Walking on a live volcano on the edge of the Pacific Ocean!
Written: May 05 '01
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Kilauea Volcano, geographically diverse island, variety of scenery and activities
Cons: You can find yourself burning a lot of expensive gasoline!
The Bottom Line: Imagine standing on a live volcano, walking across hardened lava, and watching powerful waves crash against newly-formed land. Such is the awesome power of the Island of Hawaii.
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| diverpam's Full Review: Island of Hawaii |
With just about every climate and type of terrain imaginable, this large island has something for everyone. My husband and I visited here in March 2001. Although it was our third visit to the Hawaiian Islands, it was our first time on the "Big Island" of Hawaii.
Note for first time visitors:
When you are visiting the Hawaiian Islands, you are in Hawaii. When you are on the island of Hawaii, you are on Hawaii. When you leave Hawaii to go back home, you are not going back to the U.S.! It may be hard to remember sometimes that beautiful Hawaii is really a part of the United States. However, when you leave Hawaii, you are going back to the mainland.
Why The Big Island
Having visited both Oahu and Kauai, we decided our next destination in the island chain would be Hawaii, the Big Island.
Yes, they call it the Big Island for a reason. Hawaii's 4,000 square miles could easily hold all the other Hawaiian islands and have room to spare.
The sunny Kona side of the island has nice beaches with a wide variety of water activities. There are many very nice hotels that line the beach in this area. The main roads are set back from the beach and wind through lava fields. Kona has the best beaches and plenty of water sports.
The Hilo side is just the opposite -- lush and green with abundant plant life. Along with that comes a lot more rain. It is very much like Kauai, which is known as the Garden Island.
Arriving at the Kona Airport
It's a very unusual sight to look up the side of a grassy mountain and clearly see the black trail of lava left behind. Lava flows from the past 50 years or so are quite evident in this area.
After the lush green terrain of Kauai where we spent a week last year, seeing the harsh black lava terrain seemed pretty weird.
You can easily see Mauna Loa (13,677 ft) as you leave the Kona airport (Hawaii's highest point is on Mauna Kea [3,796 ft] -- it's further north). With the beautiful coastline to your left and the mountains to your right, it's hard to keep your eyes on the road. Still, it took a while for me to get used to the black lava everywhere.
People Leaving Their Marks
In many places along the road north we saw where people had written their names in white rocks along the black lava backdrop. A couple of companies had even done their logos. It reminded me of Aruba, where people pile rocks into strange configurations to make their mark. At any rate, it sure beatsspray paint on the sides of bridges that you might see back on the mainland.
Waikoloa Area
The Waikoloa area is about 20 miles north of the airport. Here you will find the Kings' Shops, a very nice shopping center with excellent restaurants, shopping, and galleries.
We stayed at the Outrigger Hotel, just across the street from the Kings' Shops. There are many lovely resorts around this area, along with several golf courses. We played the Waikoloa Beach Golf Course and had a wonderful time. It is really a beautiful, fun to play course.
Off to the Volcano
Our first full day on the Big Island we drove to the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. It took us at least 3 hours to get there from Kona. There was beautiful scenery along the way as the road overlooked the shoreline from a fairly impressive height at several points.
Shopping and Snacks
Be sure to check out the Keauhou Shopping Center along the way. If you like macadamia nuts, then you must stop at the Mac Pie Store. You can get Original Vanilla, Maple Mac, Kona Coffee, or Butterscotch. It is very similar to a Karo Pecan Pie. By special order they will also make a macadamia nut cream pie. We bought a large pie and ate on it the entire time we were in Hawaii. (Yes, is said in Hawaii -- I even carried my leftovers from the Big Island to Maui!)
We packed a cooler of bottled water and snacks from Costco (I also recommend you stop there on the way) and snacked our way to the volcano.
Note: They were in the final construction phase of a Costco Gas Station when we were there. Because gas is at least 50 cents per gallon high here than on the mainland, this will probably be a great place to buy gasoline.
Hawaii Volcanoes National Park
Kilauea Volcano is probably the Big Island's most famous attraction. (It is also the reason my husband had been wanting to go here for a couple of years. I'm certain it had nothing to do with the golf courses.)
After paying the $10 entry fee per car, you can stop at the Park Visitors Center and get plenty of literature about this volcano. There is an informational video that is shown regularly in a theatre style setting. There are also displays and brochures that provide all the information you need to safely find your way around.
Clothing Note: It is several degrees cooler here than on the Kona side of the island. Bring a jacket with you -- you might need it. It was drizzly the day we were there and, of course, my jacket was back at the hotel. You'll be amazed how quickly the climate can change as you travel from one part of the island to another.
Volcano House
Across the street you'll find Volcano House. Here you can eat in the restaurant or snack shop and get your first look at the Halemau'uma'u Crater.
Halemau'uma'u Crater
As you look out from Volcano House all you can see is the ugly grey crater, with steam rising in hisses in various parts of the crater. Steam vents are scattered all around. It looked like the aftermath of a huge bomb blast with smoke still rising from the ashes. This huge area used to be the top of the mountain. It was actually blasted away when the volcano blew.
Crater Rim Drive will take you to around Halemau'uma'u Crater and you can get a good whiff of the sufphur at many points where the steam is rising.
There are plenty of photo ops and markers that explain various eruptions that occurred along this area. You almost feel like you are part of a science class as you explore this area. It is truly a unique experience to hear the history and realize the force of the explosions that hurled huge boulders and spewed forth hot lava.
Eruption Alert
Currently (at least as of my visit in March 2001) the volcano is erupting from the Pu'u O'o vent. This eruption actually started on January 3, 1983.
Chain of Craters Road
Once you start your 20-mile descent down Chain of Craters Road you don't have to worry about getting lost. Just stay on this road until it dead ends at the lava flow area. The hardened lava is about 4-5 feet deep and you can climb onto it from the road. There are plenty of warning signs and a small ranger station is nearby. The road is not always accessible due to changing conditions, so we considered ourselves lucky to get to drive to this point.
Wow - I'm Walking on Lava!
It is incredible to walk on this cooled lava and see the intricacies of it. It is filled with swirls that reminded me of the crusty look on the top of freshly-baked brownies. There were many colors woven into the lava and we could see multi-colored striations, as well as flecks of gold or silver in many places. There were many huge cracks in the lava and some of them had tiny plants sprouting forth. How amazing to see Mother Nature beginning to renew herself after the devastation of a lava flow. This was a very humbling experience for me to witness the awesome power of nature at work.
No Go on the Lava Flow
We could see steam rising from the vent and strained our eyes with binoculars and zoom lenses to no avail. We never got to see the lava flow. It is recommend that you arrive just before dusk to see it best. It is much easier to see from a distance because of the the darkness. The hot lava glows brightly in contrast to the dark night.
Safety Alert: If you choose to visit this area, please wear sturdy walking shoes, bring water, and be prepared for a hike. If you plan on staying after dusk, then you must have a good strong flashlight. It is very tricky walking on the hardened lava, even in the daylight.
Unfortunately, we were not lucky enough to get to see a lava flow, but we did walk for a hundred yards or so on a fairly "young" lava. Some people walked a lot further than we did and they might have gotten close enough to see the flowing lava in underground vents.
Incredible Landscape
It was amazing to realize we were standing on lava and looking at land that had been newly formed. (As the lava flows into the sea it hardens and forms new land.) We got some great pictures of the ocean crashing violently into the harsh, black lava formations. The ocean was a brilliant blue as it swirled toward the rock formations. Some of the waves hit with such force we were afraid of getting salt spray on our camera.
Next time, I would spend more days on the Big Island so we could stay after dark (maybe spend the night at Volcano House) and watch the glowing lava flows.
You should plan on a full day to drive to the volcano and back to Kona.
Beautiful Sunset Opportunity
We stopped at the Wendy's high atop a hill overlooking the beach near the Keauhou Shopping Center. What an incredible place to watch the sunset! Wendy's has a large outdoor dining area and it was packed with folks like us, munching on our fries and waiting for the sun to slowly slide into the Pacific Ocean.
Our first day on the Big Island was wonderful. We couldn't wait to explore further! (This will be continued.)
My related reviews:
Waikoloa Beach Golf Course
http://www.epinions.com/content_14486834820
Outrigger Hotel Waikoloa Beach
http://www.epinions.com/content_14505905796
Recommended:
Yes
Best Suited For: Couples
Best Time to Travel Here: Anytime
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Epinions.com ID:
diverpam
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Member: Pam
Location: Collierville, TN
Reviews written: 263
Trusted by: 347 members
About Me:
~~~~So many oceans...so little time!~~~~
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