Monday - The Diversity of the Big Island

On Monday, we woke up early and drove back into Hilo for our second helicopter tour, this one of the volcano and the lava flows. While the overall scenery wasn't as captivating as that of Kauai, we were thrilled to look into the crater of a volcano and see red lava flows, as well as the sight of lava flowing into the ocean, creating new earth. The power of the volcano was so evident from the helicopter. We flew over a village that was enveloped by lava flows. Part of the small town still stands - with an operating B&B, but it is an island in a major lava field. There are no accessible roads - the only way in or out is by air. We saw streets that stood alone in the field that had dead ends on both sides, covered by lava. The air was also thick with gases from the volcano. It was an experience neither of us will soon forget.

Streets blocked by lava

Looking into the crater

New land being formed

After the helicopter tour, we enjoyed a good lunch at a cafe in Hilo (one of the places we'd tried to visit the day before). It was in a scary shopping center, but turned out to be one of our favorite meals so far. Then we began our drive to Kona that tooks us from the desolate lava fields through a rain forest, through ranch lands, and then back to the lava fields on the west side of the island. Along the way we made a few stops at points of interest. The most notable was a point on the north side where a small village was devastated by a tsunami 60 years ago. The power of the waves was mesmerizing. We also took a short hike through a state park to see Akaka Falls. The surrounding rainforest held so many beautiful varieties of flowers and plants, and we enjoyed seeing the waterfall up close. The final highlight of the drive was passing through the Parker Ranch. Our guidebook informed us that the Parker Ranch is the largest ranch in the US - over 225,000 acres. Not what you'd expect to find in Hawaii!

Akaka Falls

Watching the waves

The diversity of the terrains of the island is truly strange and beautiful. Each island is so different and has it's own character. We're having a great time getting to see it!