Day 14: Kilauea volcano

Our view from the balcony. 

We were up early (startling as that may sound for those who know me well) and walked to Island Java Lava for breakfast. This is Kona country so our first taste of the legendary coffee. It's a deeper taste than the Maui coffee but not bitter or burnt.

Big mugs of Kona coffee because refills are not free.

After breakfast we got ready for our trip to Hawaii's Volcanoes National Park. Since we had driven from Hilo (east side) to Kona (west side) by the north shore route we decided on the south shore route. Eighty-two miles, over two hours of drive time. Expecting lots of traffic for a Saturday morning but surprisingly it was very light. A lovely day for a drive. 

Bob came all the way to Hawaii to get his "Senior Pass" now that he is 62. Now he gets in to all the National Parks, Historical Sites and Monuments for free.

The smoke behind us is from the lava lake in the Crater. 

When we arrived the caldera lava lake only had one 800 foot wide spatter zone. Fortunately the surface had risen above the line of sight level from the crater. If it sinks below 70 feet visitors only see a glow on the smoke. The Jaggar Museum Observation platform is about 1 mile away. The closer wooden platform was closed and burned.  

National Park link to Halema‘uma‘u Crater the observation deck at Jaggar Museum

It's a much more impressive sight through binoculars. 

This is the 800 foot lava lake.

Pele's hair. A sample of lava that truly looks like hair. As it shoots out it gets thinner and thinner.

Giant fern.

A little perspective of how big the fern fiddles are. 

The walk down to the lava tube was through a tropical forest. We are not familiar with most of the trees in Hawaii or the song birds we could hear. Bob did finally get a look at one bird, a bright red Honeycreeper.

I am standing at the mouth of a lava tube.

We are not touching the sides of the lava tube. 

Mauna Ulu volcanic cone in the distance

Just above the hat shadow is the petroglyph.

This is the same as above and to the right. Some petroglyphs are very hard to see.

A few actually look humanoid. 

Walking back to the car (that tiny whitish blob between the mounds at the horizon).

Sea arch. 

We drove the Rim Trail to the Sea Arch. The remainder of the road has been closed to vehicle traffic due to lava flow. A different road from the opposite direction also stops leaving an eight mile gap between the two sides. The other road can be hiked or biked to the "fire hose" lava which is pouring into the ocean. From the Sea Arch area we could see the rising plume of steam. We decided to stay until after sunset to see "the glow" and headed back towards the Visitor's Center. There is a hotel and restaurant called Volcano House (very clever) with views of the crater. As we were eating we could only see smoke and gradually the glow appeared. After dinner we drove back to the Jaggar Museum.

What a surprise! A second opening to the Gates of Hell. Two spatter sections from the lava lake. They were really churning out the lava. 

And suddenly, off to the far left just behind the outcrop is a third spatter area. Amazing. Even with these three vents the activity was stunningly beautiful in the Hawaiian night. 

Sorry for the delay in posting this on Sunday morning. The heat, sun, hiking and three long drives exhausted us. By the time we arrived back at the condo (after 10pm) we had just enough energy to takes showers and go the bed.

DAY 13: Fly to the Big Island, Hawaii.

Bob waiting on guess who for breakfast.

Today was moving day from Hana on Maui to Kailua-Kona on the Big Island. But first, we had to drive back from Hana on that same twisting, turning road. The bonus was that while yesterday was raining, overcast and foggy today was a beautiful Hawaiian morning. Blue skies, a few puffy clouds and gentle ocean breezes. There wasn't much traffic but we still had some not so bright drivers looking at scenery, driving too fast or just basically not staying in their lane. Kind of frightening. 

Upper Twin Falls

Bob in a bamboo patch.

Look what Bob found right along the path at Twin Falls. A few pineapple plants.

Bob at the Lower Twin Falls. This was our only stop before heading to the airport.

From the Hilo Airport we decided not to take the direct route across the middle of the island. Our route was across the north side. We had barely gone more than a few miles when it started to rain. The longer we drove the more the temperature dropped. What started as an 82 degree day became a 56 degree chill at 2500 feet. As we are driving I look over and see what appears to be a big horn sheep. Twenty miles later I see another group of sheep with long straight horns. There are three invasive sheep species in Hawaii. 

