Road to Hana

Sunday, February 10th.

We were picked up in the lobby of the hotel, by our Temptation Tours driver (Dan) at 7am. We proceeded to the Westin Hotel in our air-conditioned limo-van, to pick up another couple who would be joining us on our Hana Highway Picnic Tour. The couple that joined us was Greg/Julie, visiting Hawaii from Marshalltown Iowa.

This is a full-day tour. We started the day in Kahului with a continental breakfast at an art gallery. We then toured to Paia ( a town known for its world-wide championship surfing competions). When we arrived in Hana, we celebrated with a catered lunch (crystal plates, tablecloths and the whole nine-yards). It was a lovely al fresca luncheon of Tamari Ginger Chicken, Baked Mahi Mahi, Fried Rice, Salad, Fresh Pineapple, Bread and Macadamia Nut cookies.

We took over 100 pictures of this roundtrip journey, but none quite show the hairpin turns as we would like you all to see. All of a sudden the road would just go down to one lane and then make a turn. I hoped and prayed several times, there would not be somebody coming from the other side as you would not see them until it was too late! Luckily with the road being so curvy, the vehicle speeds could not be but about 10 mpg...That is why it takes 3 hours to go 52 miles!

Dan, the Van Man preparing our lunch at the state park in Hana.



Although the Hāna Highway is only about 52 miles from Kahului, a typical trip to Hāna takes about three hours, as the road is very winding, very narrow and passes over 54 bridges, 46 of which are only one-lane bridges, requiring oncoming traffic to yield and occasionally causing brief traffic jams if two vehicles meet head-on. There are approximately 617 curves along Highway 360 from just east of Kahului to Hana, virtually all of it through lush, tropical rainforest. Many of the concrete and steel bridges date back to 1910 and all but one are still in use. That one bridge, badly damaged by erosion, has been paralleled by a portable steel Bailey bridge erected by the Army Corps of Engineers. Signs on the old bridge warn pedestrians to stay off due to imminent collapse.

In August 2000 , the Hana Highway was designated by President Bill Clinton as the "Hana Millennium Legacy Trail", with the trail start designated in the surf commune of Paia . The Hāna Highway is also listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Some of our highlights included the many waterfalls, Kakala Gardens and the stand that sells the award winning "Hawaii's Best Banana Bread" Doug bought 2 loaves!




We are shown here at our last stop on the tour. I finally got to get a Hawaiin Shave Ice. I ordered Guava. MMMM! Good!