Hilo, Hawaii (Volcanoes National Park)

Tuesday, March 22

Hilo, Hawaii - 8:00 am to 6:00 pm

I'm sure it is partly due to the change in time zones as we sailed west, but each morning I would naturally wake up at the first sign of daylight. I didn't need to be up that early, but I was like a kid at Christmas. I was always anxious to pull back the curtain and unwrap a new sunrise! The one today was a particularly good one!

First rays.

With a busy day ahead, the four of us were anxious to get off the ship as early as possible. Today's plans had us going our separate ways. Kent and Laurel had booked a helicopter tour to see the volcanoes and then planned to drive to Volcanoes National Park (VNP). Bob decided he would rather have more time in the park so we opted to rent our own car and get a head start on the crowds.

Our plans to be the early birds were thwarted when we were turned away by James (one of the entertainment staff.) He was guarding the forward stairway to keep people from going down to deck 4 and lining up early to get off the ship. We waited by the coffee bar on deck 5 and watched the crowds continue to get larger and larger until we were finally allowed to disembark. Kent and Laurel got directly onto a waiting Alamo shuttle while we had to wait a few minutes for one from Dollar. In the end, both shuttles left the parking lot at about the same time.

At the airport, all of the car rental places were outdoor booths side by side in the parking lot where the rental cars were parked. Once we got the car, we used the Google Maps app on my phone and it didn't take us long to find our way out of town and headed towards VNP.

Sign at entrance to park.

Once inside the park, we opted to go directly to the Thurston Lava Tube. It was a good move...we were the only ones there and got to experience walking through the lava tube with no one else around! There was a short, paved trail to get to the entrance of the lava tube that took us through the lush vegetation...so peaceful with only the sounds of tropical birds.

How ferns are born!

Entrance to the lava tube.

Our next stop was the Puʻu Puaʻi Overlook.  After all the warnings we had heard about stuff being stolen from rental cars, my husband pulls up NEXT to the ONLY other vehicle in the parking lot and started rummaging around in our backpacks in the trunk. There was a couple sitting on the tailgate of the truck parked by us watching his every move. As we walked away to go down the path to the overlook I scolded him. I was sure that our car would be stripped bare by the time we returned.

To my surprise, the other couple started following us and the guy offered all sorts of information on the volcanoes and surrounding area. Turns out he was a geo-physicist who studies volcanoes and he was just as excited about having someone to share his knowledge with as Bob was to be hearing it!! 

Crater view from the Puʻu Puaʻi Overlook

People hiking in the bottom of the crater

Together with our impromptu tour guide, we left the trail and hiked across a cinder field to where we had a good view of steam coming out of the Kilauea Caldera.

Flowering plants and berries had sprouted up through the desolate-looking cinders.

Amongst the rocks, our new guide was able to spot some of "Pele's Hair"...mineral threads formed when small particles of molten material are thrown in the the air and spun out by the wind into long hair-like strands.

Pele's Hair 

Back at the parking lot, Bob and our new friend were still talking so he suggested that we follow him and his wife to another spot where he could show us even more interesting stuff. We drove down the Chain of Craters Road, and the four of us started hiking off into the lava field. 

Cracks in the lava seemed to reach down to the center of the earth. Bob tossed a rock into one and never heard it hit the bottom!

Molten lava was flowing beneath where we were walking and in places you could feel the heat reaching through the rocks. There was a slow, steady rain falling but nothing was going to slow Bob down. He was seeing stuff few people ever witness and was loving every minute of it.

I felt like we were walking on the surface of the moon!

We eventually made it back to our cars, thanked our new friends for an amazing morning and said our good-byes. Bob and I started towards the visitor's center but before we got there, we saw a car stopped by the side of the road and realized it was our friends. He was waving his arms and motioned for us to stop. He said he had one more place he wanted to show us...and it would only take 3 minutes. Well...that three minutes stretched into probably an hour and a half, but we saw so many incredible things...including lava trees!

Sorta looks like a dinosaur!

The lava trees were formed when the lava covered the forested area. The trees burned leaving a hollow core inside the lava as it cooled. 

The Volcanoes National Park was what Bob had been looking forward to seeing most while we were in Hawaii and having our special, personalized tour had really made his day! A chance encounter that turned a good day into a great one!

After saying good-bye for a second time, we drove on to the visitor's center (mostly to use the restroom) and then the Jagger Museum. From here you could see the active volcano from the opposite direction than what we had seen earlier in the day. The steam blocked most of the view, but a couple of times Bob said he was able to spot a little bit of molten lava shooting up. (I never could see it.) 

I wish I could say this is what it looked like...but unfortunately this is a "picture of a picture" taken INSIDE the museum. ;)

What I "wished" we would have seen.

This is what we DID see. A very zoomed in view of steam.

It was a little after 2:00 pm when we left VNP and started the 45 minutes drive back towards Hilo. There were a few other stops that we had saved until the end of the day, hoping that we had enough time before we had to return to the ship. The first stop on this list was the macadamia nut factory. We did a quick loop through the gift shop, enjoyed some free samples and bought a large bag of nuts.

Two nuts!

On the western side of Hilo we stopped to see Rainbow Falls. The overlook is located right at the parking lot, but Bob took a few extra minutes and walked the trail to the top of the falls.

  

From the top of the falls.

I had read there was a black sand beach at Richardson's Beach Park so with the help of Google, we were able to get there. On the way we passed by these monkey pod trees with huge canopies.

The sand on the beach was black, but the beach was much smaller than I was expecting. We met a group of folks that we recognized from the ship. They were there on a tour so it must be considered something worth seeing! 

Walking palms at Richardson's Beach Park

After cutting our time so close the previous day, we made it a point to get the car returned with a little extra cushion. A couple of photos of the newly painted hull of the Pride of America as we returned to the pier!

Our cabin was two decks directly above the "barrels". 

To make it to the early show, dinner was at the buffet with Kent & Laurel which gave us a chance to share stories about our day's activities. After a poor experience on an Alaskan helicopter tour, they were happy to report that their doors-off helicopter tour in Hilo was great. They had gotten to see some waterfalls and most importantly lava flowing...and even an area of trees that were burning in the lava. 

The evening show in the theater was the "Oh What a Night" tribute to Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons...Part 2! The show was every bit as good as the first and featured so many popular songs that made you want to sing along!

Up next...a whale of a good day in Kona!