FLYING OVER HANA, WAILEA, MAKENA, KAUPO, AND KIPAHULU

WAILEA

 

Nestled comfortably at the base of Haleakala along Maui’s southern coast, Wailea is a resort community consisting of luxury hotels, private homes and condominiums. Its name translates to "water of Lea." (Lea is the goddess of Hawaiian canoe makers.)

 

For the privileged few, this 1,500-acre master-planned community offers a respite from the real world. The census reveals less than 5,700 people live in Wailea and neighboring Makena). Wailea has almost everything a visitor or resident could want.

 

Wailea features three 18-hole championship golf courses. One plays host to the annual Wendy’s Champions Skins Game, featuring four of the sport’s greatest legends (in 2004, the quartet included Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Lee Trevino and Tom Watson).

 

The Wailea Tennis Club has 11 Plexipave courts, including three lit for night play. Clinics, lessons, game-matching services and a fully stocked pro shop are also available.

 

Wailea has some of Hawaii’s finest spa facilities, including the 50,000-square-foot Spa Grande at the Grand Wailea Resort & Spa.

 

Whether you’re looking for Tori Richard aloha wear, stylish gifts from Tiffany & Co. or a hot new item from Tommy Bahama’s Emporium, The Shops at Wailea are sure to please those who wouldn’t consider it a vacation unless some shopping was involved.

 

Wailea is home to five crescent-shaped beaches. In 1999, Wailea Beach was named "America’s Best Beach" by Doctor Stephen P. Leatherman (a.k.a. "Dr. Beach"). Wailea aficionados think it deserves the top spot every year, but according to Dr. Beach, once a beach wins a "Best Beach" title, it is excluded from subsequent surveys and rankings. The survey’s 50-point criteria include sand quality, water quality, water temperature and litter.

 

If life’s a beach, then life at Wailea is very, very good.



"THIS THE THE BEVERLY HILLS OF MAUI"

 

KAUPO

 

Kaupo is located on the rugged and desolate coastline of South Maui. It is home to a tiny town and magnificent canyons that march to the sea.

                

 

Just west of Kaupo is the Kaupo Store. This quaint little store offers a few snacks and soft drinks among an ecliptic collection of antique cameras, clocks, calendars, and brick-a-brack.

                

 

Frequently, the horses (local transportation!) are hitched outside to the post and the shopkeeper will invite visitors to "sit a spell" on the wooden front porch.

                

              

Useful Information:

 

    * Few "snack" stops are available along this road - take advantage of this opportunity

              

DIRECTIONS:

Driving west along Highway 31, the store is just outside Kaupo at mile marker #35.



KIPAHULU

 

KÄ«pahulu is one of the districts (Hawaiian: moku) of Maui, Hawai'i. KÄ«pahulu is a sustainable farm community. KÄ«pahulu is a very remote area and doesn't have public electric or water utilities. The only public utility is telephone. Water is taken from the streams coming down from the mountain.

 

Location and Access

 

Kīpahulu is unincorporated and is located in the southeastern part of Maui, south of H�na and east of Kaup�. The only land access to the area is from north by Hana Highway driving about 45 minutes past H�na or from west by highway 31 which is currently closed west of Kīpahulu due to the earthquake damage. Highway 31 (Piilani Highway) is the only major road in Kīpahulu and all populated areas are located along this road

 

The first written description of Kīpahulu was made by La Pérouse in 1786 while sailing along the southeast coast of Maui in search of a place to drop anchor:

 

I coasted along its shore at a distance of a league (several miles). ... We beheld water falling in cascades... the inhabitants, which are so numerous that a space of 3-4 leagues may be taken for a single village. The huts are on the coast so that the habitable part of the island is less than one half of a league. After passing Kaupo no more waterfalls are seen, and villages are fewer.

 

KÄ«pahulu lowlands were once heavily populated. The area held hundreds of farm sites and agricultural terraces that could support hundreds of people. In nearby coastal area surveys, over 700 archeological features have been found in the 2008 acres surveyed thus far. The features consist of stone mounds and walls and earthen terraces.

 

Coastal villages consisted of housing clusters for extended families (Hawaiian: 'ohana) and included living quarters, cook houses, and sheds used for work, storage, and canoes. More dwellings, used occasionally, were located farther upland throughout the cultivated area. All structures were single story, one room wood frame buildings with thatched walls and roofs. Small stone shrines were associated with village sites.

 

With the development of the whaling industry on the island in 1880s Kīpahulu population started to decline as people moved to main whaling ports like L�hain�.

 

In the early 1900s, one of the regular ports of call for the Inter-Island Steam Navigation Company was KÄ«pahulu. Steamships provided passenger service around Maui and between the islands. KÄ«pahulu Landing also provided a way for growers and ranchers to ship their goods to markets. Today the land where KÄ«pahulu Landing was is private but protected by The Nature Conservancy.

 

Fruit Stand is one of the most visible attractions

 

    * Grave of the famous aviator Charles Lindbergh who is buried on the grounds of Palapala Ho'omau Church

    * Kipahulu district of the Haleakala National Park

    * Waimoku Falls and a Pipiwai hiking trail leading to it

    * Tropical fruit stand with the bicycle-powered blender (since there is no electricity in Kipahulu)

 

Haleakala National Park

 

Part of KÄ«pahulu is a section of Haleakala National Park. Park owns 3-4 miles of coastline and maintains the fee parking area and a campground.

 

The Oheo Gulch, popularly referred to as the "Seven Sacred Pools of Hana", is located in the KÄ«pahulu area inside Haleakala National Park. While the name suggests that only seven pools exist, in actuality there are dozens of pools and waterfalls scattered throughout the area of the "Sacred Pools." A popular tourist attraction, the "Sacred Pools" attract many visitors. Cliff jumping, bridge jumping, swimming, and hiking comprise some of the outdoor activities that visitors enjoy.