Every time I have gone to Hana, I was told the only way back is on the Hana Highway . . . the same road we arrived on. But . . . There is a road that goes past Hana along the south shore of the island (Pi’ilani Highway or Highway 31) but I’ve always been told that the road is washed out or not good enough to drive unless you have a 4-wheel vehicle. This time, however, two different local people told us the road was drivable although rough in spots. So we thought we’d give it a go.
Our first stop along the way was at Kipahulu to visit the gravesite of Charles Lindberg. It is not a well-marked place and had to ask a couple of people for directions. Even then we drove past it once. But it is a beautiful church and a beautiful gravesite.
After Kipahulu the road gets a little narrower and the pavement is pretty chopped up. But it really wasn’t bad to drive on. There was almost no traffic and we could go at our own pace.
We stopped at the cute little Kaupo store for refreshments. I felt right at home when I saw this wall inside the store. :-).
It’s amazing how different the landscape is just a few miles out of Hana. From the lush green and vegetation from the eastern coast to the barren, windswept south coast, it was a world of difference. No less beautiful though. 
After a couple of hours, the road becomes a beautiful paved highway which goes around Haleakala and back to Kahului.
I was so glad we had driven back this way and had seen a whole new side (literally) of Maui.
Happy New Year everyone.
Maralee
Through My Lens 
Very nice. That wall with all the cameras took my breath away. 🙂
Thanks, Carissa. I loved the wall. Very unique out in the middle of nowhere.
I’ve always wanted to take that road. You can read about it in various “reports” from tourists, and it looks like a road I would like, and yes, I’ve known it was passable (except if it rains, from what I read).
The risk is that it invalidates your rental agreement. Not a problem if nothing happens, but a problem if something does. The answer is to rent a 4-WD vehicle, as they operate under different agreements, but they usually cost too much. Rather, more than I want to pay.
Thanks for sharing, and I agree . . . wall of cameras; awesome.
The did tell us that if there was heavy rain, the road could be washed out. We’d had several dry sunny days so we weren’t too worried about that and we had decided that if the road looked too daunting, we would turn back. There were some low areas that went over creek beds and I could see where they could be under water if there were heavy rains. But in reality, it really wasn’t much worse than the road to Hana except in a very few places. I didn’t see anything in our rental agreement about not driving on that road and they didn’t say anything to us when we got the car.
They don’t always mention it, but it’s there unless they changed the agreements in the last few years (the maps you get at the rental places have sections of roads marked as not for rental cars).
I am sure you passed a sign that said “no rental cars beyond this point”. I’ve gone past it as well, but only for a little bit. The saddle road on the big island, the road from Southpoint back to Kona, some of the roads in other islands, are all marked similarly.
I, and many others judging from whenever I’m on it, ignore the warning for the Maui road that goes between Kahakuloa Bay and Kahului (340). There’s a 19 mile stretch of single lane roadway with very tight switchbacks . . . with lots of rental cars making the trip.
In fact, the many rental cars is what prompted me to decide I’ll not be driving that road again. It was a pain as most of the people are not big on driving etiquette.
These are beautiful photos, Maralee. I love taking back roads that are not much traveled. It meets my tough and courageous inside image, even though we are safe in a vehicle and I’m not exerting much energy. 🙂
Gorgeous pictures! It’s almost like we’re there! Thank you 🙂
Wishing you a Happy New Year!
So wonderful. Happy New Year, Maralee 🙂
What a trip and what beautiful photos… but all those cameras ? Wow
Happy New Year, Maralee! Love the old cameras…too cool.