The Dangers of Swimming Waioka Pond
A cautionary tale of Maui’s Venus Pool
2.3 million tourists visit Maui each year, many driving the Road to Hana. If you’re planning a trip, no doubt you’ve heard of Waioka Pond, aka Maui’s Venus Pool. The first time I ever saw Waioka Pond, it was in a picture on Instagram. The image was of a completely still body of water, surrounded by rock and bright green foliage, with a woman floating lazily on her back. On the other side, the open ocean crashing against the rocky shore. To say it was picturesque is an understatement. Every time I read an article about Hana Highway or Maui, Waioka Pond was on it, described as the idyllic swimming hole. So I added it to my list of Maui hotspots that I just had to check out for myself and off I went. Only later would I understand the true dangers of swimming in the Venus Pool and other natural wonders like it.
This was my third time to Hawaii, my first trip being to the island of Kauai. On that trip I had the unique pleasure of traveling with a local. After 25 years on the island, he knew every swimming hole, waterfall, and trail, and we trusted him to know what conditions were safe and which weren't. One day he took us to a place called Queen’s Bath. To get there we had to scramble down several wet embankments, making our way through the thicket of trees. The trek was difficult, slippery and unmarked, and I doubt I would’ve been able to find my way without a guide. Once we reached the outcropping, I came upon a wooden plaque with tally marks for each life that’s been lost in those waters. Unfazed, we walked along the ancient lava cliff until we came to the tidal pool. Already fatigued from the hike, I then had to maneuver down the sharp rocks along the side of the cliff. The only other way to enter was to jump off a 15 foot ledge down into the abyss. And while this all sounds particularly perilous, the real danger lies just below. Plenty of tourists trek down to the water every year and jump right in, unaware of how dangerous this natural phenomenon can be. Before they know it, they’re being thrashed around by unruly waves before being drug violently across the rocks and sucked out to sea. On that day the waves were calm. Our friend said it was safe, so we all jumped in. We did not die that day. We were some of the lucky ones.
On my journey to Hana, I did attempt to stop at the Venus Pool. As I approached the area, which is really a grass field on the left and a driveway on the right, it automatically felt like I shouldn’t be there. There were no cars parked up and down the street as others had described, and I appeared to be the only person around for miles. I drove up Hana Hwy a little ways and realized that had to be the only entrance. On again assessing the small “intersection”, I noticed a sign, nailed high in a palm tree. It read “Waioka Pond: fecal bacteria enterococcus” with BWTF surfrider penned below. As I’ve previously stated, there is absolutely no service on the road to Hana, so I couldn’t just pull out my phone and check it out. I was torn because I knew locals hang signage to dissuade tourists, sometimes for their safety but many times because of the nuisance that tourists can be to the area. I sat in the car contemplating, surveying the scene. There was no clear place to park, and I felt it was incredibly intrusive to drive up and down people’s private drives searching for an adequate parking spot. The entrance point to the field was closed off and I would’ve needed to hop a fence. Those facts combined with the doomsday sign lead me to the decision to drive away and seek out the next spot on my list.
Back at the hotel, I Googled the Surfrider Foundation. It is a task force that surveys water quality in recreational waters to protect public health against local pollutants. At the time I went, it was dangerously high. According to their records, they check the water quality almost monthly, and while the safety levels do vacillate between a minuscule amount and toxic levels, the website indicated that Waioka Pond almost always carries at least a medium amount of fecal bacteria. While I may not have died at the Queen’s Bath years before, I had jumped from a waterfall on that same trip that almost killed me. In my struggle under the powerful stream, I gulped down a ton of water. I didn’t drown, but I did ingest leptospirosis and almost shit myself to death, a pain so intense and defeating that it left me wishing I had died that day under the waterfall. Any trace amounts of fecal matter in my swimming hole is simply too much shit for me.
After returning home and getting started on my own guide, I wasn’t sure if there was a place in it for me to detail my feelings about visiting Waioka, or rather not visiting it at all. I did a little deep dive and found myself on one of my favorite places for legitimate Maui info, Maui Guidebook. I love this site because they are no bullshit when it comes to travel advice and they’ve never steered me wrong. So I’m reading their Waioka Pond information, all the reasons why the Venus Pool is not an ideal swimming spot and how so many bloggers have sensationalized it without knowing the truth. And then I stumbled upon this video:
To say I was shocked by the magnitude of the water is an understatement. More so, I began to think about every picture I’s ever seen, those rocks covered in swimmers, lazing lackadaisically like they’re sunning at the Four Seasons pool. One wall of water could easily wash away twenty teenagers too busy on their phones to see the danger hurling towards them. I end up in the comments, and what I found there shocked me. The most recent post was from a young lady who shared her experience at Waioka, adding that her sister had been killed just the year before. This immediately caught my attention. After dozens of reviews on Instagram and Pinterest about how amazing Waioka is, I’d not read a single one detailing someone’s death. In fact, these guides gave a rather flippant warning to watch the weather and be on the lookout, certainly not expressing the gravity of the potential danger.
On a clear bright morning in 2021 four tourists from California went out to Waioka Pond. No clouds in the sky, it looked like a perfect day. Having seen the place detailed numerous times on social media, they thought it looked like fun. They parked and walked through the field, finding the spot without too much trouble. The day warm, the sun was shining and so they jumped in. Swimming in the clear water, enjoying the beautiful surroundings, they were unaware that high above them, rain clouds were dumping thousands of gallons of water down the steep slopes of Haleakala. Without warning, the trickle of stream became a wall of water in mere seconds. The pool filled instantly, and the surrounding beach was engulfed in flood water. Two of the swimmers were able to pull themselves from the water before being ripped out to sea. The other two were not so lucky. One was able to swim back to shore, but the last girl was not, her body found on a nearby beach hours later. On vacation in a tropical place surrounded by family and friends, swimming in a local pond that has been featured in countless vacation guides, a 26 year old woman lost her life.
This is my adaptation of what happened. I don’t know the victims nor have I spoken to their families. What I do know is that social media is partially responsible for taking this once local secret and making it an internet sensation. Local residents are now faced with a community overrun by selfie stick holding trespassers. Alternately, tourists are flocking by the droves to see a swimming hole that is fraught with danger and peril, all thanks to a few wanna-be travel bloggers. And while I am pro-travel and always will be, I can’t stress enough the importance of being a responsible guest. Be considerate and understanding with regard to the local community and their disdain for us. Be cognizant of the lands you’re trespassing on, knowledgeable of the places that you’re going, and mindful of the risks associated with them, no matter how unlikely they may seem. Do your own research. Use multiple sources. Do not blindly trust a stranger who pulled stock photos off the internet and labeled them the ultimate travel destination. And the next time you see some fantastic spot littered all over the ‘gram, remember the young girl who lost her life that morning at Waioka Pond.