Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Waipoli Road
Just past Rice Park and Kula Country Farms is a turnoff which heads up Route 377 to
some of Kula's most popular sights. Less than a mile after the turnoff you will happen
upon Waipoli Road, a steep, narrow track that leads all the way up to Polipoli forest. When
you first turn onto this rural ribbon of asphalt, you'll probably wonder if you are going the
right way. Don't worry, this is it, and two of Upcountry's best sights are just up the road.
After a half a mile you'll see
O'o Farm
(651 Waipoli Rd., 808/667-4341,
www.oofarm.com
)
on the left. This 8.5-acre natural farm provides the food for Lahaina's
I'o, Pacifico, and 'Aina restaurants. Not only does it grow dozens of different crops, but
everything
on the property is home-grown, even the bugs and homemade fertilizer. Unfor-
tunately you can't just stop in to the tour the farm, but have to do so as part of a prearranged
tour. At $50/person it's pricy for lunch, but the 3.5-hour tour (10:30am-2pm Mon.-Thurs.)
includes a guided walk around the garden with one of the farm's master growers, and the
empty picnic basket he begins the tour with is gradually filled with produce right off the
vine that a resident chef will soon prepare your lunch with. Along the way you can sample
everything from purple Osaka leaves (which taste exactly like horseradish) to lemon hot
chile peppers. While the air at 3,500 feet can be brisk, you're also welcome to endless cups
of farm-roasted coffee to stave off the chill. After you've wandered the garden and the cof-
fee operation, an unforgettable lunch is served on a large wooden picnic table beneath the
shade of a covered grove. The vegetables you just picked in the garden are paired with an
entrée made fresh in the outdoor kitchen, and this is truly Maui's finest farm to table exper-
ience. Visit on your way down from a Haleakala sunrise, or, better yet, as your lunchtime
meal on your way up for sunset.
Following Waipoli Road another half-mile, you'll pass over a cattle guard and begin
driving through empty pastures. Yes, you're still going the right way. After a few bends
in the road you'll happen upon the
Ali'i Kula Lavender Farm
(1100 Waipoli Rd., 808/
878-3004,
www.aliikulalavender.com
,
9am-4pm daily), a relaxing outpost of serenity. The
views from 4,000 feet stretch all the way down to the ocean, the air is crisp, and the calls
of ring-necked pheasants sing out over the eucalyptus and pine. The farm itself sprawls
across 13.5 acres. While the general admission is only $3, the farm offers guided walking
tours five times daily ($12) 9:30am-2:30pm on which lavender experts (yes, they exist)
divulge everything you never knew about the soft purple plant. A small café serves scones
and tea, and the gift shop is a great place to pick up anything from organic lavender body
butter to a soft lavender eye mask. Check the event calendar on the website for special
events like lavender treasure hunts or gourmet picnic lunches.
