timing and spend our last sunset on the beach. Josh grabbed his camera and I grabbed our beach bag- we spent the remaining daylight hours playing on the beach and taking pictures.
At one point, Josh had gotten calf deep in the water taking pictures and a HUGE wave crashed in front of him, soaking his shorts. Luckily he got the camera up in the air and nothing was damaged- a group of three women enjoying cocktails on the beach had a good laugh with me. One of the ladies asked if we were honeymooning and offered to take a few pictures, they ended up being some of my favorites from our trip.
I played in the water a little longer until being pummeled by a monster wave and hitting my foot on some corral- then laid on the beach with Josh watching the sun dip below the sea line.
After a warm shower and fresh clothes we decided to get some local food for dinner. A friend of the family gave us a list of places to eat in Maui- most were seafood places so we had to pick and choose. We decided to go to Leilani's in Whalers Village near our resort in Ka'anapali.
It is a beautiful restaurant right on the Ka'anapali shore. Of course, we ordered steaks. The food was pretty good (aside from the fact that mine was a bit overdone, hehe) and the company was even better.
After dinner we walked through the swanky shops in Whalers Village, even buying some T-shirts for souvenirs.
By the time we had gotten back to our room it was getting late and both of us were completely drained. It had been a day full of adventure and amazement at what God had given us. As we laid in bed I thought about the many blessings God had provided and couldn't help but let out a sigh of contentment. We had spent our last full day in Hawaii, another incredible day to add to the perfect honeymoon. Tomorrow we would be coming home.
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