The Road to Hana, Hairpins, and Headaches

We set sail from Honolulu around 7:00pm and started our clockwise circle around the Hawaiian islands.  Unlike every other cruise on which we've traveled, this trip would include two overnight stays, meaning that we would have two full days in two different ports (on Maui and Kauai).  Every morning of the week we awoke earlier than normal, which we attributed to the jetlag, so this first morning had us both up to watch the sunrise from our deck as we sailed into the port of Kahului, on the northern shore of Maui.  As is well known, Maui was devasted by wildfires last month, with tremendous loss of life.  While there were two non-lethal fires near Kahului, the true devastation took place on the western side of the island, near the iconic town of Lahaina.  There is a cruise port there, too, but POA has always used the larger harbor at Kahului, so it only missed two sailing to Maui.  That part of the island remained essentially closed during our visit, though it was to open up for limited tourist traffic the day we returned home to Virginia.  We heard how that decision remains a point of contention, as most of the resorts on the western shore have been housing locals displaced by the fires, and many of them would now be evicted to make room for tourists.  The island needs the tourist money, so I can appreciate how delicate a balance they are trying to strike.

That morning we learned that a temporary deal had been struck to keep the government open through at least 15 November.  This was very welcome news, as we would be able to visit all of our planned national parks.  It did mean we rushed to see Pearl Harbor for no reason, but it all worked out, as we ended up visiting again, and spending more time in the museum which we missed the first time around.

Arriving into the port of Kahului on Maui 

For these two days I had booked a rental car.  Another unique feature of the ports in Hawaii (aside from Kona, on the big island) is that we moored in industrial ports.  As almost 80 percent of all supplies to Hawaii arrive by ship, every island has huge port facilities to handle the commerce, and this is where we docked.  That meant that, unlike ports in the Caribbean, for example, one doesn't walk off the ship and encounter row after row of tourist shops.  Rather, we were often removed from the commercial downtown area.  Most people seemed to book excursions in the ports, either through the cruise line or from private companies, and in some ports, Norwegian had shuttles to run people between the pier and downtown area.  The port in Kahalui was particularly unattractive, as aside from two days a week, it caters exclusively to commercial shipping.  We walked off the ship and had about a 10-minute walk to a shopping center, from where our Uber driver could pick us up.  He took us the short five-minute drive to the airport, which is the main airport for all of Maui.  It became a standing joke that I was only showing Katherine the Kahului Airport, as we ended up visiting there so many times (more to follow).

We had a convertible booked and had our choice from the many on the rental car lot.  We selected a fire-engine red Ford Mustang and headed out, ready to use our Shaka Guide to drive the legendary Road to Hana.  Before we got off the airport grounds, however, we realized that the rear windows on the convertible didn't roll all the way up.  I was concerned a) that we'd get wet if it rained, and b) that they'd blame me for "broken" windows if I didn't report it, so we headed back to the airport.  Return visit #1.  Before we got back, as I didn't want to deal with the hassle, I pulled over and finagled a way to get both rear windows rolled all the way up.  That fixed, we headed back out and fired up the Shaka Guide.  The so-called Road to Hana is a 65-mile stretch of road linking Kahalui with the small town of Hana, on the eastern-most point of Maui Island.  It was carved out of the jungle in the 1930's and is considered one of the most scenic drives in all the world.  It comprises over 620 curves (each way) and you cross 59 bridges, 46 of which are one-lane.  Most date back to the 1910s, when they linked the original dirt highway.  I was not sure what to expect, but it soon became evident that this was not going to be an ordinary drive in the park.

Our First Convertible on Maui -- keep reading...

The Shaka Guide for the drive was outstanding, and he pointed out all the best places where we could (safely) take pictures and hike.  We learned the history of the area and also all about the many waterfalls which dot the route, including many places where you can swim in pools below them.  It can take upwards of eight hours to drive the road in both directions, particularly if you stop along the way.  There are no towns along the route, and even once we reached Hana, to call it a town is being quite generous.  It was originally settled during the sugar cane heyday of the island, but those are long gone.  More recently, it is where Charles Lindberg retreated after the kidnapping and killing of his son, and he is buried in the tiny town.  There is no monument to him, thankfully, especially given his fascist and pro-Nazi leanings.

