Once we were finished being mesmerized by Waianapanapa, we hopped back into the car to finish the last legs of our journey to Hana. Our next stop was at another colored sand beach but instead of black we were looking for red.
The Red Sand Beach (also called Kaihalulu Beach) is a hidden cove on the outskirts of Hana. We followed our guidebook’s directions to the letter but we still had difficulty find the trail to this beach (it’s only accessible via a trail and there’s no sign). Eventually, a few locals who were headed down to the beach offered to show us the way.
Now we knew that the trail was going to be a little difficult, our guidebook had warned us, but it was more challenging than we thought. The steep foot beaten path has been partially washed away by a mudslide. On top of that, pine needles cover the entire trail making it very slippery on top of being very steep (with no handrails whatsoever). Luckily, the ground was dry enough that we didn’t slip the whole way down but my Mom (who has issues with her knees) had to sit this one out (she did still manage to get a few great pictures from the top though).
When we got to the beach, we felt like we had stepped onto Mars. The sand was a mixture of red and black pebbles. This sand comes from the cinder cone sitting adjacent to the beach called Kaukiki Head. The red color comes from the high iron content of the hill.
Back safely on land, we headed to our next stop Koki Beach to check out another lava arch in the distance. Our time was running short so we headed off to the next stop, which was…
A waterfall, surprise, surprise right? This one was Wailua Falls. Just imagine driving over a bridge and seeing this over your shoulder. That’s what people in Hana get to look at every day from the highway.
We ended our day at the ‘Ohe’o Gulch, a string of waterfalls and pools that cascade down the mountainside. It’s part of Haleakala National Park (this is the backside of the crater) so we had to pay an entrance fee to the park before we could explore. Once we parked, we headed down a jungle trail to the pools. Unfortunately for my Mom, this was another trail littered with steep stone steps. I will give her a lot of credit for making all the way down and back even after a really long day of stair climbing. This is a testament to her sheer love of waterfalls.
The trail did have a few scenic overlooks that helped to break up the stairs. The first was this bamboo forest.
The second was an overlook to the ocean coastline, where the pools eventually drain.
Some guidebooks refer to this area as the Seven Scared Pools. It was a name coined by a businessman trying to market his remote locale to tourists. Apparently it worked because people were here in droves. Ironically enough, there are a lot more than seven pools.
In years past, the park rangers allowed people to swim in the pools. I’ve seen the pictures and it surely looks divine. Unfortunately, in the last several years, there have been some very deadly flash floods in the pools that caused several people to die. Out of a sheer abundance of caution, the pools pretty much stay closed most of the year. Perhaps, you may catch it on a lucky day and be able to swim in the pools. We, on the other hand, just got to take pictures.
There is also a trail from the park which leads to more waterfalls and pools. By this point, it was already 4pm and we were fearful that if we didn’t leave now we would have to drive back on the curving, one lane roads in the dark. So sadly enough, we decided to pack back into the car and head home.
The Road to Hana was truly one of the single most beautiful experiences of my entire life. It surely was my favorite experience of my Hawaiian vacation and quite possible one of my favorite travel memories ever. The natural beauty and majesty of this land could never possibly be captured by my pictures. I promise that each and every stop was nearly ten times as beautiful as the pictures you see. If you plan on going to Maui, you HAVE to do the Road to Hana, even if you decide to take a tour bus. Don’t let the negative reviews out there scare you from driving this road on your own. While the road is very treacherous, you are hardly ever going faster than 5 or 10 miles an hour. There are also lots of rumors about unfriendly locals driving people off of the road. We didn’t experience this at all (and even if we did I highly doubt that it would be any worse than East Coast road rage). Every person we met in Maui was friendlier than the last. I guess what I’m trying to say is don’t talk yourself out of Hana. It’s a once in a lifetime experience.