FRIDAY 27TH – THE GRAND FINALE

What an outstanding last day. We had to get up very early to be collected at 5:00am but it was worth it. We flew to Hawaii, the Big Island where we spent the day getting on and off a bus to see spectacular volcanic sights. I had absolutely no understanding of the destructive power of a lava flow.

We spent most of the day on Mount Kilauea, the highlight of which is Halemaumau Crater which contains a crater within a crater in which molten lava is continuously present. Unfortunately it isn’t possible to directly see into the crater but the photo shows what it apparently looks like.

 We could also see in the distance Mount Mauna Loa, the world’s largest active volcano.

There were numerous currently dormant craters to be seen as well as a lava tube hidden away in the forest.

It is quite common to see steam escaping from miscellaneous holes in the ground.

What was particularly spectacular are the lava flows which are completely unstoppable when happening. There is currently a problem with a town near where we toured. The town of Pahoa is in danger of being destroyed. If it is not destroyed, it will at least be isolated. They are apparently looking at constructing some sort of track through an existing lava field to maintain road access.

This photo shows the respect lava flows have for roads.

Well that’s it. Our fantastic holiday is over. We are presently at Honolulu airport waiting to board our flight for the 10 hour flight to Sydney and then on to Brisbane. I hope you have enjoyed reading this as much as we have enjoyed having the experiences related in it. 

Aloha.