The route back north on South Kihei road leads to the turnoff to the Mokulele Highway, which rises to Central Maui through endless acres of sugarcane fields on the western side of Haleakala. This region truly bears the stamp of King Sugar, whose bounty in the 1950s built Dream City, the workers’ home development that grew into modern Kahului. This bounty also funded the beautiful buildings in Maui’s county seat, Wailuku, which was built by “golden age of Hawaiian architecture” leader C. W. Dickey. Noteworthy buildings are the Wailuku Elementary School, with its indigenous rock portico, and the lovely Wailuku Public Library, bearing a classic asymmetrical, yet elegant, red-tile “Dickey roof.”
Agritourism is a favorite activity throughout the Central Maui and Upcountry Maui regions. Visitors traveling along Route 30 in Central Maui can learn about the full spectrum of Maui agriculture by taking the Maui Tropical Plantation’s tour, and in Upcountry Maui, at the southern end of Route 37, they can visit Ulupalakua Ranch. Toward Route 37’s northern end, visitors will find the old cowboy town of Makawao. That’s right, Maui has cowboy paniolos de- scended from its original range-riding, cattle-handling Mexican va- queros. That cowboy tradition endures in Makawao’s lovingly pre- served Old-West–style buildings, which now house glassblowers and other local artisans, as well as the guava malasadas at Komodo Bakery. There is even an annual Fourth of July rodeo.
Called paniolos in Hawaiian, cowboys have been herding cattle in Maui since the 1800s, and the Old West traditions are kept alive— Makawao even has a rodeo.
Upcountry Maui, on the western slopes of Haleakala, seems very much like California. The misty mountain breezes, gently rolling horse country, and roads lined with eucalyptus and jacaranda trees make this region startling for newcomers and a perfect setting for a succession of botanical gardens and farms, two of which deserve special mention.
Sunrise Protea Farms raises one of the world’s most unusual blooms, the prehistoric protea, a shrub whose outrageously colorful, spiky bracts (modified leaves), glowing crimson, mauve, white, gold, and even black, make the farm a riot of color. Whether fresh or dried, this shrub has become a major Maui export.
60 M A Y 2 0 1 3
PHOTO: MAUI VISITORS AND CONVENTION BUREAU
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