Cynthia Johnson doesn’t bother to play music during her early morning yoga classes.
She prefers the natural audio of chirping birds, wind rustling through the palms and the crash of the Pacific far below.
“The setting speaks for itself,” says Johnson.
My wife and I have gotten into the habit of attending Johnson’s classes every morning while staying at Travaasa Resort in Hana on the Hawaiian island of Maui.
And we find Johnson’s approach to exercise as alternative as Hana itself.
You see, Hana, population 3,000, is on the far east coast of Maui, a world away from the bustling mega-resort strips of Wailea and Kaanapali on the island’s south and west coasts.
And Travaasa, an eco- luxury resort with only 71 suites in cottages on 60 acres, is the only hotel in town.
A vacation in Hana is ultra-Hawaiian and anti-Hawaiian all at the same time.
It’s secluded, laid-back and the Aloha spirit is at its most genuine here.
But conversely it’s not the giant hotels, busy beaches and hula shows that many holidaymakers have now come to associate with Hawaii.
Hana’s not easy to get to either.
While only 50 miles from Maui’s main airport mid-island at Kahului, it’s a three hour drive.
Hana Highway, more commonly known as the Road to Hana, has become iconic as the narrow ribbon with 617 turns, 56 one-lane bridges and countless jaw-dropping views of the Pacific.
Rather than a chore to drive, it’s treated as an attraction—a live action driving video game where the twists, hairpins and close calls are all real.
We decide the give the road it’s due and upgrade to a Mustang convertible at Budget Rent A Car for this unforgettable drive.
Lucky the sun stays up so the convertible top can stay down.
That brings us to the issue of heat and sunshine in Hana.
Both are pretty well guaranteed on the south and west coasts of Maui.
That’s why the mega-resorts are there and tourists flock to them.
But, Hana’s handle is ‘land of the low lying cloud’, which gives you an idea that rain is a factor on this side of the island.
In fact, there’s precipitation virtually every day at some point and the region is in the running for the title of the wettest place on earth.
While that might scare some people off, it’s attracted a contingent of visitors to Travaasa who don’t mind the sound of a downpour on the tin roof of their cottage and then like to bolt out to the pool, beach or waterfalls when the sun inevitably shines.
That’s how my wife and I and our 10-year-old daughter find ourselves utilizing a clear morning to explore nearby Haleakala National Park.
There’d been debate whether we should use the sunshine to lounge poolside or beach it or check out Haleakala.
The National Park won out because we got to talking to a newlywed couple from Arizona in the hot tub who raved about Haleakala’s spectacular 400-foot Waimoku waterfall and the seven natural freshwater pools along the Pipiwai Stream in the Oheo Gulch before they spill into the salty Pacific Ocean.
Catch is Waimoku Falls is an hour hike straight up a mountain through rainforest and requires a lot of clamouring over rocks and through creeks.
But when Waimoku does reveal herself around that last corner it is breathtaking.
It cascades in a narrow ribbon down the sheer face of the mountain cutting a precise vertical in the dense vegetation hugging the incline.
The natural response is a mad desire to swim in the pool that’s formed at the bottom and stand under the final splash of the falls for a perfectly pummeling shower.
And that’s exactly what we do.
The return was quicker and more jubilant not just because it was downhill, but because we’d ogled Waimoku and been baptized in her spray.
Another sunny afternoon gives us the chance to loll at Hamoa Beach.
It’s the ideal place to catch some sun—when it’s out—and boogie board in the surf that kicks up later in the day.
Overnight rates at Travaasa Resort in Hana start at US$350 for a suite that sleeps four.
Travaasa.com.
General information at GoHawaii.com/Maui.
