Barbara B.'s Adventures: Hawai'i: The Big Island

This day was my birthday present: a day trip to the big island, mainly to visit Volcanoes National Park. For some reason I've been fascinated by these geological wonders, so being this close to one, it would have seemed silly to pass up the opportunity.

The day stated with a 6am pick-up at the hotel. From there we made our way through Waikiki and then the airport to board a smaller jet (I think about 46 people) and fly into Hilo.

Koko Crater from the plane (visited that a couple of days later)

In Hilo we were greeted by our tour guide for the day. He was a local, so took us to spots that tour buses aren't supposed to go. We started at Banyan Drive in Hilo, made our way through Main Street, then up to Rainbow Falls. After that we passed through Pehoe before arriving at that road that is blocked by lava. Shortly thereafter we were let out for a mini hike through lava fields to the shore and black sand beaches. It was desolate. There is no soil on this island, and anyone who wants grass better import some. The mineral-rich lava rock, however, provides very fertile ground for other vegetation such as trees.

Main Street Hilo

Rainbow Falls

Pahoe

Road blocked by lava

Lava rock

Plenty of baby plants growing in the lava

Black sand beach

The main sight of the day was Volcanoes National Park, where Kilauea Crater was erupting. I had no idea what to expect out of an active volcano, but part of the road was blocked due to the dangerous gases (sulphur dioxide) being released. Makes perfect sense, but that just didn't dawn on me beforehand. Thanks to this volcano beinga ctive, we couldn't drive around the rim, so took the same road back, stopping at the steam vents. After that it was a shrot hike through the Thurston Lava tube and the rainforest.

Before heading back to the airport we had dinner in Hilo, thena rrived back in Honolulu around 8:15pm. What a great day!