Sat 21st - Big Island
This is our second Saturday in a row, after crossing the International Dateline coming from New Zealand. We arrived on the Big Island and drove to the overlook over Waipo Valley. It was a beautiful view of the coast with tall cliffs and waterfalls. We decided to walk down to the beach, but the walk down turned out to be pretty steep. After enjoying the beach for a while, we started up the road but it was slow going (as I said it was really steep). So we hitched a ride with the first pickup truck that was going our way.
Waipo Valley.
Translation: This road is really steep!
Sun 22nd - Volcano National Park
Sunday we headed out on the Hana Highway to reach the main reason we were on the Big Island. Volcano! Along the way we found Ken's House of Pancakes. There we enjoyed a favorite local dish called a “loco moco”. It’s a bowl with rice, meat, eggs and gravy. It may sound funny, but it was really delicious.
Once in Volcano National Park, we took Chain of Craters Rd to where it ends, cut off by lava flows in 2003. Then it was a 6 mile hike to the lava flows. We packed plenty of water and a sandwich dinner, heading out just before sunset. The best time to see the lava is in the evening, so by heading out around 5-6pm, you get to see nature’s fury in all its amazing glory. It was the most amazing thing I’ve ever seen. 2000 degree molten rock flowing just a few feet in front of you is amazing, not to mention a bit scary. We sat on a cliff overlooking the coast where the flow was rolling out into the ocean, spewing chunks of lava and steam into the air. It was amazing. Have I said amazing too much? Nope.
Kilauea Crater. This was all lava in 1959.
We hiked across it.
Starting out on Kilauea.
Mauna Loa eruption in the distance.
That's acid smoke coming from the lava hitting the ocean.
We hiked over 6 miles of this.
A reminder of how recent this occured and how unpredictable it can be.
Many other hikers were out to see the lava.
After sunset, the lava became more visible.
It's amazing how close you can get.
This was taken after dark with my camera set for long exposure.
Lava by moonlight.
Another hiker remaked "It's like staring into the mouth of Hell."
Mon 23rd - Maui
Next we flew over to Maui, joining the rest of our family (parents, sister & brother in-law) for the remainder of the week. Maui is a tropical paradise, not yet overwhelmed by sky rise hotels like Oahu.
Tue 24th - Maui
We relaxed at the Outrigger Palms in Wailea, which has nice condo style accommodations. Diner was at Maui Thai (there a Thai theme here).
Wed 25th - Mt. Haleakela
It had been a few days since we did something truly crazy, so we got up at 2 in the morning for a bike ride down Mt Haleakela (a dormant volcano). We were with Mountain Riders Bike Tours. First we took in the sunrise at 10,000 ft (nice, but cold). Then we cruised down the 38 mile road to the coast—all downhill, so no pedaling required. By the end we were tired, but still glad we chose to take on this challenge.
Lots of people crowded to see sunrise.
It was very pretty.
We paused for a photo op on the way down.
Thu 26th - Makena & North Maui
In the morning, we went to Maui Dive Shop (one of their many locations) to pick up some SCUBA dive gear. Then we headed over to Makena landing for a beach dive. Beach dives are cheaper than taking a boat, but a lot more exhausting because you have to walk in and out of the water carrying about 40 pounds of gear.
Later in the day we took a drive on the north coast of Maui. First we stopped at Pa'uwela Point, looking for a lighthouse. We didn’t find a lighthouse (it was dismantled years ago), but we did see a fantastic view of the coast and a pineapple field. We continued on to Ho'okipa Beach, which was crowded with dozens of surfers and windsurfers.
Looking down from Pa'uwela Point.
Windsurfers on Ho'okipa Beach.
Our vacation wouldn't be complete without a visit to Hilo Hatties, the most famous gift shop in Hawaii. We put together a gift package for my parents and shipped it to them in Pennsylvania.
Fri 27th - La Perouse Bay & Lahaina
We still had our dive gear, so we did another beach dive at La Perouse Bay. This natural preserve had some pretty fish and coral.
Another must-do in Hawaii is to attend a Luau. We booked one in Lahaina that evening, and beforehand we hung out by Lahaina’s famous Banyon Tree. Planted 1873, it now covers a huge area of the town. There was a canoe festival going on, and we got to see several types of canoes being assembled. The luau was great, as usual (just don’t try the Poi!).
Sat 28th - Diving in & around Molokini Island
Saturday we booked an ambitious 3-tank dive around Molokini Island. Molokini used to be a volcanic crater but has since collapsed, leaving a crescent shaped island. First we did a deep dive along the back wall, 90 feet down. We saw lots of fish, coral and sharks (White-Tipped Reef Shark- about 3-5 feet in length). The second dive was shallower (following a typical dive profile where each dive is shallower than the previous), inside the crater. This was also pretty nice, with a wide variety of fish swimming by. We were exhausted after the first two dives, so we sat out the last dive.
Sun 29th - Cruising around Molokini and Lanai
Another of our Hawaii traditions is to take a cruise on a boat with food, sun (hopefully) and snorkeling. Ironically this boat went to Molokini for one stop, and the island of Lanai for the another. Even though we’d already been there, Molokini was still a cool place to swim around and watch the wildlife. At Lanai we saw several sea turtles too. The cruise was operated by the Pacific Whale Foundation, which is dedicated to natural conservation. I spotted another Maui Dive Shop nearby- by this time we’d seen 6 out of their 9 locations. We’re such SCUBA geeks!
Diving in Molokini Crater.
Fran and I on the cruise.
Molokini from the side.
Andrew, Rachelle and Fran's & Rachelle's Mom & Dad.
Mon 30th - Going Home
Well our grand voyage has finally come to an end. For Fran & I, it’s been three weeks and we’re more than ready to get home. Due to our travel booking, we still had to fly from Maui to Honolulu, then to our home in LA. We have some great memories, not to mention hundreds of photos and a couple hours of video. It’s taken me almost two months to finish this blog! I hope you’ve enjoyed reading this and can’t wait to tell you about our next big adventure.
A beautiful sunset to end our excellent vacation.
