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Hawaii Volcanoes National Park - Chain of Craters Road

(posted from Victoria, BC on March 27,2008)

After three hours of exploring the 17 kilometer Crater Rim Drive which encircles Kilauea Volcano, we headed south to check out the Chain of Craters Road.

It is a 9 kilometer route which descends 4,000 feet in altitude to near sea level. In my previous blog, I emphasized that Kilauea Volcano seemed to be located on a plain, but this steep descent proves otherwise.

Along the way, we passed the nearby Mauna Ulu vent which was active from 1969 to1974. Mauna Ulu was noteworthy for its spectacular lava fountains spewing at times as high as 500 meters into the air. This must have been an unforgettable sight especially at night.

The evidence of past volcanic eruptions in this area is total and pervasive as the eruptions blanketed some 18 square miles . It also added 240 acres of new lava bench land to Hawaii as an extension into the Pacific Ocean.

As we continued our winding descent towards sea level, the eerie landscape was ted by two features - the blue sky and the black igneous rock. We were in an exhilarated state as we had always wanted to take a drive on the moon.

As we approached the coast, the lunar landscape was replaced by glimpses of stunning black cliffs that plunged into the sea from the top of the lava benches.

Created by the relentless push of former lava eruptions into the sea, these lava benches are notoriously unstable. While they are igneous rock, the sheer weight of this new formed land extending into the ocean causes fissures. The resulting weakness in the rock frequently causes huge chunks of the bench lands to break off and plunging into the sea. The abrupt nature of the breaks creates the sheer cliffs making for this spectacular coast line .

It is difficult to heed the warnings not to venture out too far on the bench lands as the view of the cliffs is just too enticing. Needless to say, photos were taken quickly in order to beat a hasty retreat.

While the drive to this point along Chain of Craters Road had been exciting, our main reason for driving down here was to actually see the point where the road originally paved by contractors had been "repaved" in a most dramatic way by immense lava flows. The lava had descended the mountain on its way to the sea, most recently in 1990.

The origins of this lava flow were from the Puu O'o Vent which created the Kupaianaha Lava Shield. (1983 - 1990)

Present day lava flow, albeit out from sight of road access, is in the so-called East Rift Zone of Kilauea Volcano. This zone, created from 1983 to the present time, extends over a vast area extending beyond the park's eastern border .

During our visit, the Honolulu Star Bulletin (January 11, 2008) had a story about the lava flow in Kilauea's Eastern Rift Zone breaking its pattern and flowing towards the only two houses still inhabited in an area known as Royal Gardens.

The two houses are the only remnants of a sub-division which has been overrun with lava many times over.

The two inhabitants steadfastly refuse to leave and their phlegmatic attitude is summarized by Jack Thompson who said "I can see the glow at night, it has been a block up from me dozens of times. I'll get worried when I feel the heat".

He runs a bed and breakfast called, what else, The Lava House. Visitors arrive by helicopter and almost no one stays overnight. (I wonder why).

The other inhabitant of the area is Dean Schneider. Not surprisingly, the two rugged individuals (how else could they be described) barely know each other and don't socialize .

They prefer living here in solitude away from the late night, bird-like calls of the coqui frogs and the early morning crowing of roosters that are pervasive in nearby Hilo.

We now found ourselves on the south-east coast at the road block which signals the official end of a road that used to lead all the way back to Hilo.

The point is marked by red pylons and an information booth. A four minute lava safety video outlines the hazards of molten lava. We took a pass since there is no molten lava to be seen anywhere near here.

To see the actual point where the road has been obliterated by the lava flow requires a kilometer walk beyond the road block.

Sure enough, there it is, like so much thick black ooze, the hardened lava now covers the road where cars used to drive.

From here, further exploration towards the coastline, which is only about 400 meters away, is irresistible . The walk is treacherous over rough lava terrain and sandals are not recommended. The sink holes are marked by small orange cones to avoid unpleasant surprises along the way. At the end of the trail is the repeated warning about the hazards of lava benches.

Once again the reward is a superb view of the new coastline consisting of the same sheer black cliffs created by bench lands breaking off and cascading into the sea.

We now retraced our steps up the Chain of Craters Road back to the point where it joined Crater Rim Drive.

Just before the park exit, we stopped to look at Thurston Lava Tube. The concept of a "lava tube" certainly piqued our curiosity.

As we found out later, a lava tube is an underground crevice or opening in the subterranean rock through which molten lava flows or in this case, has flown.

Today we were visiting the most famous of the lava tubes - Thurston Lava Tube - created some 500 years ago .

The first part of the visit involves a steep descent through lush rain forest into a dormant crater where we enter into the lava tunnel my means of descending stairs.

It is described as a tube because it is about 150 meters in length, narrow and round. There is little evidence of light in the tunnel as the photo of Barbara and I would attest. With time the eyes do adjust and there is enough light to keep scant visual contact with the people walking ahead.

The fact that the lava tube is presently empty could be compared to a horizontal water pipe which no longer has a source of water flowing into it thereby resulting in an empty pipe. The flow, in this case, is molten lava which once flowed through this opening.

The highlights of the rest of our day were three-fold.

First was a stop in the village of Volcano at the Lava Rock Café which once again confirmed that it is almost impossible to get a bad cup of coffee in Hawaii . This place (the Hawaiian Islands) is renowned for its coffee and every cup proves that point.

Secondly, in the evening, we had the pleasure of attending a Christmas musical at the majestic Palace Theater in historic downtown Hilo. Seeing the inside of the remarkable building was easily worth the "donation" price of admission.

The Christmas musical, put on by King's Chapel Church of North Hilo and Honokaa, was entitled "Birthday of a King". In a Broadway play type format, the many characters highlighted the struggle between good and evil in song and words.

We thoroughly enjoyed the performance put on in this ornate historical building.

During the musical, I kept thinking how lucky we were to be sitting in the middle of the Pacific Ocean during the Christmas Season of 2007 and seeing such a quality show.

The main character of the musical turned out to be the charismatic pastor of the King's Chapel Church. We had to marvel at his zeal, conviviality and good old fashion barn-burning oratory. It was a reminder of exactly how dynamic and moving a Southern Baptist type of sermons can be.

Our third highlight was eating a late supper (as we usually do) at the Naung Mal Thai Kitchen in downtown Hilo.

We reconnected with Thai cuisine realizing that the meals are exceptionally good, the portions are large and the prices are reasonable . The best part was that there was enough food to have lunch the next day from the leftovers.

The restaurant also was memorable for its selection of art in the men's washroom.


Coming Soon:

Salvation to a Rainy Day: Imiloha - Astronomy Center of Hawaii