Magical maui

Sunset, Nov, 2001 by Jeff Phillips

This stretch of road used to regularly wash out in hard rains, but a couple of recently built bridges have solved most of that problem. I roll down the dusty window to let the afternoon heat pour in and to better watch the sere coast fall away as I slowly angle up the rugged flank of Haleakala, eventually looping back to Kahului.

Hana highlights

ACTIVITIES: Kahanu Gardens. Tours are self-guided. 10--2 Mon--Fri; $10, free ages 12 and under. On Ulaino Rd. 1 1/2 miles north of the Hana Hwy; (808) 248-8912 or www.ntgb.org. Kipahulu Visitor Center. A slow but beautiful 9-mile drive beyond Hana. A new cultural exhibit opened last spring. 9--5 daily (808) 248-7375 or www.nps.gov/hale.> DINING: The area is short on dining options. Hotel Hana-Maui (see "Lodging") operates the only two restaurants, both of which were pricey and mediocre at our visit. The Hana Ranch Restaurant (8 A.M.--10 0 AM. and 11 A.M.--3 P.M. daily, 5:30--8 Wed, 6--8 Fri--Sat; 808/248-8255), in the town center, was the best bet for breakfast and dinner. The hotel dining room (6:15 P.M.--8:45 P.M. daily; 808/248-8211, ext. 133) should improve with the arrival of chef Larry Quirit.

For lunch, bring picnic supplies from Kahului, get snacks at the Hasagawa General Store (808/248-8231), or head for Tutu's (808/248-8224), a lunch stand across from the park in Hana Bay.

LODGING: Hana Ali'i Holidays. For longer stays, this agency rents country cottages or houses, some with ocean views. From $60. (800) 548-0478, (808) 248-7742, or www.hanaalii.com. Hana Hale Malamalama. Delightful, informal, and close to the shore, the six rooms have Asian influences and serviceable kitchens. From $110. Uakea Rd. on Hana Bay; (808) 248-7718 or www.hanahale.com Hotel Hana-Maui. The new owners of this stunningly located, 66-room hotel are refurbishing the rooms and expanding the spa. Rooms from $275, cottages from $295. On the Hana Hwy.; (800) 321-4262, (808) 248-8211, or www.hotelhanamaui.com.

THE HALEAKALA UPCOUNTRY: AN ARTFUL QUALITY OF LIGHT

Sunrise seen from the deck of Star Lookout, a small Upcountry bungalow high on the slopes of Haleakala, is an event to be leisurely savored. This morning it starts around 6 with an ever lightening veil of cloudy gray gradually tinted with shades of rose and fuchsia until the misty sky becomes an infusion of incandescent pinks. The grassy slopes (I have never seen them not green) slowly gain shape, revealing the dripping outlines of outcroppings, trees, and stone fences.

An hour passes and the sun is still hidden behind Haleakala (the volcano's name is Hawaiian for House of the Sun), but its light is on the move. First it touches the distant tops of the West Maui Mountains, then it gradually works down to the emerald fields of sugar cane that define the blue, blue waters of Maalaea Bay. As the angled rays creep up the last few hundred yards below my deck, illuminating individual blades of grass and bloodred flowers, the dawn chorus of birdsong begins to fade.

Now I understand why Betty Hay Freeland and a surprising number of Maui's most successful artists choose to live and work Upcountry.