Hana Highway (page 3 of 4)

Points 7-9

7. Nahiku
As the history of the village of Nahiku reveals, this quiet coastal community was not always so serene. In 1912 entrepreneurs arrived to start a rubber plantation and, after ripping up large tracts of rain forest, planted hundreds of rubber trees. What the planters did not bargain for was the fact that the trees, drenched by Nahiku's frequent rains, would yield but little rubber. Today the failed venture is recalled by the rubber trees that remain along Nahiku Road.

8. Waianapanapa State Park
Just past Hana Airport, Rte. 360 comes to this park, a verdant area perched on a lava flow beside the sea. A black sand beach, created where molten lava met the ocean, features a stone arch and a blowhole that you may be lucky enough to see and hear in action. One trail wends through the area's dense jungle -- a tangle of leaves and vines -- to two lava tubes filled not with fire but with water.

Hawaiians tell the tale of a beautiful princess who fled her enraged husband and hid on a cave ledge. After a diligent search the husband discovered his wife and, in a raging fury, killed her. Every April red water now flows from the caves -- supposedly a reminder of her fate. Scientists, however, have another explanation, saying that the likely cause of the color change is an explosion of millions of tiny red shrimp in the water.

9. Hana
After a seemingly endless succession of tortuous turns, fern-filled gulches, and splashing waterfalls, the highway comes to the hills and pastures of Hana, a quiet town with a few shops and cottages. Despite its present-day rural charm, the area was once the site of fierce fighting. Since Hana lies just across the Alenuihaha Channel from Hawaii, the Big Island, it was very important to rival kings. One of the battle sites, Kaukiki, a cliff above Hana Bay, was captured by Hawaiian invaders. Peace was not established throughout the realm until the great King Kamehameha I united all of the islands early in the 19th century.

10. Kipahulu District of Haleakala National Park
A word of warning is in order before heading out on the 10 miles past Hana: the road is so crooked and narrow that drivers are jostled to their very bones. The grueling trip, however, is richly rewarded, especially in this sector of Haleakala National Park, where sparkling water holes form a staircase of cascades. Some 24 pools and many feet of elevation later, the water flows into the Pacific. After the hard ride, be sure to take a dip, the perfect remedy.

Farther down the road in Kipahulu lies Palapala Hoomau Church and the clifftop grave of Charles Lindbergh, who spent his last years in Kipahulu. The pavement ends about three miles past the church. Only the truly adventurous -- in four-wheel drive vehicles -- should attempt to tackle the untamed route that lies ahead.

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