Weeks 53 & 54 Kauai to Big Island, Hawaii

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I managed to knock another item off my bucket list this week by seeing flowing molten lava from Kilauea the most active live volcano on the Big Island of Hawaii - and the best bit was that I didn’t have to do the long hot trek over the lava fields to do it. This week has been a mixture of relaxation on the garden island of Kauai and then excitement on Hawaii where I got to see the moon rise over the tallest mountain in the World - Mauna Kea.

I had five more days in Kauai after my helicopter trip so I chilled and lazed around. I moved twice, firstly to a cheaper room in my original hotel and then down the road to an even cheaper room for the last 2 nights to a hotel with a better bar and a longer stretch of beach. The downside was poor airconditioning and a tiny bathroom where there was almost zero clearance between the door and the toilet and hardly any room to stand when you tried to close it - this was one time where being on my own was an advantage as I could leave the door open without embarrassing others. The first place just had a lounge where people waited for their restaurant table and was a bit dead so if you started a conversation with people it was inevitably brief and interrupted by at least half of you leaving to go for dinner. However the second hotel had a proper, sociable bar so I had two enjoyable evenings with some very nice and interesting people. The sea was still too rough here to swim but it was lovely to sit on a sun lounger on the grass above the beach where there was a constant breeze, listening to the crashing waves and watching the kite surfers.

There were also two weddings to watch just 150 yards further along the lawn where they had set up a gazebo with the sea and sunset as a neat backdrop. It was fun to see the outfits and to watch the increasingly red and sweaty faces of those who had chosen fashion over comfort or just nasty man-made-fibre fabrics. We amused ourselves by laying bets on when the first guy would take off his jacket and which guest was most likely to mistime the waves during the photos and get soaked on the beach. During the last 3 weeks I have seen dozens of weddings as the islands are a beautiful venue choice - most were Japanese, as this is the most popular destination for their nuptials.

So another island hop. The early flight from Kauai to Hawaii was uneventful but took half a day as I had to fly via Oahu. On the 40 minute leg from Oahu to the Big Island (which is what everyone calls Hawaii) I sat on the left side of the plane and had a brilliant view of several of the other islands as we flew past. Luckily my bags managed to do the same trip as me and I got checked into my room as soon as I arrived in Kona. The hotel was good with a nice pool, a tiny private sea lagoon and a reasonable room.

For the next 5 days I spent quite a bit of time at the pool as it was nice and warm with comfortable loungers and a great view over the bay where there was a different cruise ship in port each day. There was a whole industry of watersports that serviced the cruise customers so we were entertained with a wide range of activities going on right in front of us, including a mini submarine, parasailing, jet boats and hundreds of shuttle launches ferrying the cruisers between their ship and the dock. I bet many of the people were trying to spot the official fish of the State of Hawaii, the Humuhumunukunukuapua’a - I kid you not - google it. Its a reef trigger fish, but out here by the time the captain of any tour boat had pointed and shouted out the name, the fish would have been long gone.

The Big Island lives up to its name as its huge - its over 4,000 square miles which is more than twice the area of all the other islands combined with 266 miles of coastline with a wide variety of beaches with golden, black and green sands - yes honestly, green. It also boasts 11 different climate zones, from the desert-like north western coast to the east side with almost constant rain over tropical jungle with fabulous waterfalls. I was staying on the dry side near Kona, famous for its excellent coffee, that grows in a small area with its own micro-climate. The island also has the Parker Ranch which is the largest privately owned cattle spread in the USA with over 175,000 acres of grazing land.

However the main event here is the range of volcanoes that are so special they have countless entries in the Guinness Book of Records and these are why I chose to have a few days on Hawaii. Firstly there is Mauna Kea a big dormant volcano and the Worlds tallest mountain when measured from its base but its peak is still 13,796 feet from sea level. There are 13 huge telescopes on its top slopes, including 4 of the biggest and most advanced observatories watching the goings-on in our universe and beyond. Then there are a couple of impressive large active volcanoes Mauna Loa (last erupted 1984) and Kilauea (currently very active) whose name means “spewing” or “much spreading” and lives up to its name. These were the bad-boys I had come to see.

I spent some time checking out the various tours on offer and chatting to people who reported disappointing 10-hour land tours where their volcano experience was “like seeing the smoke from your neighbour’s bonfire on the horizon” or having trekked for miles and hours over rough crusty lava fields seeing nothing but steam and choking fumes. I also listened to the experiences of daytime helicopter flights where they had seen the activity and lava flows but everything was grey coloured and looked like flowing mud rather than lava. So, I decided to go mad with one very special, expensive treat that would cover everything I wanted to see - a flight over Mauna Kea, the National Volcano Park and along the coast where the lava flows from the Kilauea volcano were expanding the island by half an acre per day and to do all this at sunset so that the time over the lava would be in the dark and the lava glowing red. It was crazy expensive but it turned out to be amazing.