Listed as the Best Pizza in Kona.

The man has gone photo nuts. 

 

A Pizza place with live music. 

Bob won a t-shirt on a trivia question. Our last stop was the Gelato shop next door to the pizza place. The discerning palate agrees with the advertising that the gelato is indeed made in-house. Delicious. 

Day 12: Road to Hana

We left our lovely Noelani Condominium Resort this morning making for the Road to Hana. This is a 49 mile trip on a twisting and turning road that will take some people about 2 hours but our time-frame will be closer to 6 hours due to the stops along the way. Some say there are over 600 curves and more than 55 bridges, most of which are single lane.

The purpose is the lush landscape, spectacular views and quirky Hana at the end point.

Oh, look. One of the many single lane bridges

Rainwater is extensively controlled on the east side of Maui for the benefit of the sugar and pineapple plantations. Even though most of them are shut down the need for water is still a priority for the increased populations.

One of our first stops was Auntie Sandy's at Keanae Landing for "World Famous Banana Bread". Every local stand makes this claim but this is counted as one of the best. 

There are many places along the Road where hikes can be made to better vantage points. This is a mahogany tree in one of the old growth forest areas.  

I am trying to climb around all these tree roots and rocks. Yes, I am wearing sandals.

One of the funny things we found was a serious lack of concern for safety on these little treks into the forests. Here they assume you have decided to take whatever risks come your way. In our area, walks on manicured trails, even some paved ones, have one or even two railings and raised sides just in case the walkers can't figure out where to go. 

Bob and the lava rocks on the Keanae Peninsula.

Above the Keanae Peninsula. 

One sad event on April 1, 1946 was a 30 foot tsunami wave hit the Keanae Peninsula after a large earthquake in Alaska. This was before the government mandated warning signals. Most of the inhabitants were killed and all the buildings were swept away except the stone church which is still standing.

Waikani Falls - there are several stages above what this photo shows which makes a total of over 1000 feet.

Someone was ambitious on this stair climb. Look at those safety rails.

Upper Waikani Falls also known as the Three Bears. Though clearly there are no bears in Hawaii.

This really pretty falls and pool had no parking close by. We had to drive over the bridge, left then right turns, cross the street and park in a 5-6 car turn out. You had to then walk back down on the road for pictures.

This Makapipi falls presented a different challenge. This time we had to walk up across the bridge, around the turn and up the road, then lean out over the bushes  

One of the last big stops was the Wai'anapanapa State Park. There are blowholes and ocean arches plus one of the only volcanic sand beaches. The volcano erupted and this particular type of lava shattered when it hit the water. As I was watching the waves roll in I noticed the little pieces were actually riding the wave. I am assuming they are pumice which is lighter than water. It was cool but very weird.  

Black sand beach 

We decided to eat lunch before taking to the beach and hiking to the blowhole on the other side.

After lunch we made the trek across the beach and climbed up to the blowhole. What a disappointment after having been to the Nakalele Point blowhole (see prior post). This was barely a mist.

This is one of the arches created by ocean swells. 

This is an Small Asian Mongoose. Many people, including one guy I spoke with, think this is a squirrel. I don't know what they think a squirrel looks like but this has a distinctive weasel look. I was curious as to the plural and found it to be mongooses, not mongeese (which sounds silly anyway).  They were brought here from Jamaica to control the rat population. This did not work well as mongooses are active during the day, rats at night. Mongooses also eat ground nesting birds and their eggs. More problematic is that mongooses carry leptospirosis which causes mild symptoms for headaches and muscle pain to severe bleeding into the lungs and kidney failure.

Bob enjoying the delicious banana bread.

Shaka sign meaning this is cool, okay or everything is fine.

On the rocks near the arch, this bird is guarding an egg.

At Komi Beach past Hana. Look close at the top of the rock and you can see a palm tree. How did that get up there?

Komi Beach is not a good choice for swimming, surfing or snorkeling as noted in the TWO warning signs. 

Now this made our day. Go Pack Go!