More Hana

I really wanted to stop at Wailua falls, but the parking area was completely jammed up, and there was just no way to stop. So we continued on into the backside of Haleakala National Park, and the so-called "Seven Sacred Pools", more accurately called Oheo Gulch. We did not try to swim in the pools, but did have a look around and took a picture. It had mostly stopped raining at this point.



It was probably about 2PM when we left Kipahulu. We decided to continue around the backside of the park. Not sure if it was shorter or not, but since the road was open all the way around, we thought it would be entertaining to see something different. Parts of the road here are unpaved, and there are far fewer places to stop. But it's quite beautiful, and quite different from the lush rain forest on the north side of the island. Here on the south side, there are pastures, scattered with lava boulders. It's a stark contrast in color between grass, black lava and blue sea. It reminded me quite a bit of the Dingle Peninsula in Ireland, except Ireland has sheep, and here there were only cows.

I loved the way the clouds rolled down Haleakala:



The last leg of the trip takes you through Upcountry back into Kahului. too bad there isn't a shortcut down the side of the mountain. Because we passed right above our hotel, which you can see here, and Molokini, the volcanic caldera in the ocean beyond it: