Hana Highway twists and turns for some forty miles, with over 600 curves and dozens of one lane bridges. Hana itself is a tiny little village of 1,200 with a couple of stores, a hotel, and that’s it. It had been a plantation town, and in many ways still is. Mostly populated by native Hawaiians, I felt in a different country, not just in a remote part of Maui. There were several “Reinstated Hawaiian Government” signs along the way too. They are part of a serious, growing movement for Hawaiian independence and should not be discounted. (See comments for more on this.)
Hana Highway passes through spectacular vistas of ocean, coves, rain forests, with each twist in the road seemingly a different eco-system. There are trailheads everywhere. Exploring all them would take months!
It isn’t really accurate to say that the “Reinstated” folks “want everyone else out.” (this refers to a sentence later edited out -. Polizeros)They certainly want Hawaii to be restored to its status as an independent country, and in that they are one of dozens of different groups who share the same goal, but like all the groups they are inclusive of non-Hawaiians and have also created a process for naturalization. It is important to recall that the Hawaiiian kingdom, which was a constitutional monarchy recognized as a member of the world family of nations, was a multi-ethnic country where naturalized citizens of all backgrounds had equal rights and protections under the law, and anyone born in Hawaii was a citizen regardless of their race. It is about nationality, not race or ethnicity, and it is about the political status of Hawaii than about wanting to kick people out of Hawaii.
I stand corrected. Ive edited the post to reflect that. Scott blogs at HwaiianKingdom.info
mahalo. I hope you enjoyed your time in Hana!