The Road to Hana: Focus on the Journey
Posted on October 12, 2007
Filed Under Personal, Worldview |
I didn’t count them—I read it.
There are 617 hairpin turns and 54 one-lane bridges on Maui’s Highway 360, the legendary “Road to Hana”. It is carved into the lava cliffs, lush with tropical growth, between the dormant Haleakala volcano and the Pacific Ocean. The “Road” from Kahului to Hana is 52 miles, but the bulk of the turns are packed into the 30+ miles of HI-360. That’s about 20 hairpins and 2 narrow one-lane bridges per mile. The brochures warn those who have thoughts of driving it, using words like: “motion sickness”, “dizziness”, “vertigo”, “back problems”, “steep cliffs”, “dangerous narrow roads”, etc.
We drove it anyway.
And should I ever get the privilege to return to Maui, I will drive it again. One hairpin turn melts immediately into another, then another. Sometimes without warning, the barely two-lane highway abruptly narrows to a barely one-lane highway—almost always over one of the 54 bridges—but sometimes the road suddenly becomes one lane in between two of the hairpin turns as the steep cliffs, flush with overgrown tropical green, bulged out from the mountain side and the sheer drop-off to the Pacific Ocean presses in from the other.
I loved every minute of it.
It would have been easy, though, to become solely focused on the hazards of the road and miss the beauty of the journey. Indeed, trying to drive this highway and take in the scenery could be fatal—literally. Take your pick: a head-on collision or a tumble down the cliff. I envied my wife who was free to look at the simply gorgeous sights and yet at the same time realized that I couldn’t have handled sitting in the passenger seat while someone else was smashing the brakes, then jamming down on the accelerator, all the while spinning the steering wheel one way then the other. So, we stopped along the way as often as we could.
We had to. The journey was breath taking.
–We hiked to the upper falls of Puohokamoa. The trees and flowers and foliage along the way were fascinating.
–Ka’anae Peninsula. There are no words to properly describe the beauty of the black lava rocks against the blue and greens of the Pacific and the whiteness of the surf as it exploded against the black lava.
–The stunning waterfalls at nearly every turn.
At one point, as I quickly swerved to a stop on our side of a narrow bridge to let another car pass, I realized that a small waterfall was actually splashing on our car and over the road.
–Waianapana State Park, with its blow-holes and lava arches reaching out over the azure surf which pounded against the lava rock with such force that the water shot high into the air, exploding into a mist.
–Kaumakina wayside; Hana Bay; Pua’a Ka’a wayside; Wailua Valley Overlook; lush tropical growth; flourishing rainforests; the myriad of colors and flowers; rainbow-colored eucalyptus trees; the emerald green foliage against the black lava cliffs—how does one describe the beauty of these places without using the same words over and over again?
When we finally got to Hana, which is a wonderful small Maui village, yet not uniquely remarkable, I realized that the “Road to Hana” is really more about the journey than the destination. I sometimes fear that many of us, including myself, get so focused on the goal that we miss the beauty of the trip. “Raising kids” can end up being an objective instead of a journey. Putting them to bed at night can become simply a chore whose goal is to get them “down”. Even eating a meal can become more of an objective to achieve, rather than a journey to enjoy. Tonight, make your evening meal a journey, not a goal or task. Take a few more minutes while you put them to bed to experience the sights along the “road”. Maybe this Sunday, instead of rushing out the door to church, commit to leave ten minutes earlier. Maybe you’ll want to pull over on the way to stop and look at something that you normally just rush by. Or get to church early and visit with someone. Linger a little longer after the service, if you have a tendency to normally rush away.
In John 10:10, Jesus said: “…I have come that they may have life, and to have it abundantly.”
I think we sometimes miss the “abundantly” part of this.
Don’t get so caught up in the hairpins and the narrow bridges and the objective to get to “Hana” that you forget to stop and enjoy what is flying by you on the “Road”. 
