20 » OpenRoad Driver
Directly below , Hana Bay was originally a haven for early Pacific navigators and later , a royal center . And rising beside the bay , Ka ’ uiki Hill furnished a stronghold for a powerful young chief . He became King Kamehameha the Great who ultimately unified the Hawaiian Islands . At the base of the hill , a plaque marks the birthplace of his favourite wife , Queen Ka ’ ahumanu .
On an opposite ridge , Hana ’ s Cultural Centre encompasses a Hawaiian village of thatched hales , an old courthouse and a jail . Its museum displays an assortment of artifacts . Intriguing photos reveal Hana ’ s earliest days and document the 1946 tsunami that wiped out much of the town .
A walk to Hana ’ s Red Sand Beach begins from the nearby community centre and continues pleasantly along a hillside covered with lacy ironwood trees . Beyond a weathered Japanese cemetery for cane workers , the footpath becomes dangerous as it plunges downward onto a narrow cliff side ledge . Small , slippery ironwood cones aggravate the risk . This path sets the record for medical emergencies . Arrival at this famed beach and Kaihalulu Bay rewards the well shod , hardy and venturesome .
Photo by Karoline Cullen
Just south , three destinations await discovery .
Waianapanapa State Park embraces an attractive black sand beach , impressive sea arches and water-blasting blowhole . A paved trail loops past ocean-fed lava caves . According to legend , a beautiful chiefess was battered to death in such a cave . Every spring , this tragedy is recalled when millions of crimson shrimp turn these waters red . Snorkeling in one sky-lit cave reveals various colourful fish , but no shrimp .
Kaeleku Cavern represents one of the world ’ s largest lava tubes . Donning safety helmets and gripping giant flashlights , we gingerly descend underground to investigate . A thousand years ago , a river of molten lava created this immense tube , depositing mineral-rich magma . Tiny yellow crystals glisten on one wall while volcanic mud coats another like thick chocolate frosting .
Kahanu Botanical Garden encompasses a 123-acre botanic and historic preserve . A flat , mile-long path leads us through a forest of assorted breadfruit trees and groves of spidery rooted hala . We emerge onto a grassy lawn … and Hale O Pi ’ ilani Heiau , Hawaii ’ s largest temple . A 16thcentury dynasty of celebrated chiefs also used the garden as a command post . We imagine King Pi ’ ilani ’ s lookouts atop this five-story structure , watching over Honomaele Bay for invading canoes .
Nearby plots contain canoe plants that Polynesians brought to Maui over two thousand years ago . Labels identify varieties of banana , sugarcane and sweet
potato , including unfamiliar plants . Notes explain their usage : how taro root was pounded into poi , paper mulberry into tapa cloth and turmeric for healing . And inside a fishing cottage , exhibits document and illustrate coastal plants .
Just north promises two more attractions . The narrow road heads through rolling pastures dotted with white-faced Herefords . After scaling the rugged shoreline and spanning O ’ heo Gulch , we turn off into Kipahulu Park .
O ’ heo ’ s Seven Sacred Pools has long lured visitors . A forested trail takes us