November 12-17, 1992
For the second half of our Hawaiian vacation, we fly over to the Big Island and stay in Kailua on the western Kona coast at the King Kamehameha Hotel. The first thing we do is drive to see the active volcano of Kilauea on the southeast coast, something on my bucket list. On the way we drive past vast stretches of what looks like asphalt. It is actually solidified lava from the many volcanic eruptions that have built the island. All the lava fields have dates stretching back a hundred years. It is a couple hour drive around the southern tip before we enter Hawaii Volcano National Park. Our first stop is the Ka’u Desert trailhead where we do a short hike. The trail takes us through a desert of black volcanic cinders, a wasteland from eruptions in the 70’s.
From Ka’u we head into the main part of the park, the Kilauea Visitor Center (Volcano House) at the summit overlooking the main caldera. It is very eerie, looking very much what you might expect but far larger. The rim view overlooks a vast sunken sea of steaming black solidified lava. The only thing missing is flowing lava. The active flows are now in other parts of the volcano.
At the Visitor Center we inquire where the volcano is active. We are excited because it is flowing into the ocean today. On our way to the shore we stop at the trailhead for the Thurston lava tube. The tube is a cave you can walk through that at one time channeled flowing lava. When lava flows out of a volcano the sides cool and solidify forming a channel that shuttles the lava far down the mountain. The Thurston tube now sits in a dripping rainforest of giant ferns.
We follow the Chain of Craters road towards the ocean but find it is closed. The lava flowed over the road blocking it! We have to make the rest of the trek to the beach on foot. But it is well worth it. Lava is flowing into the ocean! A rare treat and living proof that the island of Hawaii is still growing. The beach here is black sand owing to its volcanic roots. An attentive ranger won’t let us get too close because the lava-shelf extending out over the ocean is unstable. Looking back uphill we can see lava flowing on the hilltop obviously into a lava tube and exiting on the beach here. It makes you think twice where we walk. One wrong step and we could be knee deep in molten rock.
The next day we explore the Kona Coast (western side of the Big Island). South of Kailua we stop at Kealakekua Bay. There we visit the very quaint St Benedicts Catholic Church. It was built in the 1899 and is known as the Painted Church because of the beautiful and colorful painted ceiling. Also at the bay is Pu’uhonua o Honaunau National Historical Park. Known as the City of Refuge, this historical city where condemned citizens could achieve sanctuary contains a beach temple decorated with wooden images (ki’i) in a paradise like setting. Back north of Kailua we stop at Waikoloa. A huge new Hyatt Regency resort was recently built on this vast expanse of lava. Outside the hotel among the lava stones is a short path to a handful of old Hawaiian petroglyphs carved into the black rocks. My main reason for stopping is to see the resort. Working with the Hyatt chain, I heard a lot about this hotel. The main attraction is the central lagoon containing several dolphins. If you are a guest you can sign up for a dolphin adventure. Aimee and I watch a group enjoying the experience. Aside from petting the dolphin, for a stiff fee all they get is a better seat to watch some dolphin tricks. Nevertheless I am still jealous.
The next day we make a return trip to Volcano National Park. This time we explore the caldera. Dressed only in shorts and a T-shirt, I am unprepared for the elevation. It is cold. I take that as an excuse to buy a Volcano Park sweatshirt emblazoned with bright orange lava. Slightly better dressed now we hike west along the rim past hissing sulfur banks and steam vents. We then take the car along the crater rim drive stopping at the Halemaumau Crater Overlook. The crater is a sunken section of the larger caldera. On the eastern end of the caldera, we stop to hike the Kilauea Iki trail. This hike takes us down the rainforest lip onto the solidified lava floor. I continue ahead a couple hundred yards over the lava floor. Aimee doesn’t follow. She is afraid the lava will swallow us up.
From Volcano National Park, we head back to the hotel the long way, completing a counter-clockwise circle around the Big Island. Along the way we stop in Hilo. Apparently this side of Hawaii suffers from tsunamis. A memorial in Hilo commemorates the 1960 one that destroyed the city. North of Hilo we pull out at scenic Laupahoehoe Point and read about a 1946 tsunami that swept away locals at this spot.
The east side is also the wet side. The western side of the island gets very little rain and is very dry leaving the lava fields still intact even after many years. But here on the eastern side of Hawaii, rain is very plentiful and it is a true rain forest. North of Hilo we stop at Akaka Falls State Park and hike a trail through the rain forest to view Akaka and Kahuna Falls. Further north the circle road cuts inland past ranchlands. On the way around we stop at a macadamia nut and coffee plantation. We buy some macadamia nuts and chocolate covered coffee beans to take home and remember our trip.
On Monday we dive twice off the Kona coast at Honauanu, City of Refuge, with a very friendly former-Navy dive master. We swim over a forest of eerie coral fingers and then follow a pair of sea turtles. They swim fast, so it is near impossible to stay with them. We have to let them come to us.
The dive master has a new underwater video camera so he films us for practice as we chase the turtles. At his dive shop that night I pester him to make a copy for us. We wish we would have done more with him but we have to fly out tomorrow. We love his very ferocious, but lovable, Rottweiler guard dog. The owner keeps him to protect his valuable dive equipment.