The road hugs the coastline for miles at a time, and then abruptly cuts into the heavy forest.  Most of the many bridges sit just below waterfalls.  Very few of the waterfalls and hiking areas even have proper parking areas.  Most are just wide spots in the road (and that's being generous), and the parking fills up quickly.  As we had been waiting in line and were among the first off the ship, we had a jump on others on the route, and were well ahead of the van tours of the road being run from the ship.  All that said, the driving was challenging, as the road was very narrow, with no formal dividing line.  There are many, many hairpin curves, and the sides of the road were hedged in by high-growing grass in many areas, further reducing visibility around curves.  The one-lane bridges were also a challenge, in that it is the honor system as to which car has the right of way, and many of the bridges have blind approaches, so you don't always know if there is a car coming from the other direction.  As we were ahead of most of the tourists, we had a lot of local traffic.  Most of the locals drive pick-up trucks (which amazes me, as gas was consistently between $5.50 and $6.50 per gallon).  They were obviously comfortable on the road and drove very aggressively -- at least in my opinion.  

We made many stops along the way, including at a state park with a beautiful black-sand beach.  For several of our driving tours, we required advance reservations to get into particular sites.  That was usually mandated by limited parking capacity.  Shaka was very helpful, as through them, we knew ahead of time where we had to make advance reservations, including at the black-sand beach.  We arrived within our allotted window, again thanks to the guide. We were driving through essentially rain forest, so the weather went from bright sun to light rain throughout the day, and it rained while we were at the beach.  At Hana, we saw a red-sand beach, which was a new one for me.  The tour continued past Hana, toward the "Seven Pools" area.  We started that way but quickly learned that this part of the road is not nearly as well maintained as the formal Road to Hana, and that is not meant to imply that that road was particularly good.  Whatever the case, the road south from Hana was heavily pockmarked and narrow, with lots of debris in the road from recent storms.  Vegetation was even more lush, which meant the roads were even more narrow.  If a car was coming from the other direction, I had to get over (as the locals were aggressive, in that they rarely gave way or even pulled aside).  Problem was, the grass along the road often hid sharp rocks, so when pulling aside, I never knew if there was something solid hidden, in the tall grass that I might hit.  After a few miles, the road gotten even worse, so we elected to turn around.  Ironically, after we did so, the Shaka Guide knew we'd turned around and said it didn't blame us, as very few people actually make it all the way to the end.

Red-sand beach near Hana

One of the Dozens of Waterfalls Along the Route

To Give You an Idea of the Road Conditions

Back near Hana, we had a nice pizza lunch at an outdoor cafe in a lush garden area.  It was a nice reset.  We could tell, too, from watching the traffic still headed into Hana, that we had beaten the throng of tourists.  It had rained in the area while we were eating, and the roads was wet.  There were a lot of leaves and vegetation, too, on the road, much of it knocked down by the rain.  That made the road even more slippery.  As we started back town Kahului, I could tell it was going to be a more challenging ride, as there were more cars coming the other way, and unlike the locals, most of these tourists didn't seem to understand the concept of giving way at the one-way bridges.  Most seemed intent to just drive through, oblivious to the fact that a car was coming toward them.  I figured out that the least stressful thing to do was to get behind a car in front of me and to let them essentially "run point" for me.  Meaning, they'd navigate up to a bridge, and if they began to cross, I simply followed them.  Problem was, most people figured this out, too, so several of us regularly played leapfrog.  After a few miles, if there was a wide spot in the road, the lead car would pull over and let the car(s) behind them pass, and then get into line behind them.  It was a good system, until it wasn't.

OUCH!

