Our Trip to Hawaii: Day 6

Our 6th day was one of the coolest.  We drove "the Road to Hana" and it was an adventure!  We started out the day eating breakfast outside at our hotel.  I really love eating outside.  Wish I could do it all the time...

Then we hopped in our cars and began the long drive.  We made lots of stops along the way.  The first stop was at Ho'okipa Beach Park, which is where all the pros surf.  It was fun to watch them...

Next, we stopped to hike to Twin Falls.  It was a short, mainly flat hike that was only about 1/2 mile...

It ended at this pretty little waterfall.  Lots of people were swimming in the pool at the base of the falls, and some were even climbing nearby cliffs to jump or dive...

After the hike, we bought some homemade pineapple popsicles from the people who own the land at Twin Falls.  They were really yummy, and hit the spot...

After our hike to Twin Falls, the road became very narrow--which is what the Road to Hana is famous for.  There are many places where it is only wide enough for one car to drive through at a time, so there is some waiting time as cars going the other direction drive through.  But, it's worth it because you are basically driving through a rain forest and there are beautiful vistas like this all along the way...

That's a tiny little village right along the water near Hana.  I am so jealous of the people who live here, but also very puzzled by them.  I can't imagine having to drive that road anytime you had to go anywhere.  You'd have a plan a whole day just to go to Target.  Haha...

There were lots of little waterfalls falling down the jungle cliffs along the way too, like this one I tried to get a picture of as we drove past...

Once we got to Hana, we kept driving until we came to Waianapanapa State Park--famous for its black sand beaches.  It was breathtaking...

Our family on one of the black sand beaches...

After exploring there for awhile and eating the picnic lunch we had brought with us, we hopped back into the cars and continued on the long and narrow road to Haleakala National Park to hike to Waimoku Falls.  We found this awesome tree along the way!  There trees are so cool!!  The branches grow these off shoots that find their way to the ground and become extra support for the tree.  So awesome...

This was one of the coolest hikes I've ever been on!  There were lots of bridges to cross...

And beautiful little waterfalls along the way...

About halfway up the hike, you enter the bamboo forest...

It was really cool.  The bamboo was thick around the hiking the trail and they blocked out a lot of sunlight, making the air cool and damp...

Eventually, we reached Waimoku Falls.  What better way to celebrate than to practice ninja skills?!?

The waterfall was huge and soaked anyone that got within a close distance to it, as you can see here...

Family selfie with part of the falls...

Do you see how tall that waterfall is?  And how green everything is?  It was amazing...

This shot really gives you a good idea of how tall the falls are.  That's our family right at the base of the falls.  We look like little ants, and you still can't see the top of the falls...

After our hike, we decided that--rather than return home the way we came--we would continue on the road we were on and just make a big loop.  The road turned into a dirt road, and our tour map warned that rental car companies could fine you if you took this portion of the road, but we threw caution into the wind (on the advice of Poppy who had driven the route before) and went for it.  It was an adventure to say the least...one that included cows along the road that clearly weren't scared of cars.  Haha...

We drove on that winding, narrow, dirt road for several hours (in the dark) and finally made it back to our hotel late that night.  It was nerve racking, but awesome--and allowed us to see the entire island of Maui.  It was a great day, and one I'm so glad we were able to experience.  I highly recommend it!  We all slept like logs that night.  --Lindsay