Interesting article in Maui News
 

I read an intersting article which is very critical of the book, "Maui Revealed". It can be read at the Maui News here:
http://www.mauinews.com/news/story/1...01Maui1221.asp

I read a post on this board with the same link 12 hours ago. Cannot find it now. The article pans the authors for revealing "secret" spots, and giving poor legal advice (particularly about public access over private lands), and the readers of the book for boorishly flouting the property rights of landowners whose property surrounds these secret places and ruining the pristine nature of the areas by visiting and sometimes (often?) abusing them. The moral is: readers of the book and the Maui News should regard cautiously legal advice they get from non-lawyers (both from book authors and newspaper writers). The appeal is: stay away-we were here first.

Interesting article. I have not been to Maui in 7 or 8 years and the article made me feel sad for the island and those places. I visited Blue Pool about 10 years ago. I was there for two or three hours and saw two other people. The thought of it being overun makes me sick.

I think they removed that post from the Hawaii forum -- it was getting pretty rough.......

Mr/Ms Hmmm, I posted the link last night but I guess it got pulled tho' don't know why it would be !

"Maui Revealed" is not the only source that describes the way to the Blue Pool. We went to Maui in 2000 and searched the internet. I found mauibound.com full of information on the road to Hana. It had a map and detailed direction to the Blue Pool. I never knew that you'd trespass private property to get the Blue Pool, according to mauibound.com.

We were glad we found it. While we were there, there were several local kids jumping to the pool from the rocks above. "Maui Revealed" was not published yet when we were there in 2000 (or was it 1999 ?, so I can't comment on their direction.

What I am trying to say is that there are other sources besides Maui Revealed showing direction to Blue Pool. I can understand that some tourists can abuse the land and sometimes unknowingly put themselves in danger at certain places. However, tourists are not the only ones who can get hurt. What about the local boys who climbed the rocks really high up and jumped down to the pool when I was there? According the the article, tourists can get hurt by falling rocks, but locals used the pool too. I am sure they are under the same danger, not just tourists.

pspercy:

I posted this article initially with a different header, "Maui Revealed" was in it. It was gone in less than 15 minutes. Not too sure why the second post stayed.

We visited the Blue Pool in late November. I am not certain that all turf surrounding and leading up to the Blue Pool is private property, and, I did not infer a whiff of that notion from the signs of the surrounding property owners. [Again, I would not take the "legal" advice of the Maui Revealed authors, the Maui News article writer or the folks quoted in the article as gospel settling questions of true title to the land in question]. It looked as though there was direct public access.
Access begins at the end of a road that has long turned to dirt. One then makes a near bee-line over large rocks, a stream bed, fairly close to the ocean, to the Pool.
I am certain from the signs posted on the contiguous areas that some visitors to the Pool treat all those lands as public playgrounds and, sometimes, waste dumps.
In the end, it's difficult to know whether one is reading the harpings of some disgruntled people whose paradise has been spoiled by the mere air- breathing presence of visitors (who have a legal right to be there), the legitimate complaints of true owners whose legal rights to quiet enjoyment of their property are being trampled, or both, when everyone bandies the term "trespass."
One hopes that all visitors exercise sensitivity to nature, common courtesy, civility and decency, irrespective of the legal issues. 'Course, some (the special ones) don't.

Voltaire.. maybe they don't want to publicise the competition :)

Hmmm, " .. One hopes that all visitors exercise sensitivity to nature, common courtesy, civility and decency .. "

That's the crux of it for sure.

Hi--I was not able to open the link but if it discussed the Blue Pool, I did feel uncomfortable with the poor handling of the legal access issues for the Blue Pool and other sites listed in Maui Revealed. There are many no parking, private property, do not trespass signs near the beach access to the Blue Pool. Supposedly there should be public access to all beaches in Hawaii. One neighbor has posted signs for parking to the Blue Pool and charges $2. Several places where Maui Revealed said it was OK to swim, it is posted that this is domestic water and no trepassing. Not sure whether Maui Revealed authors have checked out these issues appropriately.

The Frommers Guidet to Maui also mentions Blue Pool on page 215. They make it sound like its no big deal - they even suggest picnicing on boulders after swimming in refreshing spring water. So it is not only the fault of the "blue Bible" that people are find this site.
For those of you have been, how does it compare to some other easier to access with less controversy such as Venus Pool and the Kipahula area south of Hana? While Blue Pool sounds awesome I don't want to trespass and cause more stress both to local residents and environment if there are areas that are equally as cool to be seen further along the road.