Today is my day. I say that because ever since last year when we drove the entire way around the East side of the island on the Road to Hana, I have wanted to picnic on the backside of Haleakala. And today is the day. Ed is humoring me by driving 1 hour and 45 minutes to get to a deserted bluff over the ocean so we can have a Poke picnic. But along the way – actually a little further past the noted picnic spot – he has found a refuge/preserve where we can hike. Perfect!
We take off around 9 and start the trek around the island and into Upcountry. Its another beautiful day on our side of the island, sunny, warm with only a few clouds. It remains that way through most of our drive, through Pukalani, past Kula and into Ulupalakua where the the ranch store and Maui Wine are the last two commercial entities we’ll see until we reverse our course and head back home. But as we make our way around to the southeast and approach the backside of Haleakala, the clouds roll off the mountain and we begin to get short little rain showers. Poop. This could put a damper on our day.
Fortunately, the rain doesn’t last, and the end of our drive on the narrow, barely 2 lane road is made through sunshine and wind. It is so peaceful out here – with nothing and no one around. One minute you are driving through luscious ivy (albeit probably invasive Kudsu) covered hills, the next through vast dry hillsides of yellow wheat-like grasses. Then its into the craggy, lava strewn cliffs and hills rolling off of Haleakala. The only thing you encounter out here are wildlife, the occasional car (a few tourists, but mostly locals) and a few lonely houses perched alongside the road or out in the hillsides. Magical.
And nerve-wracking when winding our way along narrow roads with dips where you can’t see what is in front or behind you and sharp curves where you are either up against the jagged lava rock or on the very edge of the oceanside road with absolutely no shoulder or guardrail. Along the way, way, way out there, too is road work. There are about 20 guys and tons of trucks repairing one of the bridges. Crazy they have to drive out here every day to do the work – and they must stay late because they have lights set up as well. Talk about being organized – in the middle of nowhere, it’s easy 1/2 an hour to just get back to the ranch, so you better have all your food, drink and supplies for the day with you from the beginning!
Passing the road work, and the picnic spot, we near the Nu’u refuge for our hike, watching road for our landmarks of a little bridge over a small gulch, and a dirt road blocked by a locked gate on the oceanside. It’s actually quite easy to find, even though our instructions say it is difficult to spot. The road is right past the 30 mile marker, as promised, and there is a little space on the right of the gate to squeeze through to the refuge. And squeeze through we do, ducking under the semi-barbed wire attaching the gate to the lava rock wall, then making our way down the overgrown two-track path leading into the preserve.
The Hawaiian Islands Land Trust bought the property fairly recently, in an effort to protect the wildlife as well as the ruins of temples and other sacred sites left here from what was a thriving village from the 16th century until the mid-20th century. Nu’u is reputedly a place of myths and legends, all passed down verbally by local Hawaiians through the centuries. Which is why the Land Trust tries to preserve these historically significant areas, while providing access to the public so we can learn more about Hawaiian culture and protect their heritage.
A short distance from the gate, we veer off down the mauka side of the lava walls looking for petroglyphs and pictographs. After examining the walls as closely as we could, we do find what we think are a few petroglyphs and these faint turtle and animal shaped pictographs…
…but darned if we can find the “dramatic” specimens we read about. Oh well, it’s still lovely out here and the panoramic views of the lava rocks in different shapes and sizes make the expedition worth while.
Soon we reach the coastline, which is totally scenic and dramatic. And utterly devoid of people. Lava stones line the beach at Nu’u Bay and there is an uninterrupted view back toward the north of the island while behind us, scenic views of Haleakala.
This is the place for the picnic! But we left the cooler in the car, and are not traipsing back there to get it and the chairs – so we’ll settle for simply hiking and taking in the views.
At the end of the bay, we climb up onto the lava rocks to explore the coast and hopefully find our way through the marked (and unmarked) path to the interior of the refuge where there are heiau (temple) ruins and other artifacts left over from the village. The views from up here are even better than down below. Dramatic coast line, craggy lava rocks, azure water, sea grass, long shots back up Haleakala…
…and Sunny!
Following what looks like the path around the top of the lava cliffs, we end up high above a beautiful little cove, with no clear way around the rim to the other side. The info we had read said the path is unpredictable, but that you will end up in a beautiful little cove with lava and white sand – which is what this looks like. We are supposed to head North into the interior of the refuge now, and even though we try a couple of different path like areas, we’re flummoxed – there isn’t any indication of where to go next.
So, what the heck, while we’d have loved to have found the ruins and explored more of the park, the views up here are still spectacular, and we’re content as we turn around and retrace our steps off the cliffs and back down to the bay, through the grassy path and on to the car.
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