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Published: April 24th 2009
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From the Green Sand Beach I decided to keep going to the other side of the island to the Volcano National Park. I stayed in a cute little cottage in the rain forest, it was probably one of the most amazing places I've ever stayed. Fresh fruit, milk, oj, eggs and more delivered to my door each morning, there was a hot tub hidden in a little hut with candles everywhere and the cottage itself was beautiful inside.
The owners were very interested in helping get the most out of the trip, and provided me with maps to the volcano national park, tips for where to see the lava flow, as well as food suggestions for dinner. PS. If you are ever in the area Thai Thai is pricy but worth it for some of the best Thai you'll ever have.
Once settled I went out at night in the rain with 2 flash lights and a headlamp Jurassic Park style to the Thruston Lava Tube. When I finally reached the destination I set out on foot for a short rainy hike to the entrance. Half of the Lava tube is filled with lights but it starts to get
fun when you venture further back in the dark parts of the tube. Inside the tube I saw roots hanging from above and heard the sound of water dripping all around. The further back you go the crazier it gets, there were a few places where rock came down from overhead and I had to climb over massive pieces to continue through. There was rumor that at the end there was a guest book in a tupperware container so I kept going. I finally reached the end, sadly no guest book, but it was still worth the experience either way
The next day I decided to hit up some Hiking. I chose the Kilauea Iki Trail in the park. I began the hike looking at the crazy plants all around and cautiously stepping through the mud, and then started to see the massive volcano crater that still had steam coming out of it in places. Continuing down the path I could see the cloud of smoke in the distance from where the Lava was flowing into the ocean. Which I managed to get a closer look at later in the evening
After that I took a map and
decided to head to the Akaka Falls. There are many waterfalls to choose from in Hilo but I followed the Cottage owners recommendation of Akaka. I hadn't ever seen a real water fall before so I thought it was quite beautiful. The day was a bit over cast and the mist from the fall made it quite hard to actually see the waterfall in all it's awesomeness. The walk to the fall was cool though, there were small water falls and unique plants and bamboo along the way.
It was time to leave from there to make it to the Lava Flowing into the ocean part of the trip. I drove from Akaka falls into Puna and ended up on the local road which consisted of a beautiful one way road totally enclosed by huge trees and beach view off to the side. Once I hit the end of the road there was a cafe and a walk through more lava to another black sand beach. Just as I returned from the black sand beach before snacking on some food a rainbow formed right where I stood, it was quite amazing, it looked like 3 rainbows in one. I
tried to do the best I could to capture this in a photo. After I ate I headed to the official place to view the lava flow. I had to drive over newly hardened lava and eventually came to a parking lot. I got out and began another hike to a roped off area ending where everyone stood and waited till nightfall. Once it got darker you could see in the distance the orange glow of the lava as it poured into the ocean. I was hoping to get much closer to the lava than I was but it was still a fun experience none the less
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