Hawaii Trip 2014 - Big Island Day 7

September 4, 2014 (Thursday)

We were on the road early again for the long drive (about 2 hours) to Volcano National Park. The drive was quite lush for a portion of the trip – banana trees, coconut trees, and coffee trees (I think since there were a ton of coffee farm tours along the way). There were not nearly as many flowers on the Big Island. Approaching the park, we spotted a Nene bird (Hawaiian goose), which happens to be Hawaii’s state bird. The Nene is the rarest goose in the world – there were tons of signs to alert drivers to watch for them.

Volcano National Park - Kilauea

Once arriving at the park, we visited the Kilauea Visitor Center where we watched the twenty minute video giving a park overview. We joined the “How it all Started” talk (approximately 20 minutes), which was interesting. During our visit, some of the park road was closed, as were some hiking trials, due to the active volcano action.  The Jagger Museum provides the best view of the Volcano.  There was a decent amount of steam coming from the volcano, but we were unable to see any lava.  The Jagger Museum had a ton of scientific instruments and data, all of which was neat to see.

Volcano National Park - Cave

There was a guided hike called Craters and Caves (1.5 hours) that we decided to join. The hike was enjoyable and we learned a lot about the plants and volcanos. The hike started with walking through the rain forest and ended with walking through the lava tube. It was a nice hike and the guide was pleasant.

A little bit of time before the next guided hike, we checked out Pu’u Pua’i and the Devastation Trail. Back at the visitor center, we joined the Explore the Summit Hike (45 minutes). A lot of what the guide spoke about was covered by the guide from the other hike – but that just made us seem really smart since we knew all the answers!

Volcano National Park - Lava

Before heading down the Chain of Craters Road, we checked out the steam vents and sulfur banks. The steam vents were neat and the sulfur banks smelled horrid as expected. The Chain of Craters Road lived up to the name with a lot of craters and lots of lava. We stopped at a few of the pull-offs, some were better than others. The sea arch at the end of the road was neat. The water sounded like thunder as it crashed in the 60’ tall sea wall. The 2003 lava flow can also be reached from the end of the road.

Volcano National Park - Sea Arch

Initially, we had intended to check out the Petroglyphs, but it had been a lot day and we had a 2+ hour drive to get back to the hotel. Overall, it was an awesome day. The rain forest lived up to its name by sprinkling most of the afternoon. The temps at the park were mid 60’s – low 70’s – a huge relief to the 90’s we experience most of the other days.

Food for the day consisted of leftover pizza for lunch (not a lot of food options at the NP) and Quinn’s Almost by the Sea for dinner. Mike tried the fish and chips – which he absolutely loved. The fish was Wahoo (or Ono as it is known in Hawaii), it is a close relative of the King Mackerel. Me, the non-fish eater tried it. The fish was very dense and did not smell or taste like fish.