the southern part of the big island and volcanoes!!!!!

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on a bright thursday morning, we woke up at 7am to begin our long day of driving and exploring the south side of the island.

we first drove northwest of hilo and visited the rainbow falls, which are literally right beside the parking lot (no hike required!) - of course, because of its proximity to the parking lot, it tends to be engulfed by gynormous tour buses filled with the type of tourists that don't want to do a lot of walking... a bit further down the road, we then visited the pe'epe'e falls and boiling pots, which are a series of small falls that collect into a bubbling pool at the bottom. it was nice, but there have definitely been nicer spots so far!

going west along highway 11, we then crossed the lava rock infested landscape past the volcano national park to punalu'u beach park, which accesses a black sand beach, south of punalu'u town. the beach houses the famous legend of kauila and the sea turtles. kauila was a mystical turtle who made the bay of punalu'u her home. she apparently had the ability to change from turtle to human form and used to play and be the guardian of the town's children. she also provided the spring that gave drinking water to the village. apparently, the presence of kauila can still be felt in the area and sea turtles still lay their eggs on the black sand beach.

after punalu'u, we went further still to reach the southernmost point of the united states, located on the south tip of the big island. this area, called ka lae south point. we drove down south point road (which is illegal according to car rental contracts because of its sketchiness) for 10 miles, which truly felt like much longer. along the way, we passed the kama'oa wind farm which houses wind-turbine generators. apparently, a single one can provide enough electricity for 100 families... unfortunately, most of these generators are not functioning, voiding the great opportunity at environmental energy! once at the end of the road, we arrived to a "parking lot" which was really just stamped down dead grass among the more dead grass. the view that awaited us was of a pier where the fishing is great and the cliff diving even greater. locals gathered and jumped in, while we tried to push against the strong wind to see the most bluish water yet. after a while, a local girl went to jump in, but her friend cried "stop" as she was heading in... she tried to stop herself but was already jumping. the resulting outcome was that she turned herself and then managed to scraped some of the rock with her leg. she hit the water feet first, which was miraculous, but the reaction of the crowd was not comforting... i was further away and didn't really want to come back hearing all the commotion. i initially thought it was helen who had fallen into the water trying to take a picture, but was happy to see she was still on the edge. we saw the girl later on, and she was fine. didn't really want to jump in after that though! dave, dorinda and helen all decided to jump off the cliff, eager to feel the cool ocean water. after helen jumped, rotating and falling butt first while others cried in pain, i was completely off the idea. i don't like water that much to start with, so i decided to stay put!

heading out we got back in the car and helen started heading forward, where i could clearly see a little hump down in the land... me and dave mentioned not to go that way, thinking we could potentially get stuck, but helen kept going, and the front left wheel fell over the edge, bottoming out the car... the rental car... on the road we weren't suppose to be on... helen guns it, making the wheels spin as dave cries out for her to stop and we then proceed to get out of the car and go to the front in order to push a car. now - i'm from ontario. i've pushed cars out of the snow. but i thought for sure we couldn't get this car back onto this desert dirt pile... dave, with his winter driving directions, managed to direct everyone into a successful push of the car back up from where it came from while helen negotiated the pedals with expert ease. we were saved from rental car hell!

driving a short distance east, we arrived at the parking lot to green sands beach, where a "1 mile hike" was required to reach the actual beach. well this "1 mile" ended up being a one hour hike... each way... through desert sand and dirt and hot humid heat. the arrival to green sands beach though, was clearly worth it. after thinking many times that we were missing the path to the beach, we finally reached the obvious path, marked by cascading cliffs and a complete change in landscape. the proper name of the beach is papakolea and the greenish tint the sand has (more like american money green) was formed by semiprecious olivine crystals (type of volcanic basalt). these crystals eroded from the cliffs and mixed with the typical black sand, which is why the sands appear less green. we descended, using the stone carved stairs and arrived to strong winds and waves. after a quick dip and being beaten down by the waves, we ate our picnics (we packed way too much food), and hunkered down for the long hike back.

after returning on the south point road to highway 11, we stopped in punalu'u to visit the punalu'u bakeshop, which boasts to be the southernmost bakery in the united states! getting there just before closing, we cleaned up all we could from the desert hike in the public bathrooms and got some coffee and treats. helen got a loaf of taro root bread, which was absolutely delicious, and i voted for a coconut turnover - very hawai'ian!

driving back east, we finally got to stop at the volcano national park, which is home to the most active hawai'ian volcanoes. the visitor centre is at halema'uma'u crater where steam from the lava still comes out. the crater is part of the kilauea caldera and last erupted lava in 1974. it was a beautiful day, with some clouds and the rainbow came out just for us. it was so nice, that it was difficult to leave, especially when the rainbow filled to a full one and then doubled! we would have liked to stay longer and even explore the lava tubes, but we had to rush back to hilo, grab our warmer clothes and head to the far west of the park before 8pm to be able to see the lava erupt into the ocean... yes!!!!

we drove fast and excitedly back to hilo, then down highway 130 to the town of kalapana, where the road suddenly stops as a parking lot and the lava flow is obvious. the last eruption in this part comes from the napau crater, which is still active. lava flows constantly here since 1983 and is visible from this site, from about 1/2 mile out, pouring into the ocean. the resulting scene is a cloud of bright orange steam erupting from the lava hitting the ocean water, with sparks of brighter orange, where you actually see the lava. this site was by far the most amazing thing i have ever seen. land being created right before your eyes. i never thought i would see lava in my life... and even though it was from far away, it was still an absolutely amazing experience!

returning to the hostel that night, we were all completely exhausted and fulfilled by a great day. we did so much in just one day!!

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