Taken at the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park on the Big Island.
Tag Archives: Lava Tube
900 Miles: A Week On Hawaii’s Big Island
Hey, folks. I’m baaaaack.
*Crickets chirping*
…Ahem. If you recall, I recently left for a week-long trip to the Big Island of Hawaii. As with all of my travels, I focused on exploration and seeing new things. This was my first time on the Big Island, so there was a lot of ground to cover. And while I’m going cover it all via writing and photography (with a new DSLR!) soon, I thought I’d outline my epic adventure using a list format from this week’s writing challenge. To give you an idea of the scale and length of the journey (totaling nearly 900 miles, to the amazement/horror of the rental car people) here’s a map of the Big Island:
Here’s a list in chronological order of where I went. See if you can chart my routes:
Friday, 11/28/2014:
- Kailua-Kona, Hawaii. (The location of my hotel and the starting and end points of all my daily trips until the last day).
Saturday, 11/29/2014:
- Hilo Farmer’s Market
- Hawaii Volcanoes National Park
- Steaming Bluff
- Kilauea
- Jaggar Museum & Overlook/ USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory
- Thurston Lava Tube
- Chain Of Craters Road
- Devastation Trail
Sunday, 11/30/2014
- La’aloa Bay
- Kahalu’u Beach Park
- Ali’i Drive
Monday, 12/01/2014
Tuesday, 12/02/2014
- Greenwell Farms
- Kealakekua Bay
- Pu’uhonua O Honaunau National Park
- St. Benedict’s Painted Church
- Royal Kona Luau
Wednesday, 12/03/2014
- Botanical World Adventures Rainforest Trail
- Umauma River
- Akaka Falls State Park
- Hilo Farmer’s Market
- Hilo Airport Commuter Terminal
- Lava Tree State Park
- Pahoa
- Rainbow Falls
Thursday, 12/04/2014
Friday, 12/05/2014
Beaches, harbors, volcanos, lava tubes, rainforests, towns, nature trails, waterfalls, gardens, farms, tide pools…I may have overdone it. Then again, I’m already compiling a list of all things I’ll do the next time I go!
Weekly Photo Challenge: Cover Art, Or: Lava Tube Skylight
There’s an ancient lava tube in the outskirts of Hana, Hawaii. You need a flashlight to get through most of it, but there are a few, gorgeous points at which the sun manages to pierce the depths. For some reason, this photo makes me think of the cover of a nature magazine, or an album of soothing nature sounds.
Beneath Hana
As you reach the outskirts of Hana, you might notice a sign pointing toward the Hana Lava Tube. To get into the cavern, you have to climb down a curved set of stairs built into a hill. It’s teeming with vegetation and moisture; you’d never think something so beautiful and lush was hiding right under your feet! It reminded me of the Metroid series, for some reason…
Weekly Photo Challenge: Room, Or: In The Hana Lava Tube
Image
Because nothing says room quite like a 1,000 year-old quarter-mile underground tube made from lava. This is just one part of a short, but sweet tour. Just as a frame of reference, the tip of that rocky outcropping at the bottom is nearly 5 feet tall.