Herenui Farm promised two bedrooms, a wrap around deck with views of multiple islands, a new kitchen, and a salt water pool. Its location was a tad unknown — somewhere in rural up country Maui.
Other than sending in the check and confirming our booking, I had no other interactions with the manager so it was with a little trepidation that we left the Maui airport at 4:15pm to head up country. We were quickly engulfed in fog which made navigating the climbing, curving road interesting and as light was dwindling by the time we got to mile marker 16 (the second one), we were more than a little eager to find our digs for the night. At MM 16 v.2 at the “very square” house, we made a hairpin turn onto a dirt road with stunning views of the pacific. After 7/10 of a mile down a jouncing path (glad to have the jeep!), we arrived at Herenui.
Boy was the drive worth it.
The chalet is perched on a hill overlooking Kahoolawe Island Preserve with views of West Maui off to the side. The deck provides ample seating for checking out the views and the grounds, which consist of palms and fruit trees. The master bedroom is set in a corner with sliding screen doors to the deck. You can lay back in bed and watch the sunset.
Sweet!
Our lightning shop en route resulted in a stellar dinner of fried chicken, brownies, and red wine. :-) Night one — check!
Our first morning, we woke up fairly early and explored the place in the daylight. I found some orange trees and brought eight in to make fresh juice. There are also tangerines and papaya on property.
Deciding to spend the day acclimating, we went back down the mountain to the Foodland in Pukalani for a more substantial shop. Foodland is a local Hawaiian chain store that seems to be quite good. Fairly large with ample selection. The prepared sushi and seafood (more poke anyone?) are particularly excellent and, of course, there’s a big selection of Japanese foods. Other than that, the most noticeable difference from the mainland is the price — ouch.
Having stocked up, we headed home to make sandwiches for lunch and then decided to explore the pool. It’s not heated so it was a bit brisk but once you were in, it was fun. We reprised a game from Italy by picking a tangerine and playing catch (there, it was a lemon). A surprisingly relaxing way to pass the afternoon — standing in the pool, looking out at the ocean in the distance and tossing some fruit. :-)
Fresh shrimp fra diavolo for dinner, along with a green salad topped with local sea asparagus and sweet Maui onion.
Monday morning we slept a little late as Alan was a bit under the weather. But then we got our energy together and headed for the town of Hana on the easternmost part of the island. It’s a popular destination by the northern road but since we were already on the south, we took that way. Stunning views of the Alenuihaha Channel and the flanks of Haleakala in bright sunshine.
The road was initially not too challenging — narrow in parts but paved well. The bridges were single lane but there was relatively little traffic. As we made our way east, however, the pavement quality declined and the road got even narrower. In fact, we are theorizing that the most popular road sign in use on Maui is “Road Narrows.” And they are right. In some places, as you wend around a promontory with a cliff on your right and the rocks on the left held up by wire, honking into the unknown to let folks know you’re coming, you think you’re in “Romancing the Stone.”
A pause for an observation. Tourism is obviously a critical industry on Maui and rental cars play a key role. The most common rental vehicle by far is the Ford Mustang. As we traversed the road to Hana, we encountered many, many Mustangs, most of which were driven by idiots who didn’t understand the logistics and ethics of driving single-lane roads perched on the side of a mountain with zero room for error. Beware the Ford Mustang. Top down in one of the rainiest places in the world? Double beware; they’re probably from California. ;-)
Seriously, the road was….interesting. And once we got to Hana, we weren’t eager to return via the same route so we took the northern option. Also narrow and windy but nowhere near the same level of adrenaline. However, first we stopped off in someone’s front yard to grab a BBQ chicken plate from their food truck. Amazing — some of the best chicken we’ve ever had.
The northern route from Hana is Jurassic Park gorgeous and deserves its own day or two to explore the many gardens, overlooks, and waterfalls. All of the guide books say to spend the night in Hana so that you give the area its due and we agree. Next time!
