Wednesday, October 16, 2019 – Hana, Maui, Hawaii
Once again I was up early. I did some work and wrote in my journal – writing the text that would become this blog post. As I sat at the small desk in the cottage I watched the sun rise and listened to the birds call to greet the new day. And every once in a while I would hear a car roll down the road – a local on his or her way to work or a tourist getting an early start on hiking in the National Park. Soon enough we would join the latter group, but not before coffee, fresh pineapple and bananas.
The most well-known and visited part of Haleakala National Park is the peak, which we will get to later on this trip. But the park extends down the volcano to the Pacific Ocean on the southeast side of Maui, a few miles past Hana. The Pools at Ohe’o and the Pipiwai Trail are in this section of the park.
The Pools at Ohe’o are also known as the Seven Sacred Pools. The Palikea Stream flows down from the volcano and forms a series of waterfalls and pools as it approaches the sea. It is beautiful and seems like the kind of place that could be sacred in native Hawaiian culture, but it’s not. The “Seven Sacred Pools” moniker was given by the guy who owned the Trevasse Hotel in Hana. It was a great marketing gimmick to get people to come stay at the hotel and then pay extra for a tour of the “sacred pools”. Ahh, entrepreneurs!
The Pipiwai Trail packs an incredible amount of beauty into a two mile hike. The hike ends at the towering Waimoku Falls and along the way rewards the hiker with the pools, a thick bamboo forest, ocean views, and a massive banyan tree. Pipiwai is definitely on the favorite trails list.
After hiking we drove back through Hana to a place with several food trucks. There were many choices but Chrissy and I both had fish and chips. The fish was fresh and delicious. Each serving was fried to order in a wok. It was a great lunch. On the way back to the cottage we stopped and got the ingredients for fried rice. We relaxed at the cottage, made our fried rice dinner, and were asleep before 9:00. True relaxation was kicking in.
Where Are We Going Now? 