Perfect Days #35 - #36 — Hana Activities

It doesn’t take very long to realize that Hana is village in a beautiful setting with very friendly residents ready to share the special Hana Aloha spirit. But Hana takes a little time to really enjoy and appreciate. Two days in Hana is barely enough but it certainly is better than just passing through to get to ‘Ohe’o Pools. Many of Hana’s vacation rentals in every price category are so exceptional that it’s all the more of a pity not to stay awhile.

When you enter Hana, the road splits. Take the lower, more scenic road, Uakea Rd., past the old wood-frame Hana District Police Station and Courthouse. Next door is the Hana Museum Cultural Center (10am-4pm), worth a visit to see their collection of Hawaiian quilts, old photos and artifacts, and the Kauhala O Hana -- four hale for living, meeting, cooking and canoe building.

Hana Bay
Drive down to the Hana Wharf at Hana Bay and park. Stop at Tutu’sand try her coconut custard ice cream. A short walk takes you to Ka’uiki Hill, scene of many fierce battles between Maui and the Big Island, and the birthplace of Queen Ka’ahumanu (1768) who went on to become the favorite wife of Kamehameha the Great and a subsequently a great ruler. The trail along the hillside through ironwood trees leads to a lighthouse that sits on tiny Pu’uki’i Island and can be reached by wading across the small channel.

Hotel Hana-Maui
When you leave Hana Bay, drive across Uakea Road, up Keawa Place and make a left on Hana Hwy. to the Hotel Hana-Maui(800-321-HANA). Facing the pastures of 5,000-acre Hana Ranch, the hotel combines exquisite, understated, luxurious taste and marvelous views. Guests stay in 78 hotel rooms and suites located in plantation-style Sea Ranch Cottages spread over 66 acres. Make a reservation for dinner at the hotel, especially since it’s the only place in Hana that serves dinner.

Recently the hotel was graciously restored in a way that reflects Hawaiian culture and the unique spirit of Hana itself. Perfect Days strongly recommends the Hana-Maui Hotel “Escape Package” or “Romance Package,” with a massage for two in the wellness center after perhaps a horseback ride or kayaking and snorkeling that starts from Hamoa Bay.

The hotel offers several inexpensive jeep and hiking excursions even to non-guests that would be excellent choices for a Perfect Day, for example:

• ‘Ohe’o Gulch in Haleakala National Park and Charles Lindbergh’s final resting place at Palapala Ho’omau Church;
• ‘Ula’ino peninsula’s gardens and archeological sites;
• a hike along the fascinating, rugged lava coast from Wai’anapanapa to Hana.

Hana Coast Gallery
One of the finest art and crafts galleries on Maui adjoins and is part of the Hana-Maui Hotel. The 3000-sq. foot Hana Coast Gallery presents many of the most talented artists and master artisans on Maui. The gallery includes paintings, original prints, sculpture, fiber, glass, Hawaiian featherwork, turned-wood bowls, and museum-quality furniture. The managing director, Patrick Robinson, former founding director of the Coast Gallery inWailea, is largely responsible for the selections and working with the artistic talent of Maui to maintain the extremely high quality of the gallery’s artwork. Visit the Hana Coast Gallery, meet Patrick and learn a great deal about Hawaii’s art and finest artists.  

Hana Hikes
Behind the Hotel Hana Maui, near the end of Uakea Rd., Red Sand Beach is hidden on the north side of Ka’uiki Head. Between a cemetery (on your left) and the Hotel’s Sea Cottages, a cinder trail climbs over a ledge cut into the cliff through ironwood trees to the beautiful beach and cove below. Protected by a lava breakwater, the aquamarine water normally is calm (but beware of possible rip currents).

For a great view across green pasture of Hana and the Hana coast, climb up Pu’u o Kahaula (Lyon’s Hill) overlooking the hotel with the 30-foot high white cross made of lava. Erected in memory of Paul Fagan, who founded the Hana Ranch and its hotel, the hike to the cross starts gradually but gets rather steep. Near the start of the trailhead is the start of the Hana Maui Trail, a 4-mile round-trip for walkers or joggers through Hana Ranch nearly to Haneo’o Rd., access road to Koki Beach Park and Hamoa Beach.

Hana Ranch Center
The commercial center of Hana, with the Hana Ranch Restaurant and the Hana Ranch Store, is just past St. Mary’s Catholic Church and, on the opposite side of Hana Hwy., the Wananalua Congregational Church. Both of these churches are appealing for weddings, followed by a reception at the Hana Maui Hotel. There is no shortage of tropical flowers in Hana for weddings and other special events. Besides art, flowers are all you can buy in Hana besides groceries and whatever you can find at Hasegawa General Store (including an ATM), across from Hana Ranch Restaurant and the horse stables.

Conservation
The new owners of the Hana Ranchlands and the Hotel Hana-Maui are committed to conservation (or they would be in very serious trouble in Hana). For example, under an agreement with the Wailuku-based Maui Coastal Land Trust, the owners of Hana Ranch have agreed to preserve 41-acres of oceanfront property and even pay for its protection from building or development. Early in 2002, Oprah Winfrey and her friend and trainer, Don Greene, bought seven shoreline lots from the owners of Hana Ranch where they are planning to build three houses, two near Hamoa Beach and one on a 102-acre lot at Lehoula, near ranch headquarters. Oprah can be expected to preserve the landscape and shoreline.

