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Drive through Makawao to Olinda Road (#390), up the slopes of Haleakala to the end of Olinda Rd., lined with beautiful eucalyptus trees, revealing more and more vistas of the South Coast. Drive all the way up to Olinda Country Cottages & Inn, practically at the end of the road. (You can park at the forest gate and hike for a mile on the Waihou Spring Trail to an overlook.) Return to Makawao on a beautiful alternate route, Pi’iholo Rd. (#394), also bordered by great old eucalyptus trees. Exit Pi’iholo Rd. east of St. Joseph’s church just outside of Makawao town. From there head down Baldwin Road to Paia or Kokomo Rd. through Haiku to Kuau and lunch at Mama’s Fishhouse.
Drive south along Hwy. 37 (Kula Hwy.) to the turnoff at Copp Rd. on your left for the Holy Ghost Church and turn right on Lower Kula Road to visit the beautiful church. Continue on Lower Kula Rd. to Café 808 (across from Morihara Store) for lunch. Return to Hwy. 37 and turn left to Keokea, past intersections (on your left) with Hwy. 377 and with Polipoli Rd. If it was too early for lunch at Café 808, stop for coffee and a snack at Grandma’s Coffee House in Keokea. Park near Grandma’s and walk through the peace, quiet, tranquility and sweeping views along Thompson Road. Return to the South or West Shore via Omaopio Rd. (backroad to Puunene Sugar Mill & the A&B Sugar Museum) or drive to Makawao via Pukulani.
Visit the Kula Botanical Gardens (9am-4pm), just above the Holy Ghost Church on Hwy. 377. Take a self-guided stroll around the Garden’s 5 acres to see hundreds of native and exotic plants. Stop on the way back to Makawao to see proteas and anthuriums at the Sunrise Market and Protea Farm on Crater Road (#378) near the intersection with Hwy. 377. Many bicycle tours stop here for a lunch break, and you can buy fruit and sandwiches and sit at the Farm’s picnic tables.
Book a self-guided or guided bike trip from the summit of Haleakala down Crater Road (#378) to Hwy. 377 or from Science City down the Skyline Trail to Waipoli Road. At the end of Crater Rd., most guided tours turn right to Makawao and Pa’ia or Makawao to the Haiku Cannery. Aloha Bike Tours turns left at Hwy. 377 to Keokea, Ulupalakua and Tedeschi Winery. Rent your own bike and you can decide how you want to get down Haleakala. (See http://www.tombarefoot.com/maui/bike_maui.html)
Enjoy a leisurely breakfast in Pa’ia at the Moana Bakery & Café or Milagros Food Company. Afterwards spend the morning browsing and shopping at the Maui Crafts Guild, Maui Hands, Biasa Rose, Paia Mercantile, Hemp House, Maui Girl, Moonbow Tropics and other shops in Pa’ia.
Drive up Baldwin Avenue to see an art exhibit at the Hui No’eau Visual Art Center. Continue to Makawao for more gallery browsing at the Randy Jay Braun Gallery, Avalene Gallery, Sherri Reeve Gallery, Kirsten Bunney Gallery, Viewpoints Gallery, Hot Island Glass, Gallery Maui, David Warren Gallery, and other galleries, and boutique browsing at Holiday & Co., Collections, Hurricane, and other shops.
Visit beautifully restored Kaulanapueo Church (1853) in Huelo. Take day-trips to sites eastward along Hana Hwy. including Waikomo Ridge Nature Trail, the 25 acres of the Garden of Eden Arboretum & Botanical Garden, Puohokamoa Falls, the mile-long trail into Ke’anae Arboretum, a circuit of Ke’anae Peninsula and its old Hawaiian Village and historic church, as well as westward to Twin Falls, Maliko Bay, Pauwela, Haiku, Kuau and Pa’ia.
Enjoy scenic views from Kaumahina State Wayside Park that reveal Ke’anae Peninsula and the rugged, beautiful coastline. Take a sidetrip at MM 14 down to more great views at Honomanu Bay County Beach Park, a superb place for a snack break. As an alternative, visit Wailua, St. Gabriel’s Church and the Coral Miracle Church.
Spend a morning at several places along Ula’ino Rd. off Hwy. 36 near Hana: on a guided cave trek, walk the winding trails in Ka’eleku Caverns (Maui CaveAdventures, http://www.mauicave.com), a huge underground lava tube system; and visit the huge Pi’ilanihale Heiau, Kahanu Gardens (one of five National TropicalBotanical Gardens).
A few miles from Hana (MM 32), visit Wai’anapanapa State Park and its beautiful Black Sand Beach on Pailoa Bay. (Save the ancient King’s Trail, that runs over lava along the coast to Hana Bay, for a trek another day.)
See the outstanding art collection at the beautiful Hana Coast Gallery connected to the Hotel Hana-Maui. Ask the Director, Patrick Robinson or his assistant, Alesia Chow, to guide you through the artists of Maui and their work.
For some strenuous exercise and great views of Hana Village and coastline and inland towards Haleakala, hike up Pu’u o Kahaula to Fagan’s Cross. Alternatively, leave the trail up to Fagan’s Cross near the trailhead and jog or hike on the Hana Maui Trail to Hana Hwy. and Haneo’o Road. Continue on Haneo’o Rd. to Koki Beach Park and perhaps another mile around to Hamoa Beach.
Adventuresome visitors will take a short but tricky hike on the south side of Ka’uiki Head (opposite side from Hana Bay) to Red Sand Beach set in a red sand cinder cliff. Less adventuresome visitors will picnic, swim and snorkel at Hamoa Beach, one of the most beautiful beaches in Hawaii.
The drive from Hana to ‘Ohe’o Gulch in Haleakala National Park is one of the most scenically beautiful on Maui. Likewise the drive from ‘Ohe’o Gulch to Kipahulu (gravesite of Charles Lindbergh).
After a dip in the pools at ‘Ohe’o Gulch, hike up Pipiwai Trail into lower Kipahulu Valley (upper Kipahulu Valley is a scientific reserve closed to the public), past Waimoku Falls to beautiful Waimoku Falls. Swim in the pool beneath the falls and have a picnic lunch.
Drive the scenic route from Kipahulu to Kaupo and see Huialoha Church on the peninsula next to Haleki’i Bay. Drive on to Nu’u Bay, see the petroglyphs and spectacular view of Kaupo Gap on Haleakala’s slope.
For true hikers, one of the great (and most strenuous) hiking experiences in Hawaii is the Kaupo Gap Trail to Haleakala’s crater rim connecting to Sliding Sand Trail where you can hike a quarter of a mile and, with good planning, stay at the Paliku Cabin, 9 miles from the Visitor’s Center.