Great day in Hana. My wife and sister rode along to enjoy the sites while Daniel and I focused on some photography. Met up with Daniel at his shop in Paia at 6:30. First stop were a couple of stops where turtles came up on the beach to sleep/rest during the evening. These were photos, I always wanted to take, but never knew were. He knew exactly where ad when to be there. Then we headed out to Hana, with a stop for fresh coffee and a smoothie at the best roadside stop. Stopped at a couple of the waterfalls along the road for some quick shots. Really hard to stay a long time with so little or "no" parking" at these spots. Luckily, we got an early start, it did allow a few stops that later in the day would be impossible. Daniel then took us to a couple of spots to shoot the Rainbow Eucalyptus. Wow! did not believe how much color they really had. Then off to our first of two black sand beaches. This one was off the beaten path, so we did not have the crowds like at Waianapanapa State Beach. Got some great landscapes here. After that we stopped at a Taro farm where they were doing some harvesting. Then we "finished" the drive into Hana and beyond. Stopped at a couple of Daniel's favorite beaches for what I hope are some really special photos of the beach, shoreline, and ocean. The weather was great a few rain bursts, bring a wash cloth or microfiber towel to cover the camera and you'll be fine. Polarizer filter is a must. Had a Canon 5D Mark IV, with two lens a 16mm to 35mm and a 28mm to105mm. Probably would have replaced the 28mm to 100mm with something that could reach out a little further. More like up to 300mm for some of the shots along the coast or of the turtles. Remember to respect the space around the turtles and don't touch them. I think next trip with Daniel will be a chance to set up the tripod and ND filters for some of the waterfall shots and shoreline. We had done a trip to Columbia River last year so this trip was more about the ocean and the coastline this time. I really feel we got what we wanted. Plus getting to see the turtles on land made getting up at 5am to meet Daniel well worth it for me, my wife and sister.
Daniel; Sue says thanks again, she is still talking about the turtles!
BTW, Daniel knows the road well, the locals know him, he knows were to go and where not to go as well about the history of the area, the plants.
This is a great trip, will do it again. read more