For tourists and myself too, the road to Hana is one of the most beautiful in the world.
Among the road’s highlights are the waterfalls along the way.
For 45 years, I have lived on Maui and have gone on hikes and swimming in these waterfalls many, many, times.
Yesterday we went out for a hike and sadly found several waterfalls with tents and a person telling us this was EMI’s property and now closed, as well as cones on the road preventing parking.
Specifically, this was at Bamboo Forest, what we call the Commando Hike and Haipua’ena Falls. We did not go any further for fear that we would find all of them closed.
I read that Wailua Falls is also closed and so are the pools at Ohe’o, which have been closed for ages. These have been drawing people to Hana since the Hotel Hana opened in 1946. Puohokamoa Falls has also been closed for a few years since Garden of Eden claimed it was their property.
Some say that it’s because they are dangerous. Seems to me that nothing much has changed in 45 years, except that we are denied access to more and more of these beautiful spots.
I understand that this is a litigious society, but isn’t there some way to make people responsible for their own actions?
Some want fewer tourists to come to Maui, but I don’t agree with making the experience any less pleasurable and that of local residents, too.
Arturo Wesley
Haiku
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