I lived on Oahu from 1975-77 and did a fair amount of island hopping. We spent time in Hilo and visited the volcanoes, I remember getting rather close to them on a wooden railing that circled the molten lava. We also traveled to a large Black Sand beach, and I was so impressed by it all.
During the Xmas holiday of 2011, I took my sons and their wives to Oahu. They were born on the Mainland, and I promised for years we'd do a trip to Hawaii. Although most of the trip was spent on Oahu, I wanted to get them to the Big Island. Of the 13 different geographic zones in the world, the Big Island contains 11, or so we were told by the tour guide. It was a 12-hour bus trip and a 15 hour day, but we managed the circumference on the island. I remember thinking, the black sand beach has gotten small and we really couldn't get very close to the Halemoumou crater, an easily accessible active volcano in the park. Now I know these observations were right.
As I said, part of the reason we came to the Big Island was to give ourselves a chance to see the volcanoes. We knew we were not going to see active lava flows, but one of my dreams was to see orange lava. We traveled the 30 minutes to the park on four days, each time checking out a different aspect, each evening hoping the weather would cooperate after dark so I could see my orange lava.
On the first day we stayed close to the visitors' centre. A film about the 1986 lava flow that wiped out the town of Kalapana explained why the black sand beach seemed so small. It was at Kalapana where the large black sand beach once lived. On another day trip we drove to the end of the road where I could walk to the ocean. There several feet below was a part of the beach I saw in the 1970s.
We also did a tour of the original seismographic lab installed by Dr. Thomas Jaggar in the early 20th century. A local actor played Jaggar, wearing period clothes and was well versed regarding this pioneering volcanologist. We tried to see the orange lava that night, but the fog was too intense. We ended the day listening to a lecture from a current-day geologist, Dr. Michael Polland, who spent an hour outlining three major areas of investigation geologist need to study to better understand volcanoes. (Can you tell Paul planned this day? It had a truly intellectual bent.)
Day two in the volcano park we travelled the 18 miles of the Chain of Craters road (it changed recently so the road was new), taking a few side trips off it to some beautiful vistas and lava flows from the 1970's, 80's and 90's. But by the end of the day, we were too tired to drive back to the top to see if glowing lava could be found.
On day 3 we skipped the park and skirted around the eastern side of the 1986 flow. But before getting there we decided to take a look at Lava Tree park. This lava was traveling at such a speed that it engulfed large trees (mainly their stumps) before the tree was destroyed by the heat. What is left is a small gathering of lava trees, that remind the visitor what was once there. The drive to the east end of the Kalapana flow was long and slow because much of it is on one lane roads, but the visitor is rewarded with great sites. Again we decided the weather was not going to be very cooperative so we skipped the night view of Halemoumou.
Turn down the volume for best viewing. This was the experience I hoped for, even if it wasn't the molten lava itself, this was as close to it as I'll ever get. -1 more from the bucket list. BTW what you are seeing is the reflection on the steam of the molten lava below the edge of the crater. And yes in the 1980's the crater for Halemoumou fell several hundred feet eliminating the possibility of getting closer to see the lava. I've succeed in meeting another of my personal adventure goals.
During the Xmas holiday of 2011, I took my sons and their wives to Oahu. They were born on the Mainland, and I promised for years we'd do a trip to Hawaii. Although most of the trip was spent on Oahu, I wanted to get them to the Big Island. Of the 13 different geographic zones in the world, the Big Island contains 11, or so we were told by the tour guide. It was a 12-hour bus trip and a 15 hour day, but we managed the circumference on the island. I remember thinking, the black sand beach has gotten small and we really couldn't get very close to the Halemoumou crater, an easily accessible active volcano in the park. Now I know these observations were right.
As I said, part of the reason we came to the Big Island was to give ourselves a chance to see the volcanoes. We knew we were not going to see active lava flows, but one of my dreams was to see orange lava. We traveled the 30 minutes to the park on four days, each time checking out a different aspect, each evening hoping the weather would cooperate after dark so I could see my orange lava.
On the first day we stayed close to the visitors' centre. A film about the 1986 lava flow that wiped out the town of Kalapana explained why the black sand beach seemed so small. It was at Kalapana where the large black sand beach once lived. On another day trip we drove to the end of the road where I could walk to the ocean. There several feet below was a part of the beach I saw in the 1970s.
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| What's left of the Kapalana Black Sand Beach |
We also did a tour of the original seismographic lab installed by Dr. Thomas Jaggar in the early 20th century. A local actor played Jaggar, wearing period clothes and was well versed regarding this pioneering volcanologist. We tried to see the orange lava that night, but the fog was too intense. We ended the day listening to a lecture from a current-day geologist, Dr. Michael Polland, who spent an hour outlining three major areas of investigation geologist need to study to better understand volcanoes. (Can you tell Paul planned this day? It had a truly intellectual bent.)
Day two in the volcano park we travelled the 18 miles of the Chain of Craters road (it changed recently so the road was new), taking a few side trips off it to some beautiful vistas and lava flows from the 1970's, 80's and 90's. But by the end of the day, we were too tired to drive back to the top to see if glowing lava could be found.
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| Note this flow called ʻAʻā looks completely different from that below |
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| This is the smooth flowing lava called Pāhoehoe which looks relatively smooth |
On day 3 we skipped the park and skirted around the eastern side of the 1986 flow. But before getting there we decided to take a look at Lava Tree park. This lava was traveling at such a speed that it engulfed large trees (mainly their stumps) before the tree was destroyed by the heat. What is left is a small gathering of lava trees, that remind the visitor what was once there. The drive to the east end of the Kalapana flow was long and slow because much of it is on one lane roads, but the visitor is rewarded with great sites. Again we decided the weather was not going to be very cooperative so we skipped the night view of Halemoumou.
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| A lava tree over 200 years old
Finally on the last full day of our trip we drove specifically to the park with the hope we'd be rewarded, and sure enough, Madame Pele and the weather worked together. Here's the results
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Turn down the volume for best viewing. This was the experience I hoped for, even if it wasn't the molten lava itself, this was as close to it as I'll ever get. -1 more from the bucket list. BTW what you are seeing is the reflection on the steam of the molten lava below the edge of the crater. And yes in the 1980's the crater for Halemoumou fell several hundred feet eliminating the possibility of getting closer to see the lava. I've succeed in meeting another of my personal adventure goals.
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