hana

this is Hawaii

If your notion of Hawaii is a place where waterfalls jump into vibrant green forests, beaches are black onyx meeting sapphire oceans, and surfers and wind-surfers climb the sky-high waves, then Hana is your place.  This was the Hawaii of our dreams: a place where the real world exceeded our expectations. 

When we hiked the Pipiwai Trail, we swam, then scrambled over rocks, then swam, then scrambled over rocks, to reach our own private waterfall, where we jumped into the chilly waters and admired the rocky views.  We strolled through the banyan trees and bamboo forests and felt the waving wood close us in, and then reached the finale, the 400-foot waterfall crowning the end of the hike. 

We mocked those who rushed through Hana, uninterested in all the beauty it had to offer, driving the stomach-turning winding roads, seeing the small town, and then returning to West Maui in the same day.  We envied those who could spend weeks, uncovering the charm and innocence of a town unable, due to accessibility, to embrace "modern" concepts like air conditioning and restaurants.  This is the life for the adventurer, the person I hope I am, who can enjoy simplicity and beauty, without the hindrance of the modern life.

The Details

Apartment

We stayed at Hana Kai, Unit No. 206 (www.hanakai206.com).  The condo has been completely renovated and is beautifully done in bamboo throughout, with a modern kitchen, comfortable bed, and beautiful bath with a volcanic rock basin.  The negatives: poor lighting and it is not right on the ocean, so though we heard the waves, we didn't get the benefit of the ocean breezes.  Overall, a nice stay, at Maui-reasonable prices, but, if we go back to Hana, we might try other places.

Restaurants

On our way to Hana, we stopped at the cute town of Paia and had lunch at Cafe des Amis, a creperie.  Our appetizer of hummus, tabbouli, and olives, was large for the price and delicious.  My crepe filled with brie, spinach, and tomatoes, and Patrick's crepe, with ham and gruyere, were both excellent.  Good stop at Maui-reasonable prices.

The oft-heard joke about Hana, is "How's the food in Hana?  I don't know, what did you bring?"  There are two "restaurants," and I use that term loosely, in Hana, and neither are good.  So, we brought produce, meat, and dry goods from West Maui and cooked all of our meals in Hana.  (We saw local fishermen selling their catch in Hana so you could probably buy meat in Hana itself.)  We ended up going to five different grocery stores/markets in Maui:

• Maui Farmer's Market on Honokowai -The pineapple was the best pineapple we have ever eaten: bright orange-yellow with flesh that felt like sweet sunshine in our mouths.  The mangos were almost as good as mangos I had in June in India.  We found such beautiful corn, tomatoes, and squash that we desperately wanted to cook in West Maui.  Go here.
• Star Market at Honokowai - This is the best grocery store we found in West Maui.  The fish was fresh, the produce was Maui-reasonable, and the shelves were lined with Hawaiian goods, like dried tropical fruit and macadamia nuts. 
• Safeway in Kahului - Meh.  Typically poor produce, uninteresting meat, mainland-reasonable prices.  I wouldn't go here for good food.
• Kihei Natural Foods store - Not good.  Spotty, disgusting looking produce, no meat, Maui-expensive prices.
• Paia grocery store (near Cafe des Amis) - Maui-reasonable prices, high quality produce, fish, and cheese.  If you're going to Hana, I would stop here and load up on food.  Skip the stores in Kihei.

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Comments (6)

Love the shots from the Pipiwai Trail. It was on our itinerary for our last trip in February, but I took an unfortunate fall into the Oheo Gulch, and being soaking wet pretty much changed our plans. Certainly on the agenda next time. -- Kris 08/18/2009 18:37:44 Kris's recent blog post: Shops at Wailea

Kris, Actually being soaking wet on the trail might not have been too bad because we ended up swimming in so many places off the trail. To find the secret swimming holes and waterfalls that are off the path, we used the Maui Revealed guide to the Pipiwai Trail. -- Akila 09/02/2009 18:21:15 Akila's recent blog post: hana: this is hawaii

The first photo looks idyllic. The waterfall reminds me of a brief hike in Tahiti, in Moorea. Slippery but exhilarating! Did you by any chance take a photo of the volcanic rock basin? -- Gourmantic 09/03/2009 19:56:14 Gourmantic's recent blog post: Saying It in Song

Gourmantic, I'm not entirely sure what a volcanic rock basin is but we did go and see the lava tubes in Hana and there are pictures of them in the Hawaii album (http://www.theroadforks.com/trips/hawaii2008/albums). The lava tube was huge and we easily stood upright in it but, unlike a regular cave, the stalactites and stalagmites were made of cooled magma. -- Akila 09/04/2009 13:27:09 Akila's recent blog post: hana: this is hawaii

Wow! i've got goosebumps! I used to live on Maui, before i moved to London almost 2 years ago! I miss that paradise soooo much. My sisters still live there...infact i got a small goodie box from them today from the kula lavender farm etc.! I used to hang at cafe des amie paiai. Almost opened a restaurant there. Almost but i wasnt ready to be tied down for 5 yrs. Hana is one of my favorite places in the world. Great photos and indepth reportage. -- Bethany Kehdy 09/10/2009 12:12:20 Bethany Kehdy's recent blog post: Tripoli, The Old Souk & Dads Samkeh Harra

Bethany: Oh wow! Lucky you for living on Maui. I am getting ready to write about the Kula Lavender Farm today - love that place. -- Akila 09/11/2009 10:00:33 Akila's recent blog post: resources for new travel bloggers: creating content

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