Volcano Adventures

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Aloha,
So we've been on the big island of hawaii for 5 days now and we've seen heaps! When we got here we thought (because our guide books told us we could) that to hire a car we could just arrive at the airport and hire one - but we thought wrong and the only car we could hire (after 10 minutes of asking hire companies multiple times) was a car I'd been paying out ever since I landed in the US. A Ford Mustang Convertible! So we hired it and stayed in Hilo our first night and got bought a drink from some locals.
Thursday we drove to volcanoes national park and decide to walk across Kileaua Caldera (a 7 mile return trip) in the hottest part of the day starting from Volcano House which sits on the edge of the caldera. It was an amazing walk across a barren plain of lava that is only 30-40 years old and you can still see plenty of steam vents all over the place. The actual lava is a long way below the surface (about 2 miles) so the only worry was stepping on some lava, having it break under your feet and falling a few inches which given how sharp the glassy surface is, isn't much good either. But it was a good and uneventful walk.
After staying overnight at a nearby campsite, we spent friday driving around volcanoes national park looking at the museam and other volcanic craters until the evening when we walked out to about 500m from where the current lava is entering the sea. We stayed until after sunset to see the bright red glow and the explosions as the lava entered the sea and as soon as my film is developed, I'll post some pics of it! We then, of course, had to walk back in the dark (with torches) which was interesting to say the least as the "trail" is only marked by 6 orange beacons spread over 3.5 miles! Lot's of fun and we did it without getting hurt 😊
On Saturday we drove around the coast and decided that the 2-3 mile walk out to green sand beach was too much so drove around to Captain Cook where we bought Kona Coffee, fresh macadamias from a farm, went snorkelling and kyaking out to the monument to Captain Cook. It stands roughly where he died in a fight with native Hawaiians in 1789.
Today we kept driving around the coast til we got to saddle road which goes between Mauna Loa (worlds largest shield volcano) and Mauna Kea (tallest mountain in the world when measured from base on the ocean floor to top but only 4.5km above sea level). We drove up saddle road and then drove up Mauna Kea. Getting up Mauna Kea is an interesting adventure in itself. You get to the visitor centre which is 4000ft short of the summit and they tell you that driving up in a 2WD is not recommended on the 4 miles of dirt - remember that we had a 2WD Mustang - and the elevation is already quite high. Then, of course, we figure we'll see how the car goes and drive up. And quite simply, it was fine though I wouldn't recommend it in a mustang again!! The worst bit was getting used to the elevation cause unless you're used to being that far above sea level, it's quite dis-orientating. But the view is spectacular and I'm glad we did it.
Anyway, Tomorrow Kim and I are heading back to Honolulu where she flies home and I fly on to San Fran to continue my trip. Hope you're all having fun (and all you geo's should now be really jealous!!).

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Photos

Walking on Lava
A picture of me walking across Kilauea Caldera

Mauna Kea
View from the top of Mauna Kea at 13,700ft

Captain Cook Memorial
It's hard to see, but the beach on the other side of this bay has a memorial to Captian Cook because he died on this beach in 1789.

Pavement ends
can you imagine driving a ford mustang convertable down a hill with gradients of 17% at 4000m elevation, views like this and on dirt?

The mustang
I'm in the drivers seat in this pic taken in Hilo.

Fresh Lava
A night time picture of lava entering the ocean

Fresh Lava 2
Lava entering the ocean just before it's fully dark. You can see waves crashing behind the steam and lava.

Comments

[Nareida]

good onya !!
Hi Chris, just been reading your volcanic adventures out to the kids .Jess was especially interested since she did an assignment last year on volcanoes, and found it v. interesting.Glad to hear you are having fun still and the time line didnt affect your head !!! Take care N.

[Michelle]

So, trying to make me jealous with a postcard huh? As beautiful as it looks I'm still getting used to the novelty of living 30mins from the beach! Thanks for thinking of me though, and I hope it continues to go well.