All the way along the "Road to Hana" as it is called (Highway 31, Southeast Maui) you can find all sorts of beauty. Once you finally make it to Hana, the road gets even tighter and more precarious to the timid driver, but the beauty of the area abounds every direction that you look. One of those beautiful sites is the Seven Sacred Pools. They are a series of lovely waterfalls and tranquil pools that flow through the O'heo Gulch and into the ocean nearby.The Pipiwai Streams feeds these falls and numerous pools starting 2 miles inland. The easiest to reach and the nicest pools are located near the shoreline. The land where the Seven Sacred Pools are situated was donated to the Haleakala National Park system so that the pools would forever be open to the public.
This is a natural playground for locals and tourists alike. There is hiking, historical sites, "cliff" jumping, pool swimming, and interesting people watching. The area is always crowded on weekends and, even though there is a large gravel parking lot, it is often full.
So as they say; "Come early to get a spot" or stay in Hana to assure an early arrival. The Pipiwai Trail, above the Seven Sacred Pools, is one of the best hikes on Maui. It is 4 miles roundtrip, gaining 650-feet in elevation. It takes 2 1/2 - 5 hours to hike, depending on how much nature loving you do. There are several great waterfalls along the route with the final destination being Waimoku Falls, falling 400-feet down a sheer lava rock wall.
Along the Pipiwai Trail is Infinity Pool. It has a row of thick rocks that keep you from plunging over the 200-foot waterfall during normal flow times. This pool is much more secluded than the more popular Seven Sacred Pools. I took this shot, but it still doesn't show all of the pools and waterfalls that make up its namesake. At the end of this road is where Charles Lindbergh is buried.
Lindbergh died of cancer on Aug. 26, 1974, in his home on the Hawaiian island of Maui. After his death, he was buried on the beautiful grounds of the Palapala Ho'omau Church (which is at the END of this road.) Lindbergh's grave is under the shade of a Java plum tree. Before he died, he sketched a simple design for his grave and coffin.
The inscription reads: Charles A. Lindbergh Born: Michigan, 1902. Died: Maui, 1974. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea. -- CAL
