This is a very full day. Even though you may only travel about 120 miles, this tour will take you 8 to 10 hours. Starting out in Kahului we take the Hana Highway (highway is just a name!) and head out to the old plantation town of Paia. This could be our first stop if you want to get a quick breakfast at one of the trendy coffee shops where you will rub elbows with some of Maui's more eccentric characters, surfers and intellectuals. Last chance for film, sunscreen, drinks, or anything else you may need for the trip since your only other store today will be in Hana.

Soon we'll pass Ho'okipa Beach, the world's most famous windsurfing spot, where the sports best hang out. Pretty soon we'll come to the "real Hana Highway": crooked and narrow. Somebody bothered to count them and says there are 617 hairpin turns and 54 one-lane bridges. Believe me, it's true!

Don't worry about all that, you have an expert guide at the wheel, you can take your eyes off the road and absorb all that fabulous scenery, I tell you, it is Gorgeous.

This is the true tropical rain forest, the richness and variety of vegetation is astounding, plants that you recognize as house plants back home, grow out of control here!

There will be numerous opportunities to stop for photographs and a stretch. Don't go to where all the other cars stop, let your guide take you to the best. You can stop and buy local fruit and tropical flowers on the "honor system" at some of the little stands along the roadside, or your guide will pull over and pick them for you. We will pass the little villages of Keanae and Wailua, with their quaint houses and churches, where the hawaiians grow taro, a staple in their diet.

Around midday you will come to the small town of Hana. With one restaurant, one general store, one gas station and one bank (hours are 3 to 4:30), Hana can be considered small. It is very picturesque and has a lot of history, but don't make this the sole purpose of your trip because you'll be dissappointed. In Hana you can have lunch, together with some of the local residents, unless you've chosen to bring a pic-nic, in which case you can stop anywhere you like.

Close to Hana you will find a black sand beach, a red sand beach and a white sand beach (described by James Michener as the most beautiful in the Pacific). At this point you may like to do some swimming and relaxing before pushing on into the "wilderness".

Beyond Hana the road becomes narrower (no line down the middle) and bumpier, but some of the most breathtaking scenery still awaits you.

All along you will be passing waterfalls, some are close to the road with easy access, some are hidden from view requiring a 5-15 minute hike, and others may take almost 1 hour to get to. If swimming in a fresh water pool under a waterfall is your fantasy, we can take you there. There are small secluded ones where nobody goes, large and majestic falls, safe places to do high jumps or dives and adventurous ones with fern covered caves and birds singing that will make you feel like Tarzan and Jane or Indiana Jones.

Then there are the "Seven Sacred Pools", where a majority of the people will go because that's all they've heard of. We will pass by there, so you can take a look, but we will most likely take you somewhere else. We will pass through Charles Lindberg's final resting place and you can visit the church and his grave if you like. He requested it not be marked with any road signs or on any map.

Beyond this point things begin to change again, we leave the rain forest and get to the drier, rocky side of Haleakala. Out in what seems like the middle of nowhere we'll come to the old (1920's) Kaupo Store, straight out of the Wild, Wild,West. This is a welcome oasis for some refreshments and a chat with the owners or other fellow travellers.

After a few miles of gravel, the road straightens out a bit taking us over extensive lava flows, the last one being around 1792. Eventually we get to the Tedeschi Winery at Ulupalakua, if we make it by 5 o'clock you can sample some of their wine in the tasting room. From here it's down the hill (we're at 3000 feet) through Maui's "upcountry" back to Kahului, completing the circle of East Maui.

By the end of the day you just won't believe the variety of things you've seen and places you've been to, all in one day!