August 3 was our last full day in Maui, and because my sister Miwa and brother Kosei had to catch a flight in the late morning, we stayed in the central Maui area. We asked them what they wanted to do before they left, and they said they wanted shave ice one last time! Upon doing a quick search, we discovered that there’d been an Ululani’s in Kihei the whole time — it had just opened two months ago! There was no question; we had to go get a taste of Ululani’s one last time!
After dropping them off at the airport, it was just Dan, Mio, and I, and we had the whole rest of the day to do anything we wanted. We hadn’t made any plans, so we just drove around central Maui and explored the area. We first stopped by the Alexander & Baldwin Sugar Museum, which showcases Maui’s once thriving sugar industry.
We then visited the Kanaha Pond National Wildlife Refuge, which served as a sanctuary for endangered Hawaiian waterbirds including the tall and pink-legged Hawaiian black-necked stilt, the brown koloa duck, and the white-billed Hawaiian coot.
Everything inside the visitors center was really modern, clean, educational, and child-friendly. We got to learn a lot about the sanctuary and the waterbirds that were protected there.
We went back to the cottage to eat lunch and relax for a while, and pondered how to spend the rest of our last day in Maui. One regret that we had had (besides not being able to see the Haleakala sunrise) was that we didn’t get to drive the back road when we traveled the Road to Hana. As we mentioned, we found out afterwards that the back roads had been fixed in recent years, and that it does offer its own beautiful, unique views along the Piilani Highway, as you drive around the southeast part of the island. Who knew when we’d be in Maui again, so we decided to just screw the car rental company’s rule forbidding us to drive those roads, and drive the opposite way towards Hana so that we could see a little of what we missed. (I know, we are such fearless rebels.) We agreed, though, that we would not go all the way to Hana, and that we would just try to see as much as we could until we hit roads that seemed a little too dangerous, and that we’d try to get back before we lost daylight. (So I guess we’re not that fearless.)
We headed out in the late afternoon, around 4:00pm and drove along the Piilani Highway.
The back side of the Road to Hana definitely has a very different landscape than the lush, green views we’d seen going around the northeastern side. It’s much more rugged and can be more treacherous, but it’s not without its own beauty. We were in awe of the huge cliffs, canyons, and rock formations along the way, with incredible views of the coast and mountains across the water. We were really glad that we took the risk and the initiative to take the back roads, because we felt like we were able to really see all the variety of landscapes and scenic views that Maui has to offer.
Before heading back, though, we stopped by the Nuu Bay area to check out the pebble beach and the natural bridge there.
On the drive back, we saw these beautiful rays shining through the clouds — you can see why they call them God rays, or Fingers of God. A truly beautiful sight!
Driving the back road of Hana was a spontaneous but really great way to end our vacation in Maui. We got back in the evening, and got a good night’s sleep before we had to catch our flight back to California the following morning. It was a truly memorable vacation spent with the family, and we hope that we have a chance to visit the beautiful island of Maui again someday! 😀