Maui MINI

[NHRef]

not . . .

Actually, I have seen two in the last two days but that's it.

There is an incredible drive here, along the north and east coast, which is twisty beyond compare. Driving it, I kept thinking how much fun this would be in a MINI and finding myself drifting toward the edge as the Sebring convertible with 114,000 miles rattled along.

The maps say "CAUTION: The road along this nort side of Maui is for the most part a narrow, winding one-lane road. Drive at your own risk."

And they mean it! Approaching a bend in the one lane road (from the Hawaiian Webster's dictionary: bend - a sharp right turn in the road identical to walking around the corner of a room with your shoulder on the wall; complete with a rock face hundreds of feet high and impossible to see around and a drop off of similar distance on the other side of the road) when a school pops out from around the corner! Definitely an "Oh, no!" moment. Stop and back down to the nearest pulloff so the bus can squeeze by with inches to spare.

Hawai'i route 340 would be so much fun in a MINI. Still have to crawl around those corners because you literally cannot see but 10' ahead at time but there's still plenty of stretches where a quick, brief sprint would be an absolute blast.

I have to admit, there was one stretch of 340 where the drop off was so immediate, deep and dramatic that it was much scarier than Mount Washington.

The drive is 16.9 miles from Kapalua (home to the Ritz Carlton resort with an absolutely exquisite "sampling" dinner) through Kahakuloa (home of "Julia's Best Banana Bread in the World;" possibly so but definitely the best road signage in the world) to Wahihe'e (with its specatular views across the bay to Haleakala.)


Kahakuloa, Hawaii - Travel and Vacation Info

Aloha!

[NHRef]

[blalor]

Have you done the road to Hana? It's pretty epic, too. I was there last September and we did the drive all the way around the South side of the island. We were staying somewhere around #31 on that map.

[chesney]

When were on Oahu last month we saw only a few MINIs and they were mostly convertibles with the top up...what a shame...we only put the top up on the sebring a few times during that week.

I can not wait for a chance to go back...

[Bilbo Baggins]

While you are on the road to Hana, be sure to stop at Lindburg's grave. Very nice little church and cemetary.

[LePew]

Speaking of mountains -- don't miss sunrise on Haleakala. Requires waking up at something like 4 am to get o the top in time. Well worth it -- especially the view on the way down -- but watch for the nenes.

[Bilbo Baggins]

Quote: Originally Posted by LePew (original)

Speaking of mountains -- don't miss sunrise on Haleakala. Requires waking up at something like 4 am to get o the top in time. Well worth it -- especially the view on the way down -- but watch for the nenes.

The nenes and the 200 bicyclists coasting down the hill.

[NHRef]

Back again . . . The Garden of Eden was closed, so it wasn't worth staying

Saw another three MINIs, including a classic. The best was a pepper white Cooper with red bonnet stripes die cut so the typical Hawaiian floral pattern came through as white.

Ended up going down the road to Hana which was better than on the north side only because it was generally two lanes wide. My son was driving so I took video with the camera out the window ~ amazing how fast 10 - 15 mph is when you're almost touching the mountainside.

BTW, for folks familiar with the south end of Maui, the government just closed the road on western side due to the damage from the earthquakes in September and the continuing rockfalls. A park ranger was killed when a boulder landed on her vehicle a couple of weeks ago. The authorities had posted it, figuring the locals knew the risk since they lived out there but the tourists saw the signs telling them to turn around, then parked their cars and walked ahead to see the devestation ~ putting themselves at risk.

Also took a helicopter ride to Molokai . . . Highly recommend it to anyone visiting the island. Incredible views of the shore, the mountains, the 3,000' waterfalls and cliffs diving straight down to the sea. The trips are all pricey (everything on the islands are) but well worth it. Even saw a couple of humpback whales from the air (the big migration from the north is beginning).

There is a MINI dealership in Hawaii. I'd be sorely tempted to rent one . . .