Journal

THE

MAUI, Hawaii Part 1: Road To Hana + Bamboo Forest + Seven Sacred Pools

Prepare yourself for this multi-part extended vacation-too-many-photos blog series. I may have been on vacation but that didn’t stop me from putting down my camera.

It all started back in June when this hotel deal came through an email. It was almost too good to pass up…so we didn’t. Never had I been to any of the Islands in Hawaii but have always been interested to go. Plus, the itch to travel and the desire to have an adventure was burning inside of me. Done. Let’s do it. Let’s go.

The day was finally here. It was a cold morning at the Oakland airport but in 5 hours, we wouldn’t need our pants jeans and sweaters. After the same water view from the plane for quite some time, we finally got a peek at the Islands and I couldn’t wait to land…

When I was younger my dream was to have a convertible Ford Mustang. So when we got to the rental car area…let’s just say…upgrade! I was a happy camper and always wanted the top down. Oh yeah…on the left…that’s Tommy. The best travel partner a guy could ask for. 

Doing what any normal person would do in Hawaii…take pictures of the scenery and drink Mai Tai’s.

I had never been to Hawaii before but Tommy has. So when we did the Road to Hana, I made him drive so that I could soak in the views. The Road to Hana is famous for it’s 620 curves and narrow passes over 59 bridges, 46 which are only one lade wide!  Driving along the lush and tropical rainforest is definitely worth it though. Here’s a short 7 second clip of a SEMI TRUCK on the Road to Hana. 
Although Hāna is only about 52 miles (84 km) from Kahului, it takes about 2.5 hours to drive when no stops are 

Hana is a town on the very East end of Maui. It’s about 52 miles from the Kahului airport but it takes about 2 1/2 hours to drive. This photo below me is Hana Bay. Tommy and I brought our lunches on this trip and thought this would make a good view for lunch.

We hiked a little around Hana Bay being cautioned about falling rocks…

More hiking shots…

We really wanted to get to the Seven Sacred Pools which was about 30 minutes past Hana…no biggie…we weren’t in a rush 🙂

Enjoying that convertible again…

Along the Road to Hana you can spot a few religious signs…I love this cross.

We made it to Haleakala National Park! First we hiked down to the lower pools…

Then we made the hike up the trail and saw more pools…

THIS was one of the largest Banyan Tree’s I have ever seen. There are 2 people pictured in this photo…can you spot them?

We also walked through a freakin’ bamboo forest. It was like something from a movie. Seriously. I’m just waiting for Bilbo Baggins to pop out at anytime.

Looking up in the bamboo forest…

There were some pretty awesome people that made this pathway. We were about 1.5 miles up a moderate hiking trail…Bringing all of the materials to build something like this was no small feat. It also made for a cool image…

Finally got a glimpse of our destination and I just stopped and stared. 
Oh there’s a quick 12 second video for that too…
Our destination…

On the way back home we made a few stops…my favorite stop was at this beach. The sand was white, the water was warm, nobody was there, and it was that moment that it sunk in where I was at in the world.

Stay tuned for part 2….

Happy Tuesday!

comments +

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Join me on Instagram where I share photos of recent work, behind the scenes footage of what I’m up to, and of course my fur children.

@ryangreenleaf

follow along