Off the beaten track Hawaii: The secret places in Maui only locals know (until now)

It's a hot sultry morning when we veer away from Maui's postcard perfect beaches. We're like the fish that fights against the current and swims upstream. Hordes of tourists and day trippers are flocking to the white sand beaches on what's going to be a scorcher of a day. Us? We're heading in completely the opposite direction and truth be told, I couldn't be happier.

We head out from Ka'anapali Beach with its cluster of high-rise resorts on the Kahahili Highway, Maui's main thoroughfare, with Glenn Beadle, a long time Maui local and our tour guide for the day. We pass a string of serene inlets and beaches, before heading inland past wind farms and volcanic ranges, their tops covered in vog (volcanic fog for the uninitiated). Glenn tells us that Maui aims to be self-sustaining by 2050 – a move that astounds me. Before coming to Maui, I pictured an urbanised and highly commercialised island brimming with tourists. Sure you can still find that, but where we're heading – upcountry Maui – is green, hilly and largely underdeveloped. It's the antithesis of what I imagined Maui to be.

Maui has only a tenth of the population of Ohau, Hawaii's main island. Three out of five of the biggest ranches in Hawaii are here, along with sugar cane, organic farms, cattle, and former plantation towns such as Paia, known as the world's windsurfing capital, and Makawao located on the slopes of the dormant volcano Haleakala. Glenn tells us Maui attracts gentleman farmers lured by cooler temperatures, the rich volcanic soil and the fact you can still buy acreage here. Maui Gold Pineapples are also grown here, famous for being sweet but low in acidity.

We take a drive behind Makawao along winding roads that lead upwards past small farms, rural blocks and charming home stays. Here high in the lush undulating countryside, the air is cool and fresh and reminds me of the Byron Bay hinterland. Spread before us are panoramic views all the way to Maui's southern coast and the beaches we'd left behind. "Lots of hippies live here," Glenn tells us as we take in the view, "and organic farmers specialising in farm to table produce".

Back in Makawao we stroll the main street of this bohemian former paniolo (cowboy) town. It has the feel of a Bangalow or a Bellingen, with its chic boutiques, homeware stores and cafes. At the T Komodo Bakery and Store there's quite a queue for its famous custard cream puffs.

My eagle-eyed travelling companion spots a cafe that looks promising (Australians have a knack for this) and we take a seat inside. Sip Me's customers are mostly local and casually stand around chatting over enormous cups of coffee. The coffee is very good and we quickly order another – not knowing when we'll find the good stuff again.

From there we descend to Paia on Maui's north shore, once a booming plantation town and now a laidback hippy surf town bustling with boutiques, restaurants, bars and possibly the world's most authentic Hawaiian pizza. There are no big hotel or retail chain stores here and the town has a charm that's all the better for it.

I'd heard great things about Flatbread, a pumping woodfire pizza joint, opened by Josh Stone, a local windsurfing legend, in 2007. The original Flatbread began about a decade before that in Amesbury, Massachusetts, when organic food and local produce were in its infancy. The company forms partnerships with local farms and producers in whatever location it opens and its Paia outlet is no exception. Free-range pork and chicken, organically grown vegetables and herbs and Maui jalapenos are just a few of the locally produced items on the menu. Flatbread's dough meanwhile is made daily from 100 per cent organic wheat. We order a 16-inch Mopsy's Kalua Pork with Kiawe smoked free-range pork shoulder, homemade organic mango BBQ sauce, organic red onions, Maui pineapple, and a heady blend of Hawaiian goat cheeses, whole milk mozzarella, parmesan cheese, homemade garlic oil and organic herb mix. "This particular version is the closest to authentic Hawaiian pizza you can get," our waiter tells us. "It's by far our most popular seller with both locals and tourists."