Maui is today’s focus on fun people and places. Assuming you have yet to venture to Maui’s hidden Hana (53 miles and about 4 hours from the airport), you’ll be impressed at how close you’ll be to the end of the earth. Almost. But not quite. Beyond Hana there’s actually one more stop…

…on the road to Kipahulu. If you thought Maui was out in the middle of nowhere, you’d be correct. The nearest anything of substance to Hawaii is really thousands of miles away. Really.

Interestingly, one drive to Hana and you’ll think you’ve gone near the edge of the earth. Or, back in time a few hundred or thousand years (depending on how much scifi you ingested as a child).

There’s a life beyond Hana. As in, “once you go to Hana there’s still another place to go.” Of course, after that four hour drive to get to Hana you’re not likely to look for another adventure.

But another adventure awaits you. And any other fool who decides to go along.

Kipahulu is about 10 miles south of Hana, and below the towering slopes of Mt. Haleakala (at just over 10,000 feet at the summit, that makes Haleakala more of a tower than Anna Nicole).

This is rain forest country. It’s wet. It’s isolated. There’s no Piggly Wiggly, Winn-Dixie, Safeway, Albertson’s, or Walgreens around Kipahulu country.

Not even a Subway (so bring your own food or be prepared to hunt and fish).

Haleakala National Park sprawls from the peak down to Kipahulu. We’re talking dense jungle. Some areas nearby are so dense they’ve never been properly explored by those who do such things the proper way. Fortunately, a few brave souls have ventured there before you and I so there’s trails here and there to some of the more beautiful locales near Kipahulu.

The most widely known is Ohea Gulch. Tourists call it Seven Sacred Pools. Local folks call it Ohea Gulch. They also call it Seven Sacred Pools whenever tourists are around.

There’s actually more than seven pools but back when things were being named, some guy who was missing three fingers did all the counting—hence, Seven Sacred Pools. These two dozen pools spill into each other as they descend from the mountain into the ocean.

Can you swim in one of the pools? Yes.

Be careful. Every now and then a flash flood will send a torrent of water through the falls and pools and flush out pretty much anything that’s swimming around in there.

Highway 31 crosses Ohea Stream and you’ll be able to see waterfalls on both sides. If you’re still not scared and game for one more adventure, hike the Pipiwai Trail to view Makahiku falls overlook. Stunning. Just like Anna Nicole but with more water.

Want to know the best places to eat in Hawaii? Click over to Ono Dining for totally biased reviews on Hawai's best (and not so best) restaurants.