A Darker View

For all the times I have driven past the start of Mana Road, I had never turned to drive down this infamous road. This time we would make the turn, heading around the mountain, not towards the summit as we have always done. Mana road is a rough, unimproved road that starts high on the south face and proceeds all the way to Waimea.

Today we did not plan to explore the whole road, our destination was Hakalau National Wildlife Refuge fourteen miles down Mana road. The refuge preserves a large swath of native forest on the windward slopes of Mauna Kea, sheltering native Hawaiian trees, plants and endangered native birds. To protect this natural treasure entry is tightly controlled, permits are required for access. Once a year the refuge holds an open house, with rangers and volunteer guides on hand to reveal to secrets of this forest. This was our reason for driving down Mana road.