Haleakala National Park- the southern/ lower section

New Years Day we decided to head into Haleakala National Park to take advantage of the hungover masses and hopefully have the park for ourselves. The park is rather expansive and derives its name from the 10,000 foot volcano/ crater for which its famous. However, the park is so large that it not only includes the peak but the lava flow down to the sea. The peak is barren, almost desert-like while the lower portion is lush and engulfed in a rain forest. The differences are so stark it is hard to believe they are on the same island, let alone part of the same park.

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Yay! A rainbow!
(first time we saw sun since arriving in Hana, didn't
realize this was the first of about 20 rainbows, we'll spare you the pics)

Our first adventure was to see the Seven Sacred Pools. It's a series of cascading waterfalls and gentle pools for swimming and picture taking. We were lucky we arrived early. It was a quiet and peaceful location in the morning, then in the afternoon, it was swarmed by elderly people fresh off their cruise ships wearing orthopedic shoes and bad Hawaiian shirts. Access to the pools was easy and location was the terminal point on every tour bus driving the Hana Highway. The rangers forbade any swimming due to the swollen pools, high water levels, and threats of flash floods. It had rained for three weeks straight prior to this day which luckily broke the day we arrived at the park.


The hike to the Seven Sacred Pools is a quick 1/2 mile loop; I managed to make it stretch into a full morning hike. I had just bought a new SLR camera for the trip, read a book on photography on plane ride, and forgot the manual for the camera. This left me with the dilemma of how to set up a good shot, how to set apetures, shutter speeds and ISO settings, how to level the new tripod, how to account for the sun for the first time, while simultaneously trying to look professional enough to justify the 50 lbs of camera gear I hauled onto a hike mastered by 80 year old women with canes. I felt a little foolish at times, considering I ended up using the same settings as most point and shoot cameras.

The waterfalls and pools were beautiful and amazingly enough, the sun shone for the rest of the afternoon, putting us in a good mood.

Not the best picture of the two of us, but another chance to use the new tripod!

The pools spilling out into the ocean.

Another view of the pools and waterfalls.

As our footwear was not up to the 4 mile trail known as the Pipiwai Trail, we came back the next day better prepared for the hike and inches of wet, mushy mud. The trail hugs a stream along its ascent providing multiple beautiful waterfalls and winds through a bamboo forest ultimately terminating in a final grand waterfall.

The first sight was Makahiku Falls, a 200 foot waterfall with what looks like an infinity pool on top of it. Katie played the "mom" role to a 't' and wouldn't let me get close to the drop off of the waterfall. I really did want to get closer and could have despite my "fear of heights" issue, but mom was nagging pretty hard, the footing a little shaky, and the idea of a getting swept over the edge in a flash flood a bit unnerving. I still would have like to have gotten closer to the edge. Maui Revealed recommended it.

I can't believe we wasted our time on this waterfall. ;-)

Be careful Chris!

Wandering up this trail barely left a momement when you didn't want to stop and gaze at the eye candy. There were multiple waterfalls. There was an enormous Banyon tree.

Banyan trees- some of their branches grow their own roots to the ground

But the last two were probably the most rewarding. With about a half mile left in the hike we reached a bamboo forest. Totally amazing. The entrance into the bamboo forest starts with a trip across a foot bridge. Bamboo forests are amazing to look at from the outside as well as inside. From outside, the trees sway in unison to any breeze to produce a hypnotic ripple that caught us for more than a few minutes. Katie liked to call them the snuffleupagus trees. From within, there is a refreshing coolness from the shade of the overhanging trees that is utterly peaceful. From the trail we could only see maybe 50 feet into the forest due to its density which also gave a sense of a long tall corridor.

Katie outside the bamboo forest entrance.

Another chance to use the tripod

Chris pretending to be a monkey in the bamboo forest

Towards the end of the hike we came upon a our first sights of the Waimoku Falls. It skies 400 feet from an eroded, recessed cliff. The rock wall of the cliff is lined with moss and grasses, and trickles with water that didn't make it into the main fall. We ended up eating our peanut butter and jelly sandwiches at the bottom with sore necks. The sound of falling rocks encouraged us to heed the warning sign about approaching the waterfall. Katie and I attempted to get some pics of ourselves but they are slightly off because in order to get us and the falls in the same picture, we needed to set the tripod, one of us would stand 50 feet from the camera, and the other would set the timer, push the button, sprint to the other while bounding over slippery rocks and boulders then look natural after getting there. Fun!

Waimoku Falls

Waimoku Falls- the video

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