Welcome back readers (if you do exist). I am finally getting around to the last of the Hawaii Trip. Friday, June 2nd, we finally did what several party members wanted to do, The Road to Hana. If you are unfamiliar with The Road to Hana, the television show, “Gordon Ramsay: Uncharted”, has an excellent episode heavily centered around it. It is Season 1 Episode 4.
Word to the wise for travelers. We found out luckily early in our trip that Wai’anapanapa Black Sand Beach requires an advanced reservation and a small $10 parking fee. The reservation is for specific time windows to limit overcrowding and environmental impact. We initially were going to do the Road to Hana on Monday, but once we found out about the reservations we had to change plans on the fly and opted to move it to Friday. This beach which I have zero shot at pronouncing or even trying to spell without copy and pasting was quite fun. The parking wasn’t far from the beach and had a very nice scenic look. There are also camping spots available for rent if you so choose. All reservations can be made at https://www.gowaianapanapa.com/. The beach itself is fairly small as far as beaches go. There are several trails about to get different vantage points of the coast and cliffs along it. Additionally, there are lave cones big enough for my 6’2 frame to get in and walkthrough.
Moving on from Wai’anapanapa (yeah I copied and pasted, you try spelling it), we drove along and saw some of the most lush tropical greenery I have ever encountered. The most fun plant life we saw was the rainbow eucalyptus trees (Eucalyptus deglupta). These towering behemoths seemingly pop up around a corner when there’s an oncoming vehicle and there’s half a car of clearance, but they are beautiful and oh-so-worth it to see.
On the topic of driving on the Road to Hana, it is not easy driving by any measure. There are a plethora of blind turns, single-car lanes directly along cliff walls, and overall hazards throughout. When driving only go as fast as you’re comfortable with. When cars build up behind you as they did me, simply pull over to allow these cars to pass at your earliest safe opportunity. Don’t risk yourself or anyone else letting anyone around when there’s not ample space. A quick toot of the horn when coming around a blind turn is a courtesy and very helpful to oncoming drivers.
Back to the enjoyment of a vacation, if the option for you exists to take this trip as a passenger I would take it. The oohs and awes and look at that’s, oh wait not you Clint, made it seem that a lot of the scenery was very enjoyable. My eyes were focused on the road, but I did say way more mongooses than anybody else. That’s right mongooses. They were introduced into Hawaii as a predator for rats in the sugar cane fields. There are so many breathtaking drops and waterfalls on this road. Be very prepared to have a long day driving it, and still when you get done wish you had more time to take it in.
Friday night was spent packing and then we went to the beach next door to our condo and realized we had been rooked. The beach up the way was so much better than ours. Realizing our mistake we stayed at partook of the beautiful sunset that graced the souls lucky enough to witness it. I may have seen prettier sunsets, but I sure can’t recall when.
The following morning we had one final pit stop to make before leaving Maui and flying back to Los Angeles, that stop was at the timeless diner, Tasty Crust. My idol, Anthony Bourdain also talked about this place on his show “Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown.” I went for the Loco Moco, who knew something that sounds so off could be so delicious? A loco moco is two scoops of rice, two hamburger patties, brown gravy, and a fried egg. Don’t ask me the science behind it, it just works and is tasty.
Hawaii I feel like I could have appreciated way more than I did. I definitely would like to return and do most of the activities over again.
That’s all for now. Safe travels and happy reading.
Warm Regards,
Clint Wehrman