On Thursday, we drove Hana Road on Maui.  It’s a big long windy road on the other side of the island to where we were staying, were there is a lot more to do.  We bought a CD audio guide from an ABC store which was really handy.  There were a few little waterfalls, some little hiking trails, some lookouts, a beach with black sand, and a blow-hole formed from lava rock.  It was an interesting drive, although I think an additional snorkelling expedition would have been more enjoyable.  It was worthwhile in terms of knowing first hand what was on the other side of the island, although retrospectively the scenery and waterfalls were absolutely nothing, compared to the Big Island where we went to the following week.

Below is a photo taken from a vantage point along Hana Road, of a peninsula formed by lava rock.  At some point along time ago, a king had a chain of ten thousand people carry in fertile soil from the other side of the island so that it could be used for farming, as there is a fresh water lake that opens out onto the peninsula.

Close to the end of the audio guide, when we got to the town called Hana, there was a red sand beach.  This beach required a small and slightly difficult trek which my flip-flops didn’t handle too well, which according to the audio guide is ‘kapu’ as it trespasses on someones property.  When we got to the location though, there were enough people going to and fro the beach through the property so we figured it would be okay.  I noticed a couple signs stating ‘the owner of this property must accept all liability for persons entering’.  I’m confused as to the purpose of these signs, and who would post them.  I would have thought a letter to the owner would be more appropriate, so I suspect there’s an interesting story behind the property ownership.

At this point it was starting to get dark, and we had to cut the scenic drive short as there was a three hour drive to get home.