The reason we (“I”) came to the Big Island was to see “the volcano”. Not “lie in the sun” or “swim in the ocean”, which is just as well because the weather in Hilo likes to mix it up.
During a sunny patch, we headed up to Volcano National Park to see the active crater. Active! Our angle of viewing didn’t allow for awesome views of flowing lava – for that we have booked a Helicopter tour for tomorrow. However, we did stand on the edge of a massive crater, within which was a second crater (from a secondary eruption), and within that another crater which held a final crater from which toxic volcanic gas billowed. Pretty great!
From there, we drove down the aptly named Chain of Craters Road which takes you past a series of old craters, expansive lava flows covering most of the countryside, and one area sporting dozens of steam vents that you can walk through, like an outdoor spa. The Chain of Craters road also provided us with all of the weather: rainy, foggy, cloudy and eventually partly sunny.
I have imposed a limit of one selfie per day.
The end of the road has been closed since Kilauea starting erupting in 1983. However, intrepid hikers can walk 4-6 miles along the old road to where it’s possible to find hot lava flows oozing down the to the ocean. The round trip takes about 4 hours, and since we had not quipped ourselves with water or food, I couldn’t talk Jeff into doing it. Damn my practical and safety-minded husband. (As it turns out, a hiking guide died from inhalation of toxic fumes just two days ago, so our decision seems that much smarter.)
I wish I’d seen this before I manhandled the flower to see if it was a snapdragon…
After watching the second half of the Superbowl (GO EAGLES!) we went for dinner where I had the Tuna Poke Tower, possible the most beautiful plate of food I have ever been served. It was equally delicious, too!
Almost too beautiful to eat…
For fun, after dinner we drove back up to Volcano National Park hoping to see the night-time glowing of the active crater, and instead saw nothing but the inside of a dense, wet cloud.
On the other hand, our wildlife species spotting was spot-on, adding the following critters to our animal species checklist:
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Black crab – at the rocky beach of our hotel
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Nene – the threatened national bird of Hawaii, on the roadside of Chain of Craters
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A little Grouse-like bird running around the hotel property and yet to be officially identified
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Weasel, where we stopped to explore the lava tub
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Honey creeper – In the woods near the Lava Tube. Known in Hawaii as the Apapane
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Black Noddy – Flying around the lava cliffs at the end of Chain of Craters road, a bit like a Gannet
Hawaiian Nene
Your day 2 is better than my day 2.