We got up in our Suite and ordered room service (no extra fee and sooo convenient with a toddler), including a papaya with yogurt and granola (my new favorite breakfast). When we checked out we discovered that the road back was closed until 4pm!
The Road to Hana we came in on was open but who wants to see the same thing twice? We wanted to go on the “road less traveled” all the way around the backside of Haleakala (spoiler alert: worth it!).
To kill time we backtracked slightly to the Lava Tubes (also worth it!). Maui Cave Adventures has a reasonable fee and provides you with a flashlight. There are signs along the way to teach you about the Lava Tubes and you can walk a long ways in and back out the same way.
We then went back into Hana and stopped for lunch (and bought a gigantic papaya to bring back for later) at Hana Fresh Farm Stand. The food and smoothies were great, there were picnic tables next to the stand, and being part of the medical profession we liked that proceeds helped their health clinic programs.
Our guide book told us we should check out a hike to a red sand beach, so we figured with time to kill we should! Fortunately a search and rescue guy along the way (he saw us park and walking towards the entrance to the path) warned us people have fallen / been swept off the path and broken backs etc. so when we saw the signs warning of the dangers of the path we decided to turn back. Would anything have happened? Not super likely, but why risk it? A woman with a toddler who had just came back also said she about had a heart attack and would have turned around if her husband hadn’t gone ahead.
This was a review I read later from here:
Even though we knew the beach was located behind the Hana Community Center, if we hadn’t seen people leaving the trail, I doubt we’d have found it. The trail is VERY slippery and narrow. The cinders all over the smooth rocks make it like walking on ball bearings. We slipped often but nothing serious. It could have gone quite differently. I was kind of freaking out that my older teens would lose their footing and we’d lose them…literally. Yes, it’s stunningly beautiful, but so is much else on Maui that it was foolish that we did this trek. I wouldn’t advise anyone do this.”
We saw plenty of other beauty along the way and just starting down this path spent enough time we were ready to hit the road since it had opened!
There was so much lush vegetation and cool waterfalls (like Wailua falls below).
Then it was rolling hills of pastures (because cows grazed the Koa wood forest over time it seems).
By the time we made it into town again we had a very unhappy one year old (who didn’t nap either direction by the way) so we stopped at target to walk some and prep for Easter apparently!
We rewarded her the next day with delicious shave ice.
Paddling Without a Clue 