Ah, the Hana drive. One of the "must-do" activities on Maui, and an all-day event. The travel book recommended we get on the road EARLY, but of course that didn't happen. Had we woken up and gotten on the road before all the rest of the tourists, maybe things would have been different, but we remained in the thick of traffic the entire time. Following along in the guide book, we stopped at what we thought would be some of the coolest places, but also missed quite a few, as we were running out of daylight. Unfortunately, I think this day was the most stressful of the trip for my husband, who had to drive the whole way along the treacherous road and who was fretting the entire time about getting on our way before dark. Our stops included Ching's Pond (probably my favorite attraction on the drive, and also the least crowded) where we swam in frigid, crystal-blue water, Upper Waikani Falls, a rocky beach just past Hana (though our time there was cut short as the wind was whipping and the rain was coming through) and finally, the coastal section of Haleakala National Park, where we hiked up to what should have been a bamboo forest (I don't think we went far enough…bummer) and checked out the Seven Sacred Pools. By that point, the sun was setting fast and we made the decision not to come back the way we came (as we would have been on the outer, cliff-side of the road) but to continue on in the dark around the south side of the island. If we were to ever do this drive again, I would definitely insist on getting up before dawn to set out and hit more of the sites!
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