Hawai'i, Part 4: The Big Island (Days 2&3)

If I could use only one hyphenated word to describe our trip to the Big Island, I would easily choose "action-packed." We did so much!

We started by checking out of Volcano House which was bathed in incredibly thick vog, or volcanic fog. It. STUNK. I found it really disturbingly noxious. But, hey, now we've experienced vog. Yay.

As we drove down Chain of Craters road, the vog cleared to reveal a beautifully sunny day. The views were absolutely stunning. The first batch of pictures here shows my fascination with bright green ferns persistently growing out of the cracks in the lava. You can tell how long ago the lava flows were by how big and plentiful the vegetation is, and in some cases you can see the border between destruction and life. Enjoy:

Pahoe'hoe lava (the awesome kind)

The trees in the distance were spared.

We didn't dare take these with us, lest we suffer the wrath of Pele.

Right here is some of the newest land on the planet, bordered by the largest ocean.

We hiked to these petroglyphs, carved by the early Hawai'ians hundreds of years ago. They may someday be covered over with fresh lava.

Lava was flowing out of here until this past July.

We left Volcanoes National Park by late morning and continued to the southern tip of the island. On the way we found something remarkable on the side of the highway: four Hawai'ian geese, also known as the nene. The nene has come back from the brink of extinction, but there are still only about 500 of these birds in the world, all in Hawai'i. I was pretty stoked to have just happened upon them.

We found the coast and a black sand beach and had to get out for pictures.

Click for a larger image.

On our way to Kailua-Kona on the west coast, we stopped at Blue Sky Kona Coffee Company and had a short tour of the plantation. Here's a picture of a coffee tree:

When we got into the town, the second largest on the Big Island, we stopped for our other favorite type of brew at the Kona Brewing Company:

We decided to go ahead and try one of each. :)

We stopped at a grocery store and bought a pound of poke for our dinner. Most things in Hawai'i are more expensive than on the mainland, but there is definitely no way we can get ahi tuna for only $6.99/lb here in Chicagoland. We also bought some frozen peas to keep it cold while we high-tailed it to Waipio Valley on the north side of the island to see the famous Pololu Lookout. We got there just as the sun went down and had enough time to snap this picture:


We had heard that the Big Island of Hawai'i is home to all but two climate types (tundra and steppe are the exceptions, I believe, but don't quote me on that), and having driven around the entire island, we definitely found that to be the case. It is just beyond fascinating to me to actually drive through so many different climates within one day in a relatively small area of the planet. We ate our poke in the dark and drove the rest of the way to Hilo, where we stayed the night in what turned out to be a pretty shady hotel. The next morning we had our helicopter tour of the island. We were nearly doomed, however, when the flight was canceled due to rain and extensive cloud cover. But very luckily, we were able to reschedule for an afternoon flight which was NOT canceled, and everything worked out well. The ride was spectacular and took us to the current lava flow site, which is only accessible by air. Unfortunately, I did not take any photos, but we did get a DVD of what we saw, and it suffices adequately. Sunday evening we flew back to O'ahu. And thus ends our Big Island adventure!

I shall leave you with a video of the nene, because I just realized that I can:

Hawai'i, Part 3: The Big Island (Day 1)

I know you've all been on pins and needles waiting for the next installment of our Hawai'ian adventure. Here it is.

Early Friday morning, we took a short flight from Honolulu to Hilo, the largest city on the Big Island (which is, of course, Hawai'i, but called "The Big Island" to eliminate confusion with the state of Hawai'i, which includes all the islands). We picked up our rental SUV and drove to Volcanoes National Park, where we had a room for the night at the famous Volcano House. We were all settled and ready for a tour of the park by late morning. Robin, our tour guide (in the hat to the left), showed us key plant life in the rain forest which inhabits the park, except for the parts that have been covered in lava in the last 50 years. It was my first time in an actual rain forest, which was pretty cool, and it was especially convenient that it was a beautifully sunny day.

This particular fern has soft, fuzzy hair near the base, and is named after a pig somehow (botanist and Hawai'ian folklorist, I am not).

This is a type of ginger plant that produces a beautiful blossom but is invasive and damaging to the native plant life.

This tree, the name of which I can't remember, grows all over the park and is pretty blah-looking. That is, until you spot one of its bright red blossoms.

Our short nature tour concluded with a stunning view of the Kilauea Caldera, which we could also see from our room in Volcano House. Kilauea is the volcano which is currently active, though this crater (called a caldera because it is more than one square mile) stopped flowing lava years ago. However, when Volcano House was very popular many years ago, it was filled with glowing lava, which must have been very breathtaking at night.




After the tour, we piled into our SUV and drove around the park. First stop: steam vents, where water seeps down into cracks in the mountain and is heated by the magma and mixes with the volcanic fumes. They smell pretty bad.

Some people throw coins down there. Not sure why; seems like a waste to me.

This is how excited Erich, the amateur volcanologist, was to be experiencing volcanoes first-hand.

This was a lava-flow site from the 1970s, I believe. I find it so fascinating to see the plants that insist on growing in such a stark environment. See the fern growing in a crack slightly right of center in this photo.

Closer view of the caldera (and my dreamy husband).


This was a flow site from the 80s or 90s called Devastation Trail, in part because it destroyed an ancient temple. To see these places--what was once civilization turned to rock--is indescribable.

I did appreciate what we were seeing very much and I have wonderful memories of the Big Island, but truth be told, I was not in a very good mood that day. The main reason I was not in a good mood is linked to the proof that there's no honeymoon baby.* I tried to smile, sometimes. A forced smile is worse than no smile.

This is a hike through the rain forest to a lava tube (minus the lava, obviously).

There was water dripping from the ceiling I obviously loved. I also loved the crowds and crowds of Japanese tourists. Wait, is "loved" the right word?

This crater looks pretty big, right? In the next photo, I zoomed in toward the cliffs in the distance, a little right of center.

Click on this picture and see if you can find two hikers. Yes, this crater is HUGE.

We returned to Volcano House and I needed a rest. Erich, the amateur volcanologist, wanted to continue the adventure. He decided to drive up Mauna Loa, the Big Island's tallest volcano and the world's most massive mountain (and the world's tallest, if you measure from the ocean floor, where it begins).

Pretty road with a lot of those trees whose name I cannot recall.

The Mauna Loa view of Kilauea, the smaller but currently much more active volcano.

This is an example of a'a lava, which is cooler (temperature-wise at the time of formation) and more jagged than pahoe'hoe lava, which is cooler (awesomeness-wise) and will be pictured a lot in the next installment.

Just after sunset over the caldera.


The view out of our window in Volcano House. Notice the cloud formation. Next came some much-needed rest before our next adventure-filled day on the Big Island!

*PMS