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With talk about the fall Dragon Run, I thought I would share a road I found this past week that ranks as my all-time number 1. I'll start with the bad news, it is on Maui, making it damn near impossible to enjoy with any frequency or in a decent car. I had the curse of a Hertz rented Monte Carlo, which I think is Italian or French for "big heavy heap, oddly shaped and driven."
The Hana Highway runs from Kahului on the north shore to Hana on the south east shore, around the base of the Haleakala volcano. Total length is 52 miles, with one 30 mile section having over 500 turns. The posted speed limit on most of the route is 15 mph!!! Most of the bridges were built in the early 1900s and are one lane. The scenary is breathtaking with steep jungle covered cliffs on one side all the way up the volcano and the Pacific ocean on the other side.
I left Kihei on the island's south shore about 8am to beat most of the "tourist" traffic (sorry, that sounds hypocritical). The drive to Hana one way takes easily 2 hours with little or no traffic. There are places along the road to pull off to take pictures and soak it all in. These places are tiny and might have room for two cars. Hana is a quiet town with black sand beaches and almost no commercial development.
I saw 4 S2000s while I was there. All were pre-2004 models. One of each: Suzuka, Silverstone, NFR, and White. Maui beats anyplace I have been in the Caribbean (Grand Cayman does have better snorkling ) and I can't wait to go back. My best friend of 20+ years got married on the beach Thursday night and after going to a wedding in paradise, the venues for other weddings may seem a bit ordinary .
Below are a couple pics, I have more, but the v4 picture poster is buggy
here is what greets you at the beginning of the highway..
here is one scenic view...
Black sand beach
Bridee built in 1911
Stratus on Bridge--damn narrow
Chevy Monte Carlo--NASCAR can keep them all!
Originally Posted by Scott Evil,Jul 10 2004, 07:36 PM
With talk about the fall Dragon Run, I thought I would share a road I found this past week that ranks as my all-time number 1. I'll start with the bad news, it is on Maui, making it damn near impossible to enjoy with any frequency or in a decent car. I had the curse of a Hertz rented Monte Carlo, which I think is Italian or French for "big heavy heap, oddly shaped and driven."
The Hana Highway runs from Kahului on the north shore to Hana on the south east shore, around the base of the Haleakala volcano. Total length is 52 miles, with one 30 mile section having over 500 turns. The posted speed limit on most of the route is 15 mph!!! Most of the bridges were built in the early 1900s and are one lane. The scenary is breathtaking with steep jungle covered cliffs on one side all the way up the volcano and the Pacific ocean on the other side.
I left Kihei on the island's south shore about 8am to beat most of the "tourist" traffic (sorry, that sounds hypocritical). The drive to Hana one way takes easily 2 hours with little or no traffic. There are places along the road to pull off to take pictures and soak it all in. These places are tiny and might have room for two cars. Hana is a quiet town with black sand beaches and almost no commercial development.
I saw 4 S2000s while I was there. All were pre-2004 models. One of each: Suzuka, Silverstone, NFR, and White. Maui beats anyplace I have been in the Caribbean (Grand Cayman does have better snorkling ) and I can't wait to go back. My best friend of 20+ years got married on the beach Thursday night and after going to a wedding in paradise, the venues for other weddings may seem a bit ordinary .
Dude, I just on Thursday got back from the island of Maui.
The road to Hana is unbelieveable. We had a PT Cruiser convertible turbo rental, and I definitly had some fun. Being through the rain forest, however, we definitly ran into rain on our return trip, but I have some stunning pictures.
Speaking of Haleakala volcano, did you drive up 378 through the national park to the top? That road is definitly a lot of fun too, without all the damn one lane bridges. It's a 30 odd mile trek to the 10,000ft summit. The sunrise there is something else. I have a boat load of pictures.
I saw three S2000s. A berlina twice in Lahina, a NFR twice in Kahalui, and a Suzuka. I know these were the same cars, because the drivers were the same.
Where'd you stay in Kihei, because that's also where we stayed?
I did the Sunrise bike tour. Talk about divine!! It was 43 degrees up there too!
These were taken at sunrise over the Haleakala crater on Thursday morning 5:43am Hawaii time (11:43am EDT). This was at approx 10,000 feet above sea level. After watching the sunrise, we all got bikes to ride down the volcano to sea level over 38 miles. 10,000 foot elevation change over 38 miles = steep!!
07-10-2004, 03:36 PM
A Road Better Than The Dragon! Pics Up!
) and I can't wait to go back. My best friend of 20+ years got married on the beach Thursday night and after going to a wedding in paradise, the venues for other weddings may seem a bit ordinary 
.
