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Hana Delivers the Dream of Old Hawaii
The people of Hana, Maui carry a torch. They love the old Hawaiian ways, the spirit of aloha, and they love passionately the land on which they live. Green and voluptuously beautiful, Hana has changed little with the passing of time. It is the place the Hawaiians say is closest to heaven, a place the visitor enters at great peril, for usually the heart is ensnared.
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Even the "big ones" don't get away. Celebrities who arrive to get away from it all, end up staying. The Hana people make no fuss over them, and would never, ever point out a Carol Burnett or a Kris Kristofferson pulling up to the general store.
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Hana has been saved from progress by a road optimistically called The Hana Highway which in 52 serpentine miles winds around 600 curves and crosses 54 one-lane bridges. The scenery is spectacular -- straight out of a technicolor travelogue -- with waterfalls splashing beside the road, and plunge pools lipped in ferns inviting the swimmer. Fruit trees dangle their offerings overhead -- mango, guava and banana. Banks of wild ginger perfume the air and dramatic vistas unfold around every bend. At Keanae, a green finger of land along the way, people still tend their taro patches while the turquoise sea crashes endlessly against a rugged lava shore.
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Marking the way to Hana town are state parks for picnicking, botanical gardens open to the public, and an occasional fruit stand selling snacks and dispensing gossip and local lore. The land gradually becomes more gentle and is carpeted by the rolling meadows of the Hana Ranch. Guided horseback rides entice visitors to explore the beautiful valleys, hillsides and forests of the district.
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In Hana town the pastures roll right up to the main street. The social centers are the baseball field and the two churches, where on Sunday mornings the hymns ring out in the old Hawaiian language and visitors are greeted with fresh flower leis.
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There's one resort hotel quietly tucked among the trees with broad green lawns yawning down to the ocean, gourmet food, European-style spa facilities and a full venue of holiday activities from hula lessons to horseback riding. There are also inexpensive bed and breakfast inns, vacation home rentals and a small resort condominium whose swimming pool is fed by pure mountain streams tumbling from the forests of Haleakala, the old volcano that dominates this end of Maui.
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Just down the road from town is the Kipahulu section of Haleakala National Park, site of the famous Pools of 'Oheo where waterfalls spill into tiered pools leading to the sea. Rangers are on hand to conduct nature walks and advise about the many hiking trails through forests of bamboo, past roaring cascades and into the green heart of the island.
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Famed aviator Charles Lindbergh, who saw most of the world and then fell in love with Hana, is buried near Kipahulu in the yard of a little country church. His epitaph reads in part: "If I take the wings of morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea..."
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The history of this unique part of Maui is chronicled in the small Hana Cultural Center museum. Among the many interesting exhibits is a collection of photographic portraits of Hana's people. Queen Kaahumanu, the favorite wife of Kamehameha the Great, and the woman who changed Hawaii's way of life forever when she challenged the authority of the high priests, was born in Hana. Piilanihale, the largest temple of the ancient religion, broods over a magnificent stretch of coastline owned and tended by a direct descendant of King Piilani, the Maui monarch who built it.
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The shores of Hana, splashed by crystal clear waters, were the prize in many an ancient battle. Here the sands come in gold, purest white, or gleaming jet black. There's even one beach the color of crushed garnets and another of sparkling green olivine.
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Hana is a place where aloha is a way of life. The stranger is welcomed, and hospitality is as natural as sunshine and flowers. Hana is what Hawaii is all about.
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