Haleakala Sunrise

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For those people that think getting out of bed in the middle of the night to drive up a dormant volcano on an island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean just to watch the sunrise is a waste of time, here's one hell of an argument FOR !

My endeavour with this posting is to give people the inspiration to experience Haleakala in all it's majesty, be it Sunrise OR Sunset.

I do love the contrast of the Sunset photos posted. Thanks for doing that as it show people both ends of the spectrum.

One must remember that you're at the mercy of Mother Nature and she can be a fickle friend. 2005 was the first time we experienced the Sunrise up there, as part of a bike ride package. The sunrise was great, with the sun appearing a shards of multi colours between two layers of cloud. The ranger(ess) on the day commented that it was a good show, as the rest of the week was a disappointing for Sunrises there.

Last Easter (2012), the Wife and I decided to make the trip up there again. Two out of 13 in our part joined us, with the others content in bed. The reward didn't warrant the exertion, in their opinion. It's just a Sunrise. Yep, just a Sunrise. Well, here's the evidence for you. What do you think? is it worth the 38 mile uphill journey? Is it worth sacrificing some bedtime or a cocktail hour?

Regarding the Sunrise v's Sunset option, what the photos DON'T impart is a surprising event that we experienced this time around.

As the Sun burst fort visibly upon the horizon, we became aware of man's voice speaking loudly in Native Hawaiian Tongue. As we pondered whether this was a chant, song or proclaimation, the man then reverted to English and it became apparent that it was a public welcome. He welcomed the men, women and children to Haleakala and then announced "Here, on this day, April 5th in the year 2012 at 6.05am, visitors to Haleakala, this is YOUR Sunrise!".

After several seconds of absolute silence a rising crescendo of cheers rang out into the sharp dawn air and across the crater.

Well, our skin was a mass of goosebumps and I could feel the hair standing up on the back of my neck. Wow factor was right off the scale. I glances about and I'd say that about 50% of the people had just a bit of excess moisture around the eyelids. That was very special moment in our life and I give heartfelt thanks to the presenter.

The journey down the mountain, cruising gently around the seemingly endless curves and down through the clouds, gave a surreal feeling about the morning's experience. That and the lack of sleep made you think strangely. Did we REALLY witness that, or was it just a dream?

Quickly enough, you're off the mountain and in highway traffic amongst motorists in their morning rush to work. You poor people, you should have seen what WE just saw. But hey, they have seen it. Probably many times. Such fortunate souls.

Bugger. Back to reality way too soon for me….

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