No disrespect to AC/DC or Hana, but I think this is the road that was the inspiration for a certain song.  Hana is a gorgeous place.  Located on the eastern coast of Maui, it has spectacular views, is a part time residence to a number of celebrities, and is only reasonably accessible by the Hana Highway.

The highway was originally built to provide a means for the sugar plantation workers to commute to work from Paia to Hana, or vice versa.  Realistically, the road is nuts.  At one point it was listed as the windiest road in the world boasting more turns per mile than any other road on the planet.  I’m not sure if that still stands or not, but it should.  There are numerous sections which are only one car wide, and many of them correspond to bridges which are of questionable safety.

Yeah, it tends to be a little narrow.

Michelle and I drove the highway back in 2000 when we were visiting on our honeymoon, and for some reason we felt compelled to drive it again today.  When we returned safely to our hotel she asked if I still loved her, and I said, “obviously, or I would have taken the opportunity to kill us all by driving into the Pacific.”

However, the benefit is getting to visit the eastern side of Haleakala National Park, and tour Oheo Gulch.  The gulch is home to the Seven Pools of Hana which are a series of cascading waterfalls ultimately ending in the Pacific Ocean.  When we were here 13 years ago, you could swim in the pools.  However, the pools were officially closed, and based on the appearance of the gates, have been for quite some time.  Apparently a number of people were fatally swept over the final set of falls and into the ocean.  So we were forced to look down upon the pools instead.  We ventured out to the ocean rocks to look back at the pools, and took a ton of pictures.  Admittedly, I haven’t gone through them all yet, so the only ones being included here were taken on my cell phone.

After the visit to Oheo Gulch we began the drive back and stopped at a black sand beach.  The girls were noticeably concerned about the sand and were quite apprehensive about touching it.  All of that changed when they were told to stick their feet in the ocean, and then fill a bag with sand.  It always amuses me that a “mission” can completely change their take on a situation…

The best part about the visit was looking for the exact spot we took a picture from during our honeymoon.  We had the photo blown up and framed, and we were hoping to find an updated version on this trip.  The picture below was taken by Michelle and it pretty close.  The palm tree in the spotlight has apparently grown significantly since we were last there.  Her picture was taken with an iPhone which has far better capabilities than the digital camera we used 13 years ago.  Ah, how times change.

The little guy has grown up.

Aside from almost getting run off the road a couple times and having to put the top up a couple times due to showers, it was a great day.  However, I’m not sure it is a drive I have any interest in repeating.  It is stressful and takes hours.  Honestly, without the ability to get in the pools at Oheo Gulch, it lost something and I’m just not sure it is worth it anymore.

As a side note, if anyone from Chevrolet is reading this, the brakes on the new the Camaro SS are fantastic, and it handles like a dream.  However, the convertible top seems to go more slowly when closing in a downpour than at other times.  Maybe its just me, but I think you should look into it.