GOIN' UPCOUNTRY BEYOND MAUI'S BLISTERING BEACHES, PASTORAL CHARM AND QUIET LIFESTYLE AWAIT.

Byline: Eric Noland Travel Editor

KEOKEA, Hawaii - Unexpected sounds were mixing with the morning calls of tropical birds - somewhere outside the window, a chicken was squawking; farther away, a steer could be heard lowing.

The chord was peculiar, but it served as a fitting herald for new arrivals to Maui's Upcountry.

This is a part of Hawaii that few visitors see and fewer still experience. It is high on the western slopes of the Haleakala volcano, far from the beaches and searing heat of the island's tourist concentrations of Lahaina, Kaanapali, Wailea, Kapalua.

Here at an elevation of 3,000 feet and more, Maui is cooler, wetter, greener. Most visitors have little use for these traits; they're more desirous of roasting their skin, hugging the shoreline, eating something dunked in teriyaki sauce or swinging a club at a little white ball.

Upcountry's appeal is much different - and also much more subtle. Tack a few Upcountry days onto your Maui stay and you might come to appreciate its slow pace and gentle rhythm.

You'll find cattle and horse ranches here, broken up by small plantation towns. The views are sensational, taking in not only the West Maui mountains, the shore and the bright-green swaths of sugarcane plantations down at the isthmus, but also the islands of Kahoolawe, Molokini, Lanai and Molokai.

There are flower and vegetable gardens, and trees that cluster in no particular sense of order: jacaranda, avocado, Norfolk pine, banana. Orange nasturtiums, purple morning glories and golden poppies flourish in this wild land, tumbling over low, lava-rock walls. Vines engulf road signs and scurry up the guy wires supporting power poles.

``You plant something in the ground and jump back,'' said caretaker Ray Bane, wiping his hands as he emerged from the garden at the Star Lookout, a vacation cottage with a sweeping view of the sea. ``We tell the guests to take whatever they want from the garden. We can't keep up with it.''

We bumped into Bane while walking from the Silver Cloud Ranch, a bed- and-breakfast inn, to Grandma's Maui Coffee in Keokea, a blink-and- you-miss-it town on Upcountry's main road, Highway 37.

The side road that serves both inns is just an old ranch lane, wide enough for about a vehicle and a half. As we strolled, we surveyed a landscape that was bumpy from prehistoric lava flows, yet completely grown over with a verdant blanket of green. Cattle would walk down to the rock walls and barbed-wire fences to get a closer look at us as we passed through. On a board fence, several avocados were lined up, for sale on the honor system at 50 cents each.

At Grandma's, you can get a gourmet cup of coffee made from beans that grow wild in nearby gulches and meadows. Next door is the intriguing Keokea Gallery, where so much local art has accumulated that most of it leans against walls and table legs because the exhibition space is maxed out.

Upcountry tends to have that lived-in feel. Longtime residents tell of how relocated mainlanders usually settle at first along the western coastline, then quickly weary of the oppressive heat and high rents. Up the mountain they soon come, settling in Kula and other tiny communities.

Artists in particular have been drawn to the area, such that once-grimy plantation towns with Old West storefronts have been transformed into enclaves of galleries, shops featuring local crafts and stylish restaurants.

One night, we careened through the cane fields on old plantation roads before coming to a stop at the Haliimaile General Store, and parked in the lumber yard across the road.

The general store is a restaurant now, although it still has the look and feel of its former life, when it provided goods to field hands: The floor is weathered wood, with shelves along one wall that reach to the tall ceiling, and the porch in front has chairs for lounging.

Owner and chef Beverly Gannon presents a fusion of local ingredients and Pacific Rim preparation styles - she calls it ``eclectic American with Asian overtones'' - and has pulled it off so impressively that diners visit from distant corners of the island. We were sold after feasting on one fresh-fish dish crusted with macadamia nuts and basil, another accented with a mango lilikoi butter.