I took a small light plane which held 8 passengers all with window seats from Kona airport and I was lucky enough to get the front seat next to the pilot, which was fun. We left just as the sun was setting and travelled down the coast a little watching the vibrant colours in the sky and over the water, then turned inland towards Mauna Kea where we could see the summit and the white observatories looking like tiny toy buildings on its upper slopes. A rather special treat was that a full moon was rising over the peak of the mountain and the evening was one of the clearest for days, so we had an incredible view over the layer of fluffy clouds beneath us to the top of Mauna Kea standing out clearly in the crystal clear air, while the horizon changed colour and the night sky started to show. We were so high you could see the edge of the atmosphere. On our other side we could see the top of Mauna Loa (an active volcano) and in between was a desolate moonscape of fairly recent lava fields called The Saddle where no vegetation has grown and where the military hold tough training sessions preparing troops for Middle Eastern terrain. Its also where much of the Apollo space programme equipment was tested before being used on the Moon.

We headed towards Hilo, the town on the wetter side where we caught glimpses of lush rainforest through the clouds beneath us, then turned over the National Volcano Park where we could see lines of steam vents, the occasional crater and loads of grey,white and black lava fields as we flew towards Kilauea. As we neared the coastline we started to catch sight of the current flow of lava glowing red and orange for a short distance before it falls into the ocean as the active volcano creates more land and makes the Big Island bigger still. The lava is actually flowing for several miles but most of this is through underground tunnels and tubes with the occasional “manhole” opening where you can see the steam and fumes pouring out. We circled the coastal exit point for quite a while trying every setting possible on our cameras to replicate what we were witnessing, but absolutely none of my photographs show anything like the scene below us. What our eyes saw were several rivers of bright glowing lava, coloured reds and oranges with black specks and stripes, pouring into the ocean. The steam was blowing away from the exit point in a single strong plume so it did not impede our view and our pilot said that tonight was the best he had seen for ages. The moonlight was shining in a long silver strip on the sea and it was a magical few minutes.

Next we turned further inland over more steaming vents towards a huge crater which we circled several times and managed to see right down inside where the occasional flash of red lava showed through the fumes. Kilauea has been erupting non-stop since the beginning of 1983 and the lava constantly changes direction or exit point. There is another live young submerged volcano 18 miles southeast which is 3,200 feet below the surface of the sea called Lo’ihi, that they think will breach the surface in about 100,000 years to form another island. As we headed home we again passed Mauna Kea and saw the long line of headlights from the 4-wheel drive and jeeps descending from the 8-hour round trip to the summit and watched as the line split into three groups, one going to the visitor centre at the 9,000 feet level, one breaking away and returning people to Hilo and the last one heading in our homeward direction to Kona. It was fun to be in the front seat watching and listening as we requested turns from the control tower and landed in Kona airport It was a brilliant trip and was well worth the additional expense as we saw once-in-a-lifetime sights and it emphasised how large the area was and why it was so much better than a 10 hour road trip.

Our hotel bar was built on a promontory of lava rock with the sea on 3 sides, facing due West so most nights there were colourful sunsets and occasionally we spotted dolphins. The cocktails were good and they did some rather nice sampler paddles of 4 mini glasses of your favourite cocktail in various flavours. I ate bar food most nights rather than the expensive restaurant or the extortionate Luau dinner that was held 3 times a week and also because the portion sizes were more manageable. Pupus is the local word for starters/appetisers and all bars, cafes and restaurants seem to have a good selection at reasonable prices. I did wander down the road to a Bubba Gump Shrimp place one night and had their sample plate of 4 kinds of shrimp (that also included one random chicken dish) that they sold as an appetiser to share, but it more than satisfied me as my main dinner.

From the hotel bar and swimming pool area you could see into the main stage area when they held the Luau (feast) so I saw bits of the show that included hula and fire-stick dancing, singers and ukelele players. One of the waiters smuggled me a small plate of the food to try. This included poi. Poi is the pounded root of the taro plant that is traditionally served with the pit-baked kalua pig and although it doesn’t look very appetising being sloppy and grey, it is extremely nutritious It was the main source of carbs for Hawaiians before immigrants brought rice, potatoes and pasta to the islands. The locals eat it with one finger but I would recommend two - one to put it in your mouth and one to try to get the revolting stuff out. Its definitely an acquired taste.

The only other tour I was considering was one where you can swim at night surrounded by huge manta rays that feed on the plankton along the coast and in the little bays nearby and seem to fly gracefully through the water. Many boats offer this trip where you can snorkle, dive or just view from the boat as they shine large lights onto the water that attract the plankton that in turn brings the rays. I spoke to several people who had been this week and apparently it was unusually quiet and not many manta rays appeared. However, some folks who had been at other times of the year said that it is a must-do trip. I will add it to my bucket list and it means I will have to come back another time, doesn’t it !

On to Oahu next to meet up with my mate Joy and to see my third Hawaiian island. Party time I think.

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