Journey to the centre of the earth

Thursday, November 18, 2004
Hilo, Hawaii, United States
Waikiki does not suit a repeat visit as well as San Francisco; miming hula singers, torch lighters etc... However we did strike lucky on a visit to Hanamau Bay where we came across a Hawksbill Turtle munching unconcernedly on the coral. After a while it came up to breathe , oblivious of the surrounding snorkellers doing the same. Truly a hero in a half shell.

We were considering a trip to Kauai, but then research revealed that things were happening volcano-wise and so we hotfooted it (literally) to Big Island . After picking up a white Chevy Cavalier, confusingly one of many being rented out round the island, (makes it very difficult to find in a car park!) we took off up to the volcano park and to the end of Chain of Craters road. It was then a long, hot, rough 90 minutes across the lava, including an unnerving section across hot ground - a six day old flow with molten rock flowing beneath. Dodging the steam plume which is laced with glass and hydrochloric acid, we edged down to the coast and there it was, red lava oozing into the sea. Clouds of steam were coming up and boulders smoked on the black sand of a beach mere days old.

Moving swiftly back from this unstable coastline, we picked our way up to a group of people on the hillside. There, guarded by a ranger (and all hail these wonderful people) was a slow-moving silver snake of lava, creeping across the older layers and occasionally splitting open to reveal a flood of red molten rock. It is surprisingly quiet except when bits of glass are spat out; the noise and flames only happen when lava hits plants or other non-rock objects and in this landscape there are very few . We didn't have the One Ring with us as this would have been a good opportunity to dispose of it, although this could be construed disrespectful to Pele, the volcano goddess - not someone to offend with a hot crossing to do!

Like the gorilla with the machine gun, lava does what it wants so we are most fortunate to have been around when the flow was within walking distance of the road. We were even luckier when we got back to the road at sunset to see the glow of a new flow coming over the hillside - a complete set of volcano phenomena!

On a wet day we went over to the Ka'u desert on the leeward side of the mountain where it was only drizzling. This area is almost bereft of plants and when the mist lifted and the sun came out, we could have been on Mars; the only giveaway that Viking wasn't just round the corner was a spectacular rainbow.

In our normal late-adopting fashion, we now finally own a digital camera so when we can get a download you may get to see some very unusual holiday photos. Tomorrow it is back on the Pacific Wings light aircraft (uh-oh) to Honolulu, and then on to Fiji and over the dateline on Saturday/Sunday/Monday.

next update probably from New Zealand!

love and lava to allHelen and Andy

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