Perfect Days # 23 - #24 —
Honolua Bay to Kahakuloa or Wailuku

Hwy. 30 and especially Hwy. 340 from Kapalua through Honokohau lead to several possible self-guided and guided trips. Exploring Slaughterhouse Beach, Honolua Bay, Punalau Beach, Honokohau and Nakalele Blowhole is a Perfect Day in itself, especially if you add a leisurely picnic to the day at any one of these scenic places.

Maunalei Arboretum

Maui Eco-Adventures Latatude offers a unique tour of Maunalei Arboretum just north of Kapalua, a nature reserve established over 70 years ago by D. T. Fleming. A 3½-hour rainforest hike in Maunalei Arboretum follows a streambed through an area that was farmed by ancient Hawaiians and ends at a waterfall pool. This trip includes transportation, breakfast and lunch. Tour vehicles will return participants to their lodgings. Otherwise stay in the vicinity for swimming and snorkeling at Honolua, Kapalua Bay or Napili Bay. (See http://tombarefoot.com/maui/maui_eco_advents.html)

Honokohau to Kahakuloa Coast

This Perfect Day can be enjoyed in several ways. Drive along Hwy. 30 and Hwy. 340 and simply savor the scenery and views through Honokohau to Nakalele Point. For great snorkeling in summer or huge waves in winter, start your Perfect Day at Honolua Bay. Honolua can be as smooth as a lake in calm weather with some of the best snorkeling on Maui. Mokule’ia next door offers a pleasant sandy beach, shade trees, good swimming and an excellent place for picnics. Snorkeling is better in Honolua Bay. More advanced snorkelers can swim between these two bays and check out little coves along the way.

Drive three miles from Honolua Bay to lush Honokohau Valley and Bay, just past MM36, to admire the beautiful view. Continue driving to MM38, park (ignore the “Keep Out” sign) and follow the path to dramatic views and rugged cliffs, arches, tidepools and the huge blowhole out on Nakalele Point. Plan to stay a while. This is one of the more spectacular sights on Maui.

Another kind of Perfect Day is to take even more time to drive and trek around the beautiful, photogenic beaches and coastline hidden below Hwy. 340. Then continue on to the hamlet of Kahakuloa, a journey that soon becomes “adventure travel.” From Kahakuloa either return to Kapalua or continue on Hwy. 340 and then Hwy. 330 around Northwest Maui to the city of Wailuku for dinner. Refreshed and rested, from Wailuku return to your lodgings.

Kahakuloa Trail

An alternative way to delve more deeply into the Honokohau-Kahakuloa area includes a self-guided hike up the Honokohau Stream. Drive Hwy. 340 to MM 40 and proceed a little further to the Kahakuloa Game Management Area access sign. This is a hunting area so stay on the main road past the Po’elua hunters check-in station until you get to a second gate less than two miles away. Along the trail views into the West Maui Mountains and over the Pailolol Channel to Moloka’i are terrific. Honokohau Stream flows down through a gulch from Pu’u Kukui, the highest point in the West Maui Mountains (5,788 feet). Continue hiking to the border of this Natural Area Reserve and then turn around and return. Hardy mountain bikers also can bike along this beautiful route.

Kahakuloa

Continue on Hwy. 340 toward Kahakuloa Head, already in view. Park at MM16 and walk out to see large tide pools along the rugged shoreline and perhaps take a dip in these natural swimming pools. Continue along the very narrow road to Kahakuloa Village. The last leg of this trip on Hwy. 340 to Kahakuloa is the most stunning and daunting drive on Maui. No longer is the road to Kahakuloa impassable and impossible.

A couple of miles before and after Kahakuloa the road is simply white-knuckle narrow and high up the cliffside. Fortunately there’s very little traffic, but any traffic on this one-lane stretch is enough to make you sweat and rub rosaries since you may have to back up around blind curves with no guardrail. Drive west to east for scenery and less traffic, but do drive this incredible road, on your own or on a guided tour with someone else driving.

Take some time to walk around Kahakuloa village from Ululani’s by the Bay Shave Ice up the main road to the driveway on your right of tiny, picturesque Francis Xavier Mission. The church should be open and you can enter and light a candle. From the bridge a trail borders the stream for about two miles, passing the homes of local residents. Hike upstream but, as a courtesy, ask people along the way if it’s OK to walk up the trail.

Guided Kahakuloa Tour

Guided Kahakuloa tours usually include a hike along the stream that flows through Kahakuloa Valley. Explore all of the best sights between Honolua and Kahakuloa with Maui Eco-AdventuresLatatude as part of their “Kahakuloa Cultural Tour.” Maui Eco-Adventures starts the day with a continental breakfast at Honolua Bay followed by a stop at the Nakalele Blowhole. One of the main advantages of this excursion is that you don’t have to drive the narrow road into and out of Kahakuloa. (See http://www.tombarefoot.com/maui/maui_eco_advents.html)

Kahakuloa to Wailuku

After strolling around Kahakuloa drive up the incredibly narrow road along the cliff (praying for no oncoming traffic) to the saddle between Kahakuloa Head and Pu’u Kahuli’anapa for a photogenic view of the village, its bay and the north side of Kahakuloa Head. At a turnout between the two hills, park and walk on a short trail to see views north and south along the coast. Afterwards, either return to Kapalua, Ka’anapali or Lahaina for sunset activities and dinner or continue driving on Hwy. 340 to Wailuku (see Perfect Days #25-#27).

Continue driving toward Wailuku to Kaukini Gallery, with a surprisingly good collection of island art and crafts, and a couple of tortuous miles further on to Bruce Turnbull Studio and Sculpture Garden. Turnbull is a well-known wood artist and his studio is the only place on Maui that sells his work. Both of these art galleries are worth a visit. Look for pretty Makamaka’ole Falls below Hwy. 30 as you drive toward Wailuku.

Descending on Hwy. 33 into the little town of Waihe’e, past Waihe’e Beach Park, Waiehu Beach Park and the Waiehu Municipal Golf Course, the northern edge of Wailuku is minutes away. Hwy. 33 connects with N. Market Street, Antique Row, and many local, ethnic eateries in the near vicinity for delicious, inexpensive dinners.