It took us several hours to get there via the "road to Hana." Once we were finally there, I needed to find a ladies room - and fast! Fortunately, the park rangers station near the pools is sort of your start point of the short hike to the Seven Sacred Pools. There is an eco-friendly bathroom there (adjacent to the ranger station). Eco-friendly bathrooms meaning no real, flushing toilets - just one big outhouse!! I don't want to be too graphic here except to say that the odor was more than overwhelming. There is no where else to go to the little ladies room unless you choose the forest..

We bought a "Map to the 7 Sacred Pools" along with an instructional cassette tape. No where in that tape did it say that we would need to hike up to this natural wonder. Hence, I showed up at the rangers station with about 30 pounds of video equipment, still camera, tripod, picnic supplies, towels, sunscreen, and more. The rangers advised it was a SHORT hike up the hill. Be advised it is a very steep climb up the hill that took me about 30 to 45 minutes with all that heavy equipment on my back. So take a lesson from me - pack ONLY what you need and wear hiking boots or good tennis shoes. I was wearing sandals and probably should not have even attempted the hike in those shoes. After the long drive and dragging all that equipment around, we were disappointed to find that the pools were almost dried up; just a foot or two of standing, dark green, odorous, and mosquito-ridden water in them.

There were a few other people there attempting to picnic around the edge of the lowest level pool amongst the mosquitos. Most folks didnt stay long; we didn't either. However, I could see that when full, these pools are probably a wonder to behold...one pool spilling over into the next. The foul smell is probably not present when the pools are full and free flowing with water. My biggest regret is not calling the rangers station in advance to find out whether there had been drought in the area.

We continued on, crossed a couple of bridges and entered the alien (non-native) bamboo forest. This part of the trail was about 30 minutes and the bamboo averaged 60 feet high. The area was dark giving it a spooky feel. The ground was damp and muddy in some areas, but the trail was lined with wooden planks making it an easy path. We passed other hikers who were on their way back who kept telling us, "You’re almost there" and "it’s worth it!"

Arrival - We arrived at Waimoku Falls soon after and it was truly a sight to behold. The falls tumbled 400 feet down a lava rock wall into a stream. The water was cool and came knee high, enough for a dip but not swimming. The surrounding area was rocky and helicopters buzzing high overhead could be heard. There was no way the view in that helicopter could be close to what we experienced, standing in the water at the base of the wondrous falls. The hike was indeed, well "worth it!"

**The visitor’s center does not sell food or drinking water so make sure you bring these along. If you do forget water, you may get hot and sweaty along the trail but no matter how tempting, DO NOT DRINK ANY OF THE STREAM WATER. As with any rainforest area, there are plenty of bugs and mosquitoes, be sure to pack sun block with bug repellant. And lastly, DON’T FORGET YOUR CAMERA, the area is full of beautiful, once in a lifetime photo ops.