The road narrows, the switch backs get tighter, and the mud on the road is a little frightening. There’s been a lot of rain here lately – it’s really needed since it’s been dry for years (at least that’s what one local resident told us at the grocery store!) – but it makes you think as you drive past the huge cliffs of sodden dirt on the mauka side, and the piles of mud on the maikai side where the plows have recently scraped the road. Will those muddy cliffs hold until we get past? Let’s hope so!
We’ve decided to head as far as the Olivine pools on 30/340. After that landmark, the road gets really treacherous and is only wide enough to be one way for a couple of stretches. Since we know that the road to Hana will be hard driving, we (the royal “we” since I’m not driving!) decide not to deal with hard driving today.
It’s only about 20 miles from the end of the resorts, but it’s still slow going because of the road. Our first stop is the Nakalele blowhole 1/2 mile past the 38 mile marker. A little mud pull out on the side of the road is clogged with cars, but we manage to find a spot. Then it’s a hike – really a climb! – down to get a good view point of the blow hole. But wow – is it worth it! The tides were just perfect and it was blowing big and hard. We climbed down far enough to get some great shots and videos. Didn’t go far enough to get wet though – it’s still too darn chilly for that! You can see how fun it would be to get close though….on a sunnier and warmer day!
See the video of the blow hole here
Hiking back up to the parking lot warmed me up. It was like being a mountain goat, climbing up over rocks, boulders and muddy paths. Glad we changed into our sneakers for the climb! Back in the car, we head out for our last stop: the Olivine pools.
It’s only about 3 miles more, but it still takes a while to get around the curvy road, but it’s a beautiful drive, and we’ve found some great spots to stop on the way back for photos. The Olivine pools are a series of pools in the lava rock, that on a sunny warm day would probably be incredibly beautiful and breathtaking – but today, they are a little bit of a disappointment.
We missed the parking turnout (the guidebook we’re using was a little confusing as to exactly where the parking was) but we managed to turn around a bit past the turnout and head back. The hike down to the pools here is a little more challenging –and we decided not to push ourselves too much. Being a mountain goat only goes so far! The pools are lovely and there are some great coastline shots too.
On the way back to Kihei – we stop at a couple of great scenic points – and then at the whale watching spot again. No whales this time, but great views of the water. Can’t go wrong with that!
No comments:
Post a Comment