Hawaii with Aloha

Kauai Island

Aloha, a magical word unique to these islands that does not have a firm meaning, but is used liberally. It can be wished upon you, a greeting, a goodbye, your food can be made with it and it can give you good fortune. My blog today was written with aloha.

Halema`uma`u Crater

We finally made it to Hawaii and covered three islands, all very different from one another. The island of Hawaii, or Big Island as it prefers to be called, would be my favourite because, volcano lover that I am, this place has a national park devoted to them. A day was not enough time for the Volcano National Park.

Kīlauea Iki

Inside the lava tubes

The 7km Kīlauea Iki trail took us inside and through the middle of the volcano's crater. Kīlauea Iki erupted spectacularly in 1959 so walking across the huge cooled lava landscape was amazing and then you come to some huge lava tubes, big caverns created by flowing lava that cooled around the outside. Afterwards we took a long drive along Chain of Craters Road peppered with craters and surreal lava landscapes down to the coast where a lava flow reclaimed the end of the road. From there you can walk to   beautiful coastal cliffs and the Holei Sea Arch. Lava on this island is still flowing into the sea so the island is growing in size every year.

Lava taking over the road.

You think???

Holei Sea Arch

To see a volcano in action we went to the Halema`uma`u Crater which is still smoking and glowing to this day. The glowing becomes more noticeable as the day unfolds into night, and is so fascinating we came back on our last night to see it again.

Sunset at nearly 3,000m

Another day was spent at Mauna Kea which is over 4000m high. We drove to the ranger station at 2700m and hiked up to 3300m before returning. We were on the clock as we found out they had free stargazing that night and I was low on petrol. So we raced back to Hilo to fill our petrol tank and fill ourselves at a vegetarian Indian restaurant before returning just in time for sunset on a ridge near the ranger station high above the clouds.Reminding me of a view from an aeroplane, I have never seen a sunset like this with the gorgeous colours shining through the clouds below as the sun goes down. So mesmerising that we stay a bit too long and the trip down becomes a little hazardous over the loose rock with the phone torch lighting the way.

Seen in the ranger station. Take rocks at
your own risk :-)

Star gazing with telescopes

The air up here comes off the vast Pacific Ocean far away from any major pollution source, Hawaii being halfway between mainland USA and Japan. Consequently it's so clean that on Mauna Loa (across the road) is one of only four main CO2 measuring stations in the world, tirelessly documenting our rise in CO2 to levels not seen for over a million years. The night is pitch black. clear and moonless, their best night for a month. The sky was swimming with stars shining brighter than I had ever seen. I was surprised there were so many stars up there. The Milky Way was a bright band stretching across the sky like a cloud, with light that had been travelling for thousands of years to get to us.

Akaka Falls

Waihilau Falls

Getting a lift

The island has many other natural wonders, particularly waterfalls, and we visit several including Akaka Falls and the magnificent Waihilau Falls dropping a huge 792m. The path to Waihilau Falls is via a very steep road from a carpark perched atop stunning coastal cliffs (rental cars not allowed down it). We couldn't get right to the base of the falls, the second tallest in the world, due to a fast flowing river. Thankfully about a quarter of the way back up the steep road a passing 4WD ute invited us to jump in the back.

Kauai Island is known as the garden island for good reason, full of yellow hibiscus (the State flower) pink & red hibiscus, poinsianas, honeysuckle hedges, bougainvilleas, white frangipanis & golden shower trees. Only accessible around the coast as the middle is full of canyons, rivers and forests and is the most rained on place in the world. It is also famous for the movies that have been made in this tropical wonderland: everything from Raiders of the Lost Ark, Avatar and King Kong to Blue Hawaii, South Pacific and Gilligan's Island. Even the monkey scene from Outbreak was filmed here; as the boat guide on a tour up Wailua River said, "Welcome to Africa".

During a drive around the island we saw Waimea Canyon, unequalled except by the Grand Canyon but clearer and with a larger range of contrasting colours provided by the volcanic landscape and the lush greens of the forest. Several medium walks took us to some fabulous beaches and waterfalls. Mornings were started with a jog along the beach followed by a swim in the ocean. What a fabulous way and place to start the day.

Our backyard

December 7th 1941, in a move designed to decimate and demoralise the US so they would stay out of Japan's way while it conquered the Pacific, Pearl Harbour was attacked. Big mistake. Instead the US, previously trying to stay out of WW2, entered the war big time, and the rest is history. Pearl Harbour is on the third island we visited, Oahu. Also home of Honolulu, Waikiki Beach and Diamond Head volcano.

Pearl Harbour Memorial

Part of the Arizona still
above the water line

Always interested in world changing history my main interest here was the Pearl Harbour memorial. Over the sunken USS Arizona they have built a simple platform commemorating the sailors that died on that ship. A tour is free and comes with a historical film before they take you out to the memorial by boat. We also went into an actual WW2 submarine and saw the cramped quarters in which the crewmen lived. Over on Ford Island we toured the USS Missouri, the last battleship ever built, and saw the exact spot on the ship where the Japanese signed the surrender documents. The day finished at the aviation museum filled with actual US and Japanese WW2 planes.

In the submarine
Bowfin

Now where is Michael???

USS Missouri

The actual spot the Japanese
surrender was signed

 

The walk into the Diamond Head
Crater

After getting back to our hostel we walked down to Waikiki Beach and took a swim in the beautiful warm waters that initially go deep and then shallow again. The effect is such that waves come at you from both sides and meet on the shallow bank. On our last day in Hawaii we climbed Diamond Head, walking through a tunnel to get into the crater and then up to some terrific views across the whole island.

The view of Waikiki from Diamond Head

 

As the sun sets on our wonderful time in Hawaii we say a final aloha and for those of us old enough to remember what I am talking about, "Book him Dano".