The Road After Hana

There’s much focus on driving TO Hana, but the road does continue after you leave Hana.  Jeff and I decided to just drive the entire road around that part of the island, and altho not nearly as lush as the way to Hana, it does have some interesting sights to see!

There are some areas that have touches of lushness, as you can see by the image of a stream that I took.  To be honest, this was shortly after leaving Hana, and there were touches of lushness still around.  But southeast Maui, where we were now driving, is dry compared to the other side.  It’s really amazing how diverse Maui is, in terms of weather and environment!

Peaceful Stream

The southeast coast can be really pretty and there were several different views.  On this side of the island, the road is much less winding and it’s easier for the driver to also enjoy the views!

Southeast Maui Coast

Jeff and I actually got a bit of a history lesson on this drive.  There is a small church along this route, Palapala Ho’mau Church.  It looks like a charming country church, and it was open so that one could step inside.  There’s something about the inside of a church that makes me just stop, breathe and reflect for a moment or two.  The history that I spoke of was found in the small cemetery next to the church.  Charles Lindberg, the aviator who flew the first solo flight across the Atlantic, is buried there.  It seems that he lived the last 6 years of his life on Maui, in this area.  He was diagnosed with cancer, and when his doctors in New York told him he had only 7 – 10 days to live, he called his grown son to get him back to Maui.  His son purchased a portion of the first class section of a commercial jet, and Charles made his final flight home.  He died a week after he got back home….to Maui.

Palapala Ho’mau Church and Charles Lindberg’s Grave

As we drove on, the coast became drier and rockier.  One interesting formation along this route is this sea arch.  It’s not exactly what one would think of as a picnic spot, but there were people picnicking on this site.  After this, the road curved back up the mountain (Haleakala) and we drove across the mountain back to our little vacation cottage.

Sea Arch

Enjoy!