Road trip: Hana

We arrived at about 9pm (12pm California time) in Paia Inn. We decided the best way of getting acclimatized to the new time zone was going for a very late dinner. The receptionist recommended the pizza place next door called Flatbread. It was actually really good and certainly one of the best pizza’s we have had outside New York. What made it quirky was that the base was made from sour dough. We shared a 12 inch  pizza with Parmesan, peppers, onions and Italian Sausage. Very tasty. To help us further in our quest to adapt to the new time zone we also had a couple of cocktails.

The next morning we hit the road to Hana. Route map below.

The road to Hana was the road trip I was looking forward to the most. The road is only 40 odd miles on but crosses 50+ one lane bridges and 600 hairpin turns all around stunning scenery and wow we were not disappointed. Starting off at mile marker 2 was twin falls. A 10 minute hike through a pineapple farm was a beautiful cove with two waterfalls. A dip was in order!

When we got back to our white mustang (called Arnold after Arnold Schwarzenegger) we had a setback. While we were away someone had reversed into the side and left a large dent in the passenger door. It would open and was drive-able bar the mirror hanging off. No witnesses. A bit of a panic ensured as we were not sure if we were covered but we headed back to the airport for a replacement. Thankfully all was ok and we had a replacement red mustang which we called Scarlet.

Resuming the road to Hana our next stop we had chosen was at mile 16. It took about an hour to get there. The road was slow and twisty but the scenery was nothing like we had ever seen. So tropical. Every turn there seemed to be a waterfall. Every straight a bamboo forest or a series of Eucalyptus trees. Brilliant. Eventually we got to mile 16 and turned off the road to the Kailua viewpoint down by the sea.

We were both pretty hot in the car and decided to stop a mile down the road in Ching’s Pond. (All the knowledge about where to stop was provided by Paia Inn). There were no signposts to let us know where it was and had to turn round before we spotted a hidden path at one of the hairpin turns. There were 4 car parking spaces but thankfully 2 were free and we stopped for a quick dip. It was so refreshing and even Fiona dared the jump in and enjoyed it. It was the first time I had ever seen Fiona willingly get her head wet! Middle picture shows how clear the water was!

After Ching's we decided to head straight to Hana to avoid the road at night. There were plenty of other places we could have stopped but we decided we would hit them tomorrow. When we arrived at our self catered apartment we dumped our cases and immediately got back in the car to the general store. Fiona looked a real American Wife with her brown shopping bag.

Fiona cooked up a mozzarella and tomato salad and two steaks. Nice change to have a home cooked meal. The view was not bad either.

After another amazing but demanding drive I crashed out!