One summer, my ex-wife and I visited Maui. We left our two girls with her parents for a much needed escape. We were on Maui a week, so I rented a car for sightseeing. One trip we planned was driving the "Road to Hana" and visit the Seven Sacred Pools. They are situated at the base of a magnificent waterfall on the edge of the Pacific. The 64-mile trip took five hours over a narrow mountain road with hairpin turns along cliff edges and across numerous one-lane bridges. The drive itself was quite an adventure.
The waterfall cascades down thousands of feet, skipping through small pools on the mountainside, causing secondary waterfalls, before filling the Seven Sacred Pools. Upon arriving at our destination, we noticed two tour buses and many cars in the parking area. We exited our car and headed towards the ocean. As we crested a small incline, we could clearly see the seven pools. There were literally hundreds and hundreds of people wading around. That was not what we expected. We really didn't want to navigate that large crowd, which was at least half comprised of small children.
As I turned, I noticed a trail that headed up the mountainside a short distance to the left of the waterfall. We agreed to take our chances on the trail in hopes of finding a nice spot to take photos of the Seven Sacred Pools. After about fifteen minutes of walking (and climbing) we came to another trail heading towards the waterfall. We followed it, and in just a few minutes, found ourselves at the base of a waterfall and two mountainside pools. It was one of the most beautiful places on earth, and I knew we had made the right choice. We were already wearing our bathing suits, so we entered the pools and felt the cool clear water over our bodies. It was a relief after the hiking and climbing. We swam in the first pool and then moved into the second one. From the second pool we could look over the edge and see the Seven Sacred Pools far below, with the crowd of people. I guessed we were at least a thousand feet up the mountain. I recall thinking how lucky we were to be treated to this grand view and refreshing swim in our own "private" pools. I concluded that very few tourists ever got to see this view or enjoy swimming in these two hidden pools.
We enjoyed our time together. We took lots of pictures. We talked about vacation plans. We discussed where to go to dinner. We admired the weather. Then we noticed a few dark rain clouds overhead and thought we should head back to avoid a muddy return hike to the ground. A short while later we were back at our car. We wanted to take one more look at the Seven Sacred Pools from the crest.
What we saw was horrifying. The seven pools were completely flooded. People were screaming and carrying children out of the pools. At least a dozen or more people were floating out in the ocean where a rescue boat was trying to reach them. We were speechless, as we looked at each other and then back at the distressed scene again.
We spoke to a native who informed us that when it rains up in the mountains, all of the rain water runs down and into the waterfall, much the same as rain flows to a river on the ground. The storm can even be out of sight on the other side of the mountain and the rainfall still runs into this waterfall. The rains fall eight thousand feet up the mountain and can take quite a while for the water to accumulate and cause the waterfall to surge. Again, similar to the way a river will crest hours or days following a tropical storm. Since the closest waterfall pool is fifteen hundred feet away, it cannot be heard at ground level and no one ever gets any advance notice. Once the surge hits the ground it forms a tsunami like wave across the Seven Sacred Pools which can carry unsuspecting waders and swimmers out to the ocean.
My ex and I were thankful to have missed the danger and chaos. Then it hit me. While in the second pool above looking down, the waterfall could have suddenly surged and carried us over the edge! I suddenly felt a chill, as though I had dodged a bullet. In fact, that is what happened. Back home, I did research on Hana, and read news reports of people that had been killed doing exactly what we had done. If I had nine lives, I was certainly down to eight after this experience.