A day later, in the former cowboy town of Makawao, we observed Chris Richards as he stood at the maw of a furnace at Hot Island Glass, meticulously fashioning a flower vase. His uncle started the business 10 years ago, he said, and this is one of the few working glass studios in the islands.

Down the street and around the corner, Randy Jay Braun, a renowned photographer of Hawaii's ancient hula, was himself at the counter of the gallery bearing his name. Braun, a graduate of Los Angeles' Occidental College, settled in Hawaii 14 years ago and lives in nearby Kula. His photographs, which resemble 19th-century prints, adorn posters, post cards, calendars, CD covers and hotel-room walls throughout the islands.

Braun explained how he shoots in black and white, prints in high contrast in the darkroom, then colors each photo with oils and pencils to create a sepia tone.

It was pouring outside. Braun urged us to borrow one of his umbrellas as we explored the town.

The rain was less of a nuisance up there since beach time was not an issue. It gave us a convenient excuse to duck into a number of shops, and discover such places as the David Warren Gallery, a small family business exhibiting terrific wares: koa woodworks, necklaces made of beach glass, shells and local oil paintings.

Just outside Makawao is the Hui Noeau Visual Arts Center, which is worth a visit if only for the glimpse it provides into the life of one of Hawaii's agricultural pioneers. Harry Baldwin, a descendant of missionaries who got into sugar and pineapple in a big way, used to live in the 1917 mansion with his arts-minded wife, Ethel.

Polynesian-themed architecture? Not a chance. Hawaii's haole barons exhibited their prosperity much more ostentatiously, in this case with a Mediterranean monstrosity that today is mocked by the natural majesty of Haleakala, which rises high above it. The building's architect was C.W. Dickey, who also designed the wedding cake in the Berkeley hills that is the Claremont Hotel.

Ethel Baldwin established an arts club in 1934, and it flourishes today with classes, workshops and exhibits.

After perusing the works displayed in the house, ask for a walking-tour guide to the grounds and explore on your own. The former stables are now a ceramics studio, and the artists don't mind if you watch them work. The carriage house is a studio for print-making, wood-working and jewelry crafts. The cellar is used as a photo studio and darkroom. The tennis courts aren't used for anything, and the cracked concrete appears to be losing a battle with the prolific and relentless vegetation of this region.

There is an entire web of backcountry roads around Makawao, and it's fun just to explore. Head high up Haleakala's flank on the Olinda loop (Highway 390) and you'll pass through a cathedral of eucalyptus trees. Where their roots are exposed in the roadway embankment, flowers often grow in the tangle.

Those who wish to see Maui's tropical horticulture in a more tamed state should head to Kula and any of three commercial gardens: Sunrise Protea Farm (a retail outfit, but visitors are welcome to wander through the grove), Enchanting Floral Gardens and Kula Botanical Garden.

Another popular stop is the Ulupalakua Ranch, where Highway 37 connects to Route 31 (the rugged, unimproved back road to Hana). The drive to the ranch is half the fun, as the narrow road dips and winds through emerald-colored range land, offering tremendous views to the west - if the mountain's clouds are not sitting low.

Many visitors include the Ulupalakua Ranch in their itineraries so as to sample wines at its Tedeschi Vineyards tasting room - perhaps because of the novelty of encountering such an enterprise in Hawaii. But bear in mind what line of latitude you're sitting on, and don't go in with high hopes. Grapes are grown on the mountain slope between here and Wailea, but the most drinkable product we found in the place was Maui Blanc - made from pineapple juice! Sample the Ulupalakua Red only at your peril.

The ranch was established in 1856 by a ship captain, James Makee, who settled on the island to recuperate from injuries suffered in an assault. With typical Yankee industriousness, he constructed cisterns to capture water, rock walls to keep the cattle in, a sugar mill to generate income and a cabin worthy of a monarch. The winery tasting room is housed in the latter - a guest cottage built in 1874 so that Hawaii's King Kalakaua would have a proper place to flop when he visited the ranch.

Across the road from the cottage, the chimney ruins of the old mill are visible, though they're camouflaged by trees that sprouted around them.

From the Ulupalakua Ranch, you'll have a long, frenzied drive back if you're staying in the resort areas along the coast.

If you're settled in one of Upcountry's B&Bs, however, you'll be able to take your time, saving the late afternoon for unhurried relaxation.

``I usually stay a night or two in Wailea or Lahaina, then come up here,'' said a guest from Seattle as we unwound on the broad front porch of the Silver Cloud Ranch. ``It's so beautiful. I'm just not interested in the contrived environment down there.''

We left him and wandered over to the corral, pausing to pick some grass for the Shetland ponies within. Then we read books on our bedroom lanai as a light rain plinked on the corrugated-tin roof.

As evening set in, a string of lights became visible along the West Maui coast.

Probably a traffic jam.

IF YOU GO

GETTING THERE: A web of roads connects Upcountry with Maui's isthmus. From the Kahului Airport, take the Haleakala Highway (Route 37). Makawao is at the north end of Upcountry, Kula in the middle and Ulupalakua Ranch at the south.

LODGING: We stumbled on the Star Lookout near Keokea and wished we had booked our entire stay there. It's a cottage perched on a slope with acres of open green hillside in all directions - and a sensational view. The grounds include a garden and a fire ring, and the caretakers' quarters are a discreet distance off. The nightly rate is $150 for up to four people (each additional person $15). According to its Web site, the cottage ``sleeps two couples plus a few kids comfortably.'' Information: [phone]; www.starlookout.com.

The Silver Cloud Ranch is a plantation-themed B&B also on Thompson Road near Keokea. It offers 12 rooms, and although the rooms in the main house have ocean views, we found it impossible to sleep past 6:30 a.m., when the breakfast staff arrived and began noisily bustling about. The breakfast, by the way, would be helped by a platter of fresh island fruit, not the supermarket grapefruit and apples we were served. Rooms range from $85 to $160 most of the year, $110 to $195 from Dec. 15 through February. Information: [phone]; www.silvercloudranch.com.

The Kula Lodge has six rooms, from $110; [phone]; www.kulalodge.com.

DINING: You can't go wrong at Haliimaile General Store, where fresh seafood is served in Asian preparation styles; 900 Haliimaile Road; [phone]. In Makawao, gourmet Italian dishes and wood-fired pizzas are served in a casual setting at Casanova; 1188 Makawao Ave.; [phone]. Three sides of the Kula Lodge dining room have picture windows, and the view is great, but the food and service are just a notch above a coffee shop; near the intersection of highways 377 and 378; [phone]. For morning coffee and pastries, Grandma's Maui Coffee is an Upcountry institution; on Highway 37 in Keokea; [phone].

INFORMATION: The Maui Visitors Bureau can provide Upcountry information: [phone]; www.visitmaui.com.

CAPTION(S):

9 photos, box, map

Photo:

(1 -- 2 -- color) A rainbow arches over a verdant hillside in Maui's Upcountry, top. The region is renowned for its floral bounty, above.

Ray Mains/Maui Visitors Bureau

Eric Noland/Travel Editor

(3 -- 4 -- color) Art can be found in many forms Upcountry, from surfboard paintings at the Keokea Gallery, above, to Christ Richards' glass craftsmanship at Hot Island Glass in Makawao, right.

(5 -- 6) At Silver Cloud Ranch, above, a bed-and-breakfast in Maui's Upcountry, barnyard animals, top, have the run of the grounds.

(7) Rain often visits the lush upper reaches of Maui; here, a shower splashes the town of Makawao.

(8) This way to the exhibit: Upcountry artists have embraced the beauty of the area and display their works in several galleries.

(9) At Grandma's Coffee House in Keokea, you can get a gourmet cup of joe brewed from wild beans grown in the nearby soil.

Eric Noland/Travel Editor

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IF YOU GO (see text)

Map:

MAUI