We flew into Kona and took the morning to drive over Volcanoes National Park. The weather was just fine until about half-way there when it went downhill. Soon it was raining steadily and visibility was close to nothing. We were going to spend the first two nights 'camping' up at the Volcano. Originally we were going to use a tent, but the weather was wetter than we hoped so we ended up springing for a cabin at the same campsite. We dubbed it, affectionately, as our "Birdhouse". It's primary purpose is to keep out wind and rain with no frills attached.
After settling in to the cabin we ended up going to a local winery to do a tasting. Then we drove down to Hilo to have supper. After some yummy Thai food we realized that we were pretty tired from the flight and drive so we headed back to the Birdhouse to catch some early Zs. We hoped for better weather the next morning but Tuesday morning was just as gloomy. We decided to go down to the coast to see if we could find some better weather. And better weather we found. Along with some cool lava fields and snorkeling spots.
After our fun in the sun we had supper and then headed out to the lava flow to watch it after the sun set. It was more active than the last time I saw it. The steam plume was bigger and the orange glow was larger and brighter. The county employees said that the night before there had even been some lava spurts that were visible. We didn't see anything quite like that, but between being mesmerized by the glow and the moon-less star-filled sky we enjoyed the night.
The next day we were heading back to Kona. When we woke up we were delighted to see that it was a crystal clear morning up on the volcano. We decided to view the Halemaumau crater and hike the Kilauea Iki crater before we left, since the weather was so nice. I was stunned at how cool everything looks when you get a clear day up there.
The hike across the Iki crater was fun. It was about a four mile loop. You descend along one side of the crater and then cut back across the middle of the crater floor. (Or top of the lava lake, depending on how you want to look at it.) Then you have to huff and puff your way back up and out of it. There was some amazing stuff to look at along the way.
Bernadette climbing around the vent that fed the crater:
The crust of the lake:
Me, in proportion to the crust of the lake:
The lava lake isn't totally cooled yet. It's pretty much solid, but there's still home heat. As the rain water gets trapped in all the nooks and crannies of the lava rock, it gets heated up and comes out as steam. I was climbing around one of the steam vents when I got a good look at some cool old lava flow:
After we finished our hike across the crater, we went and looked at a lava tube and then decided it was time to head back towards Kona. We had a variety of places to check out en route, as suggested by our kick butt travel book. We found some cool beaches, and stopped off at the southern-most point of the United States. It's very windy there, and if you fall in the ocean you're probably not going to run into anything until you hit Antarctica.Here's one of the black sand beaches we found. I learned that black sand beaches are rare because the black sand is caused by the lava cracking when it hits the water. Once the black sand is washed away by the surf, it's gone. It can't be renewed unless there's more lava flow. No new lava - no new sand. This is unlike most brown sand beaches where the sand is continuously created by the critters in the ocean. (Like fish eating coral and excreting it - behold, new sand!)
The southern tip of the Big Island, and the US. The surf was pretty awesome.
We got into Kona and after some supper and a margarita, we collapsed into bed at the hotel. Too much exercise, too much fresh air. The next day we decided to stay in the Kona area and check out a few local beaches. We were pretty tired and didn't want to venture too far. We also were flying out around 7, so we didn't want to be rushed at the end of the day. We found another beach with fantastic snorkeling. Bernadette had the underwater camera and I was just puttering around, looking at the fish when all of a sudden I caught Bernadette trying to get my attention. That's because this guy was cruising by:
Now, these green sea turtles are endangered so you're supposed to keep your distance. But that's kind of hard when they shoot by you. They are much more agile in the water than I am. This guy didn't seem to mind the four of us that were staring at him as he cruised by. We saw a lot of cool fish that day and a second turtle. I hope Zac and I can go back to try this spot out again. After a 40 minute flight back to Oahu later that evening, I was home by about 9:30 Thursday night. I was exhausted but I thrilled that we had such good luck with weather and our outdoor activities. It was a great trip and I can't wait to get back. It did take me a full two days to recover from all that excitement and activity though.
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