Hilo - Volcanoes National Park

Saturday, February 10, 2024

Beautiful way to start the day!

Walking through the lido pool area on our way to breakfast.

With the warm weather the retractable roof was open.

We were up and at the buffet a little before 7:00 am, but getting there just a few minutes earlier would have made life a little easier. As soon as we finished eating we gathered our stuff and walked off the ship in our last Hawaiian port...Hilo on the Big Island. The Budget Car Rental agency provided a shuttle from the ship to the airport (and the reason I booked through Budget) but when we reached the outside of the terminal the gal working there said the shuttle had just left. It was going to be about 15 minutes until it returned...so we waited.

This was the line of people waiting to get a taxi.

Eventually the shuttle did return and we were dropped off at the Budget rental facility at the Hilo airport where we had to wait in line only to be told our car wasn't ready yet. 😠 By the time we were in the Kia SUV and driving away from the airport, a whole hour had elapsed since we left the ship.

Our destination, along with many others, was Volcanoes National Park, about 30 miles from the Hilo airport. Our America the Beautiful pass got used (for the third time on the cruise) to gain entrance into the park. A quick stop at the visitor center gave us a chance to use the restrooms and ask a few questions about places Bob wanted to hike.

Entrance to Volcanoes National Park

The ranger suggested a hike into the crater of Kilauea Ike (which means "little Kilauea"). The trail shared a parking lot with the Thurston Lava Tube but when we got there the lot was full. We circled back and waited until a car pulled out.

The steep path leading down to the lava tube was filled with ferns and other tropical plants and bird sounds filled the air. Walking through the damp tunnel made it feel as if we were going down into the middle of the earth. 

Path to Thurston Lava Tube

Inside the tube looking back towards the entrance

I went back and waited in the car while Bob accessed the trail down into the crater. He was gone a little less than an hour and with his quick walking he made it about half way across the crater floor. 

Zoomed in view of people walking across the crater floor.

He encountered an 83 year old mother and her daughter who had gotten down into the crater but the mom was having a hard time. The climb back out was very steep and she wasn't sure she could make it. Bob overheard the daughter talking about calling for help so when he got back to the parking lot he reported what he had heard to one of the rangers directing traffic. That set a series of events into motion that most likely ended with a helicopter rescue. As a paramedic, Bob is always conscious of people in need and has also been on the receiving end of a rescue when he was airlifted off a mountain in the Tetons after being struck by lightning. 

We continued down the Chain of Craters road, stopping at various lookouts along the way. 

Puhimau Crater

Zoomed in view of steam coming from the crater.

We had driven this road on our previous visit but this time we went all the way (about 20 miles) from about 4000 feet of elevation down to sea level where the road ended. The temperature rose about 25 degrees in that distance from the upper 50's to the mid 80's. The size of the lava field that we drove through was mind boggling. Seeing the lava flow on the TV news during the 2018 eruption made me think it was a relatively narrow river of lava flowing down to the ocean but over the years the lava has added many square miles of land to the Big Island.

When we reached the end of the road there was about a quarter of a mile walk to get to where the Holei Sea Arch could be viewed. The cliff line was quite high but yet some of the waves were reaching the top as they crashed against the shoreline.

Holei Sea Arch

The waves were so high they reached the top of the cliff!

After driving back to the main park area, we stopped at the viewing area for the Kilauea Volcano. Steam was rising from the crater floor but no lava was visible, or at least not to us. The Jagger Museum that we had visited in 2016 was now closed and behind barricades since after the 2018 eruption the building was no longer considered safe. It will eventually be torn down.

Jagger Museum

Entrance to the museum was blocked off and eventually the building will be torn down.

On the way out of the park we stopped to check out the steam vents.

The drive back to Hilo took about 45 minutes. It would have been nice to stop at some other places (such as Rainbow Falls) but again we needed to be back by 4:30 to catch the shuttle from the airport back to the ship. We also had to allow time to stop and fill up the car with gas.

Just as luck would have it, again the shuttle had just left before we arrived and we had about a 15 minute wait until it returned. Two ladies from the Koningsdam were also waiting and we had a nice visit.

It was too late to make it to the dining room by 5:00 so instead we enjoyed Hawaiian night at the Lido buffet. We ate outside by the aft pool, but the music was so loud we decided to take our dessert back and enjoy it on our balcony as the ship left Hilo. The ship was scheduled to leave at 6:00 but was delayed slightly due to a medical evacuation.

A large variety of cakes were available but the only sugar free option was the Black Forest cake and it was all gone when I tried to get some. I did hear Kristen, the cruise director, commenting on how good it was so I was sorry I missed it. Bob opted for another Caribbean crepe and I helped myself to a bite of it.

The show on the main stage was a group called "Company Men" doing four-part harmony and was billed as "Motown Meets Boyband." After we left the theater we went to Billboard Onboard for the end of the set before returning to our cabin. The ship was on its way across the Pacific for the next five days so no need to set an alarm!