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7 Responses to “The Road to Hana: Focus on the Journey”
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Dr. Del Tackett is president of the Focus on the Family Institute and Senior Vice President to Focus on the Family. He is also the architect and chief spokesperson for Focus on the Family's The Truth Project--a nationwide initiative designed to bring the Christian worldview to the body of Christ.
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[…] unknown wrote an interesting post today!.Here’s a quick excerptI didn’t count them—I read it. There are 617 hairpin turns and 54 one-lane bridges on Maui’s Highway 360, the legendary “Road to Hana”. It is carved into the lava cliffs, lush with tropical growth, between the dormant Haleakala volcano … […]
Right on. I’m always thankful for the time my mom spent with me as a kid. Stay-at-home moms are sorely underappreciated in the modern world, but I wouldn’t have had it any other way. Another wonderful thing about what Dr. Tackett said is that when you take time to make life a journey and enjoy all the different episodes, it betters all the relationships involved. My relationship with my parents is ten times what it would have been if I had been a project instead of just their son.
I was a stay-at-home Mom….and I so loved the journey, I only wish that the ride was not over…but they have all flown to other “nests”, and while I miss them, I treasure the memories and look forward to what GOd has in store for those of us who chose to raise the next generation for Him.
It was not a popualr choice for a women in the 70’s to make, in fact it was often ridiculed. Being on this end there is no paycheck that could have equaled the journey I chose. I am grateful. Thanks for the reminder.
I loved reading about the Road to Hana. For one thing I am a motorcyclist and began to crave taking on that road on two wheels! Much of the goal of an afternoon ride with friends isn’t about getting somewhere, but the trip itself and the Christian fellowship you can enjoy when you stop for a rest or perhaps some ice cream. The best journey is the relationships as they are improved somehow along the way. Likewise, this serves as a timely reminder as my wife and I begin tonight the journey of leading the first of two Truth Project small groups. The destination of a biblical worldview is indeed a very worthy goal. But only as God’s people come together and the Holy Spirit opens eyes to God’s truth does this solid biblical foundation eventually occur. Indeed it is in the process that the Lord works. I am looking forward to the journey for our groups!
Dr. Tackett,
I, too, have had the opportunity to travel the road to Hana. It is extravagantly beautiful. I never thought about how this journey to Hana mirrors our journey of life. It’s so true! What a wonderful picture.
We did the Road to Hana on a tour bus. It was wonderful because we could take in as much scenery as we wanted and leave the hassle to the driver. I’m sure you were good and did not take the rental car the rest of the way around the island back to Wailea? Our tour bus went that way and it was amazing to go through the beautiful, lush area of Hana (and dip in the pools at Oheo Gulch), and then to come out on the south of the island - a desolate wasteland. The south of the island is remnants of Haleakala’s last erruption and hasn’t yet been turned by the elements into the beauty it will eventually be. You say it throughout your series - the declaration of the glory of God is just screamed by nature. How often do we go through the Haleakala times and the Lord is leading us to the Hana times.
Mahalo for sharing your photos, experience, and insight. Finally someone shares the “reality” of the experience. I’ve been trying to tell people for years that it’s about the journey.
I’ve made this trip over 20 times. Everytime, I stop and stay at different spots that capture me at the time. I don’t do this because I’m graced with the luxury of living on Maui. I do it because it’s the right way to experience anything worth experiencing. With the influx and exponential growth of tourism today, everyone is a tourist. Since everyone can travel nowadays, most tourists take on the same behaviors. “I must conquer all so that I may show people pictures and earn my toursist badge.” You, my doctor friend, are a traveler. Travelers are different in that we experience more in fewer things. We may have not seen all of the sights that the snap-happy tourist might, but we really “see” much more.
Anyone reading this should take a deep breath and soak in the information. Follow the good doctors advice and enjoy the Road to Hana and enjoy life. After all, the only prize at the end comes from the memories from the journey.