Road to Hana - Wailua Falls

With the hairpin turns ending in Hana this next stage of the journey is a little more straightforward with a few gentle curves along the east coast of Maui. A slight detour for more beach opportunities are presented with either Koki Beach for surfing and views of Alau Island in the distance or Hamoa Beach further south that is great for bodysurfing and views of a row of pine trees on Maka’Alae Point.

The pine trees known as Cook Pines are endemic to New Caledonia but have been cultivated around the world including Hawaii. First classified by naturalist Johann Forster, the pines were named after Captain James Cook whom Forster joined on the 1772 round the world voyage. A quirky phenomenon about the Cook Pines is their lack of upright growth and rather obvious tilt. Looking like the Leaning Tower of Pisa, the strange aspect of its lean is that those cultivated north of the equator such as Southern California tend to lean southward and those cultivated south of the equator such as Australia or New Zealand tend to lean northwards. It seems depending where they are planted, they lean towards the equator. One particular tree in South Australia slants at a 40 degree angle.

With no shortage of waterfalls on the highway, Paihi Falls comes into view very close to the bridge. Tucked in a concave position, dense vegetation obscures it coming from Hana until pretty much located on the bridge. It is so close once seen you could almost reach out and touch it. At 50ft (15m) tall regardless of whether it’s a light trickle or full the waterfall is a pretty sight as it falls along several narrow rocky ledges to the pool below.

A quarter of a mile further (480m) is the scenic 95ft (29m) drop at Wailua Falls. Visible from the road, a better view is a short hike to the falls’ base to watch the upper section plunging halfway down onto a rocky ledge before fanning out slightly to cascade into the swimmable pond.



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