Our Lunch Stop

An Omnipresent Hawaiian Rainbow

I ended up in front and had two groups of local kids in their pick-up trucks behind me.  I could tell they were local by their aggressive driving.  I was already resolved to find a wide spot and to let them pass, when I came up on a one-lane bridge with a blind entry.   As I turned the corner and entered the bridge, an oncoming car entered on the other side, ignoring me.  I hit my brakes, to narrowly avoid being hit by him head-on.  Problem was the truck behind me ran into our rear bumper.  He had been following too closely to begin with, but he also slid on the wet pavement and went right into our car.  We weren't hurt and my second thought was, "where the heck can I even pull over?"  There was, almost miraculously, a gate leading to a private drive only a hundred or so feet from the bridge, and there was room for us and both of the trailing trucks to pull over.  The truck that hit me had about four teenagers in it, and they were definitely local.  The driver got out and, in typical Hawaiian lingo (Pidgin, about which I'll write more later), said, "Bra, what you doin'?  You can't stop.  You just go, bra!"  I told him that I had to stop as the oncoming car (which had not bothered to stop after the accident) was going to hit me head-on.  He was frustrated, understandably.  I went to the back of the rental car, ready for the worst and already imagining the paperwork.  Thing is, I didn't see ANY damage.  It looked completely normal.  That surprise was amplified when I went to look at the front of his truck, which sustained notable damage.  It was a very old Chevy pick-up, but I was surprised at the amount of denting.  The kid was not sure what to do.  I told him we had to exchange insurance information, to which he asked if I had cash.  I calmly explained that he hit me from behind, which automatically puts him at fault.  I asked for his license and insurance information, and he claimed that he just got the truck and the paperwork was not yet finalized in his name.  He also said his license was at home.  I doubt he had a license, and I'd be amazed if he had insurance.  He didn't give me a name, only his phone number (which I'm sure was fake).  We had no cell service where we were, so there was no way to check, and certainly no way to call the police.  I gave him my phone number and first name, but nothing more.  I had a picture of his license plate (and I snuck a picture of him), so I was prepared to show that to the police and/or rental company, if I had any issues later.  He was worried.  I told him I was not going to file a claim unless the rental car company found a problem.  They all continued ahead while we sat for a while and composed ourselves.  Primarily, we were both amazed that our car had sustained no damage.

No Damage...

...Lots of Damage.

After a few minutes, we resumed our tour and drive back.  About 20 minutes down the road, we passed the two pick-ups.  They had stopped at one of the waterfall swimming holes. They waved and made prayer signs as we drove by them, obviously hoping we wouldn't report them.  Ironically, we would end up with car trouble, but it was not from being rear-ended.  Rather, a few more miles down the road, as we went around a sharp curve, some rock had given way and there was some rubble in the road.  The Mustang sits very low to the ground, so as we drove over it (there was no room or time to go around it), I heard one of the rocks bounce off the bottom.  The car didn't react and I assumed it was a non-event.  Stay tuned.

A Painted Eucalyptus Tree -- the Aroma Was AMAZING!

Locals Set These Honor-System Fruits Stand Outside Their Homes All Along the Route

We made it back to Kihalui late in the afternoon.  Despite the drama, what we will always remember will be the drive itself, and the incredible views and vistas.  We were back on a high by the time we drove past the airport again, back toward the ship.  I was able to drive K up to the actual docking area, through the port security, and then I drove back out to park the car for the night.  I asked several of the guards if there was a secure place to park for the night.  One told me to just park in front of the drug store, while another suggested going to one of the seaside hotels and paying to park.  Given my luck with the car so far, I elected to go the hotel route.  I paid $10 at one of the hotels near the pier and got a parking permit.  A nice worker there drove out in his golf cart to show me the best place to park, putting me closer to the ship.  It was about a 10-minute walk back and I joined K for a few cocktails on the pool deck before dinner.  We had enough time to freshen up and our dinner this night was in the Italian restaurant, and the food was really good.  We did, however, go straight to bed after dinner and were asleep before 7:30pm.  This was good, as we would be getting off the ship at 4:00am the next morning.  That story next.

Ready for My Sundowner After a Loooong Day!