Maui's northwest coast looks at first like a place designed to scare people, and Nakalele is where that begins to make sense. The Kahekili Highway wraps around a rocky headland with the surf pounding the black lava below, and a short, rough walk across the rocks leads down to the blowhole, a hole in the lava shelf through which waves shoot a jet of water high into the air. In big surf the spout can rise many metres, with a roar and a boom that you feel in your chest. It is spectacular and genuinely dangerous: people have been swept off the rocks here, and the signs warning you to stay back are not suggestions.
The road itself is the real adventure. The Kahekili Highway, Route 340, is named for the last independent king of Maui, who ruled in the eighteenth century, and it is a narrow, twisting road with blind corners, a single lane in places and long drops to the ocean. It is paved, but the surface is patchy, and the width demands patience. Many rental companies forbid it, so check your contract. On a motorcycle it is a slow, rewarding ride, about as far from a highway as the word allows. Mornings are best, before the traffic of tour vans builds up, and heavy rain can cause rockfalls and closures.
The land here is dry and windswept, a surprise in a place usually thought of as lush. Lava shelves, sea cliffs and low scrub run to the water, and the colours are rust, black and blue. Nakalele Point has a lighthouse, and the coastline nearby has a place called the Dragon's Teeth, a jagged lava formation. Hawaiian history is everywhere, with old fishing shrines and house platforms scattered across the headlands, which should not be disturbed.
There are no services here, and little shade. The nearest sizeable towns are Napili-Honokowai and Lahaina on the west side, where you can fill up and eat, and Wailuku on the other. Take on petrol before starting the road, because the next station may be a long way off. Bring water, sturdy shoes, and respect for the surf. If the waves look big, watch from a distance. The sunsets here, with the island of Molokai across the channel, are good.