The 4 Falls of Na'ili'ili-Haele (Don't even ask how to say it...lol.)

So yesterday, Justin was flipping through the guide book and found a place for us to go in the "adventure" section. He said there were a series of falls, and the first two were easy to get to, and then the other two we could decide if we wanted to see those ones based on how hard they were to see. We started the adventure by parking alongside the Hana Highway. From there, you have to step over a wire fence that has been squished down to the ground, and walk through a bamboo field. VERY pretty!

I'm not sure why I didn't take a lot pictures.  Maybe because I had taken my shoes off and was slushing through the mud and then tripping over large rocks and hopping over small streams...lol.  I did most of the hike up barefoot, because I didn't really want to go ankle deep in mud in my tennis shoes.  Justin has his awesome barefoot shoes that I got him for Christmas, which are perfect for these types of excursions. 

Top part of the second waterfall

 Anyways, we made it to waterfall #1, and faced our first obstacle.  A slippery, slanted rock rock face, with a rope hanging down the middle that some kind soul tied to a tree at the top.  Now, from reading the guide book, I thought this was the big treacherous rock face you had to scale, so I'm thinking....cool, no biggie.  Climbing it barefoot was actually quite easy.

From there, we made it pretty quickly through another small bamboo forest and made it to a second waterfall, which was VERY pretty, and had a perfect swimming hole at the bottom.  There was actually an older couple skinny dipping in it when we got there!  :)  

Now, this is where it gets crazy...Up to the left of the pool is a 12 foot wooden ladder with a series of ropes tied around it.  (Side note:  I HATE ladders...a lot.  Probably has a lot to do with my fear of falling.  When I first started working at Old Navy, I had a hard time even getting on those ladders to get denim out of upstock...lol.    Butttt....I did it! (This picture is actually me coming back down.  Justin definitely went up before me, and I would've punched him in the face had he been taking pictures of me having a mild panic attack climbing up a 12 foot vertical rock face....lol.)

From here, we hiked alongside and sometimes across a series of small streams until we came to the end of the trail.  This is where the guidebook says we had to swim.  There is no other way to get to the 4th and final waterfall.  Oh, and did I mention you have to scale a 6 foot waterfall too?  lol.  So we left all of our stuff (I crossed my fingers that no one would steal my camera), and jumped into this long pool.  The water was FREEZING, as the sun was no longer shining onto the water!  Because I didn't have my camera, I'm borrowing pictures from another blogger who also went on this adventure.  I hope she doesn't mind!  :)  (The following 2 pictures borrowed from http://samandashleysmauiadventures.blogspot.com/2010/11/four-falls-of-nailiili-haele.html)

View from the top of the 6 foot waterfall we had to climb,
after swimming around the bend in this picture!

We jumped in, and swam the 100 or so feet to a a little 6 foot waterfall.  This is the 3rd fall of Na'ili'ili-Haele, and definitely the baby of them.  There were perfect little grooves to put my feet in, and by now, I was so anxious to see this final waterfall, I practically flew up the waterfall!  :)

Then, you walk around another small bend, and there is the 4th and final waterfall!  Its times like that when I wish I had a waterproof camera.  The falls were hardly trickling (I would assume because its January), but still, it was like having your own private pool, surrounding by lush vegetation.  :)

The end result!  The private
pool we got to take a dip in  :)

Following suit of the couple we had seen earlier, Justin kicked off his swim trunks and jumped in!  :)  The water was still pretty cold, but amazing all at the same time.  I followed suit, and we swam and floated for a few...taking in the beauty of it all.  Nothing beats skinny dipping in a semi-private waterfall pool that took two hours to hike too.  :)  It was well worth the death ladder...haha. 

The hike back was nothing after that.  I definitely think we'll go back again, but go earlier in the day, so the sun is still shining on the pools.  Warmer, and then we can stay longer to actually swim as well.  AND, this place is only 4 miles from where we're currently staying.  How cool is that?  :)