Hawaii: learn how to see erupting volcanoes safely – 07/11/2023 – Tourism

The mysteries of the Big Island, the largest island in Hawaii, begin as soon as you get off the plane. From the small window, we saw the landing strip surrounded by giant volcanic rocks. And already on land, we disembarked at the charming airport in the city of Kona, practically built in the open air.

The island in the Pacific really feels like a world apart. Nearly 4,000 kilometers from California, the flight from Los Angeles takes five hours. Here, little is heard “thank you” or “hello”. It’s “mahalo” and “aloha”. The locals also worship Pele and this has nothing to do with football. Pele is the goddess of volcanoes and is, at this very moment, in full swing.

An eruption on the summit of Kilauea began before sunrise on a Wednesday in June, the 3rd, following small earthquakes below the volcano. A 300-acre lake of molten lava formed, and jets gushed hundreds of feet away.

But no one left the island in a hurry, quite the contrary. Thousands of people flocked to see the eruption at Volcanoes National Park, one of Hawaii’s most popular attractions. And, according to park officials, there is no problem at all.

The park has spaces with spectacular views of the phenomenon, even with the lava lake formed in an area of ​​forbidden access to tourists.

“It’s safe to see the eruption from the waypoints along the Crater Rim Trail,” says Jessica Ferracane, park adviser. “All the lava is confined to a single crater. We only ask visitors to stay out of enclosed areas. Volcanic gases, cliffs, cracks in the earth are some of the hazards associated with volcanoes.”

Open 24 hours, the park suggests visits after 9 pm and before 5 am to avoid the crowds and crowded parking lots.

No one knows for sure how long the show will last. The last similar eruption lasted from January to March of this year. “But we also had a lava lake between 2008 and 2018,” said Ferracane. “Not knowing the duration is part of the wonder and mystery of living on one of the most active volcanoes on the planet.”

Even with no eruption in sight, the park is well worth a visit. After all, who doesn’t want to cross a solidified lava lake at the bottom of a crater, Kilauea Iki? The crater is a 120-meter depression that is also part of the Kilauea volcano, the same one that is currently spewing lava, but through another crater, Halmemaʻumaʻu.

Ferracane says there is “very little risk” on the Kilauea Iki Trail (“iki” is small in Hawaiian), as Hawaii’s volcanoes are the most monitored and studied in the world.

To go down to its solidified lava, the result of an eruption in 1959, you have to cross a lush tropical forest, full of ferns and small birds, such as the natives with red plumage i’iwi and apapane. At the base of the depression, where the solidified lake is located, red flowers called o’hi’a, endemic to the island, practically glow against the arid backdrop of black volcanic rocks.

This desert climate accompanies every trip to the Big Island, with roads cutting through fields of volcanic rock and mountains stained by rivers of solidified lava. Composed of five volcanoes, the Big Island was formed precisely with its eruptions over millions of years. And with each new major eruption, the island gains more territory.

The combination of high mountains and this special soil has given rise to a type of coffee that can only be grown here, Kona coffee, on small farms on the slopes of Hualalai and Mauna Loa volcanoes.

The price is exorbitant, but many farms offer a tour with a tasting at the end. The Mountain Thunder Coffee Plantation, 15 kilometers from the airport, offers a free tour to explain the magic of Kona coffee. To buy the real thing, pay attention to the packaging: if it doesn’t say “100% kona coffee”, it’s a mixture of other varieties.

To enjoy the beaches of the Big Island, you can’t go wrong. There are black, white and even green sand beaches. There are beaches for the family, with various services, such as renting boards and bathrooms, beaches for surfers and also those that are more difficult to reach. In almost all of them, you can do a good snorkel, see lots of small fish and, with luck, turtles.

They say that the best snorkeling of all is in Kealakekua Bay, which can only be reached by boat or a 40-minute hike (the descent is easy, but the ascent is tough).

In addition to exceptional marine life, the bay holds a good Big Island history. It was here that the famous British explorer James Cook, the first European to make contact with the Hawaiian Islands, was assassinated in 1779, on his third voyage across the Pacific. After having one of his boats stolen, Cook tried in vain to kidnap the Hawaiian king to get the vessel back, but the mistake ended up costing him his life.

A monument to Cook has been erected in the bay, where visitors step out into the water. Who walks, it is good to arrive very early or in the late afternoon to avoid the “congestion” of boats that pollute the view in the late morning.

Another aquatic adventure and a Big Island classic is “swimming with the manta rays” on a night dive, with one of several authorized companies (around R$700). Also known as manta rays, they can reach more than four meters, although they do not have a stinger like the dreaded stingrays.

The mantas feed on plankton, which is attracted by the lights of the boats that take the tourists. The trip to one of the manta bays takes an hour and happens right at sunset. If going into the waters of the middle of the Pacific at night doesn’t scare you, the experience can get even more surreal.

Manta rays approach slowly on the sea floor, like alien creatures that seem to fly. Upon rising to the surface, the surprise takes the breath away from the unsuspecting: curious, they can get very close to the snorkeling visitor, lightly scraping our neoprene clothing. However, like the incandescent lavas of Kilauea, it is forbidden to touch them, thus preserving one more of the mysteries of the Big Island.