Koki and Hamoa Beaches
When you leave Hana on Hwy. 360, the road becomes Hwy. 31 after MM 33. Here you begin a new set of mile markers beginning with MM51 and the numbers descend as you drive away from Hana. About a mile outside of Hana towards Kipahulu, on your left you’ll see Haneo’o Road, the Koki Beach/Hamoa BeachLoop. Drive down this road about 100 yards and you’ll see Koki Beach on your left. The red cinder cliffs of Kaiwi O’ Pele Hill overlook this spectacular, “hidden” white sand beach.

Actually the first beach that you come to on Hwy. 360 from Hana, near MM33, Lehoula Beach, is reached by a dirt road. You’re likely to only find locals here bodysurfing or boogie-boarding since most visitors don’t know it exists. Koki Beach, accessed from Haneo’o Rd., is one of the best boogie-boarding and surfing beaches on the Hana Coast. However, that said, there are very strong rip currents at Koki Beach and it’s dangerous to swim here unless the water is extremely calm.

Even then, you’re probably better off resting in the shade of palms and ironwoods, just enjoying the white sand and beautiful coastal views, including Alau Island and a sea arch near a red cinder cliff, watching surfers, and then heading for nearby Hamoa Beach where you can safely boogie-board or swim. A little further on Haneo’o Road and before Hamoa is an ancient fishpond that may be full of fish. Hamoa Beach is used by the Hotel Hana-Maui but it is a public beach. Hamoa may be closer to your vision of a romantic tropical beach than any other on Maui. Usually the best place to snorkel is off the left side of the beach as you face the water. Otherwise this white sand crescent is perfect for a picnic and relaxation.

Venus Pool
Back on Hana Hwy., cross the first bridge and park on the shoulder at the second, little white bridge (Waiohonu Bridge) just past MM48. Look for an opening in the fence. Follow the path on the other side that parallels Waiohonu Stream to the old dome-shaped Portuguese oven on the cliff and turn right on the path to a place about 15 feet above Waioka Pool (Venus Pool). Don’t expect to find an “undiscovered,” “hidden” treasure even though Venus Pool is a bit off-the-beaten track.

Fresh water mingles with waves in the 75-foot-wide pool surrounded by black rocks and greenery extending from the pasture. Depending on the surf and fresh water runoff from the stream, the Pool is deep enough for jumping off the surrounding cliff, if you have the nerve. The pond has a small island in the middle that you can swim to.

Located directly above Waioka Pool is Michael & Cathy Simone’s Hana’s Heaven (248-8854), a studio suite with four picture windows that reveal marvelous panoramic views of the Pacific-Hana coastline, Alau Island and the Big Island.

Wailua Falls and ‘Ohe’o Gulch Pools
Save this journey for the second day, Perfect Day #36. You absolutely want to arrive at spectacular 200’ Wailua Falls early in the morning, when very few visitors have arrived and you can take a joyous swim. The same is true for ‘Ohe’o Gulch Pools. Later in the morning, both of these places can be jammed with tour buses and cars with day-trippers.

Planning the Next Perfect Days
Visitors staying overnight in Hana have a couple of choices for planning the next few days. The drive to the Pools of ‘Ohe’o and various walks, swims and hikes in Haleakala National Park, especially the marvelous Pipiwai Trail up to the Falls at Makahiku or Waimoku Falls (4½ miles), really deserve an unhurried full day, including a picnic at one of the falls. Visitors who join guided hikes with Rangers or Ken Schmitt’s Hike Maui or a horseback ride with ‘Ohe’o Stables certainly should plan on a full day.

If you do NOT plan to drive from Kipahulu to Kaupo and then on to Upcountry, then the day spent at ‘Ohe’o should include the short drive to Kipahulu. In other words, if you plan to return from Hana the same way that you arrived, on Hwy. 36, you should plan to visit Kipahulu, much more because it’s such a lovely place than because it’s the location of Charles Lindbergh’s gravesite.

For those who plan to return to Upcountry, Kula and elsewhere on Maui via the “backway,” from Hana to Kaupo, then Kipahulu can become the first stop the next day. Yes, it certainly is possible to visit ‘Ohe’o Pools and then continue to Kipahulu, Kaupo and then up to Ulupalakua in one day, even arriving at Tedeschi just before closing time for wine-tasting. You just need to keep an eye on your watch.

Perfect Days splits up the journey from Hana to Kaupo and Ulupalakua into two days: Perfect Day #37, from Hana to ‘Ohe’o Pools and return to Hana; and Perfect Day #38, from Hana to Kipahulu, Kaupo and Ulupalakua, Kula and on to North, South, West or Central Maui, possibly even the airport in Kahului. Of course, all of this really needs to be figured out before you even leave the North Shore for Hana, unless you’re “winging it,” which can work very well, too.