The Big Island - Jan 28

Today we ventured out to the east side of the island to explore the Kilauea volcano & lava flows. Unfortunately the lava flow stopped 4 weeks ago, so we weren't able to see any red hot lava. On the way to the volcano we made numerous pit stops, including:

• a fresh fruit stand to buy icecream bananas
• a snack break for some smoothies made from fresh fruit
• hiking down to see Akaka falls
• a guided tour of the area around the volcano caldera.
• hiked to the nearest point of the latest lava flows.
• a self-guided tour of a Macadamia Nut factory.

Road side view of the hills during sunrise. Very little vegetation compared to the East side of the island as seen below.

Akaka Falls at 442 ft are the highest free falling waterfall in Hawaii

Kilauea Caldera which is 2 miles wide and 3 miles long.

After viewing the volcano, we drove down to the coast to view the lava flows as they enter the ocean. The active lava flow stopped 4 weeks ago, so we were unable to see any red hot flows. The highway  literally stops at the flow. We then hiked in another 1/4 mile to see 1 year old flows, but we weren't allowed any closer

After only about 1 year of cooling, plant life starts to appear. The above flow is about 20 years old.

People are allowed to buy lots, and rebuild houses on the older flows. Although there is no running water, hydro, or sewage systems, the price seemed right at about $2000 per lot.

We ended our day by stopping in at a Macadamia Nut factory. We still had enough energy to take the self guided tour of the factory. This involved peering into the factory windows to watch the various stages of the process. Unfortunately it was Saturday, so the plant was closed, and there was no activity to be viewed.  Although there were monitors showing a video describing the harvesting process, told in the viewpoint of an animated Macadamia Nut.