Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Wananalua Church
Across the street from the ball field at one of the only intersections in town, the
Wananalua Congregational Church
is a historic place of worship built from coral blocks
in 1838. Upon its founding, missionaries deliberately and symbolically built it on top of an
old
heiau
where the pagan gods had been worshipped for centuries. This small church was
placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1988. Sunday services are still held
every week at 10am.
Hana Cultural Center
While it might not look like much from the outside, the humble yet informative
Hana Cul-
tural Center
(4974 Uakea Rd., 808/248-8622,
www.hanaculturalcenter.org
,
10am-4pm
Mon.-Thurs., $3) provides a historical backbone for the town. Over the course of Maui's
history, Hana has been a unique eastern outpost, with one foot on Maui and one foot on the
Big Island. Visitors to the Hana Cultural Center can not only see ancient Hawaiian artifacts
excavated from the Hana region (such as stone adzes and hand-woven fishnets), but they'll
also get a chance to walk around the Hana courthouse listed on the National Register of
Historic Places in 1991. Like something out of an old Western movie, the one-room court-
house still holds sessions on the first Tuesday of each month, and in a testament to the is-
land's multicultural heritage, the proceedings can take place in no fewer than 24 languages.
During the rest of the month when court isn't in session, the courthouse serves as a somber
museum where Hana residents recount the morning of the 1946 tsunami which devastated
the eastern end of the island. If you have an interest in the history of Hana, there's no finer
place to stop along your journey.
•
Highway 330:
Technically, Highway 360 ended at Hana Bay and Highway 330 started
back at the fork in the road by the fire station. Once you drive past the center of Hana
town (i.e., Hasegawa General Store and the gas station), you are now traveling on High-
way 330, although the mileage markers don't start again for a couple of miles, and when
they do, they are now counting down as opposed to up. The turnoff for Hamoa Beach
and Koki Beach is at the first turnoff for Haneo'o Road about 1.5 miles past the center
of Hana town, which is before the mileage markers begin again. There are two turnoffs
for Haneo'o Road, and you want to make sure you take the first one because this is the
direction that local traffic naturally travels.
