The Sarigs, a family of five, had just arrived on the island from the Bay Area and decided to test the limits of the rented SUV by driving it through mud and sand, naturally. Unfortunately, the muddy-looking spot they chose
The Sarigs, a family of five, had just arrived on the island from the Bay Area and decided to test the limits of the rented SUV by driving it through mud and sand, naturally.
Unfortunately, the muddy-looking spot they chose to drive through on Saturday happened to be Salt Ponds, which appeared to be shallow. It wasn’t.
The sacred site isn’t clearly marked nor fenced, and witnesses said that at least one car gets stuck in the ponds (usually in the same spot) every week.
“I help pull out about one car a week,” said a man who identified himself as Todd, who was driving a truck equipped to pull a vehicle in distress.
“I don’t understand why they [the County] don’t put boulders all around the ponds to prevent people from driving into them,” said Malia from Anahola, who noted that the ponds are harvested for salt by Hawaiians, and driving a car through these sites is not only polluting the water, but also offends the people of Hawaii.
Yuval Sarig, the Ponds’ latest trapped tourist, spent several hours waiting for Alamo’s rescuers while enjoying the serenity of Salt Ponds Beach Park and politely refusing all offers of help.
“I’ll let the rental company take care of that,” he told Todd and others.
Their vacation wasn’t ruined, the Sarigs noted, because the beauty of the place and the friendliness of the people made the experience a not-so-painful one.
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