Dave & Meredith's Travel Blog

Here is the view from our window at our last hotel in Hawaii across the street from Waikiki Beach on Oahu:

We stayed here for 2 nights.

– Meredith

Everyone says you roll the dice when you go to Hawaii to see volcanic activity. Sometimes there’s no action going on, and other times, people get lucky.

We were lucky. Kilauea and its major vent, Pu’u O’o, have been quite active lately. We started our volcano-packed day with a helicopter ride over the vent and the place where lava is currently flowing into the ocean. Here are some pics Dave took from the helicopter:

Above, our view of the Pu’u O’o crater vent from the helicopter ride.

Above, more vents in a line in the Kilauea lava field. The large plume in the background is where a lava tube makes contact with the ocean.

Next, we spent some time cruising around Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. Half of Crater Rim Drive (the road that encircles Kilauea Volcano’s caldera) was closed because of toxic sulphur dioxide gas spewing out of the crater in the center of the caldera (sweet!). Despite this closure, park officials and Rangers had plenty of activities going on, and the Rangers were very eager to share information about how to get to the area where the lava is flowing into the ocean, even though it is outside the park itself.

We drove to that point in the afternoon. If we didn’t get info beforehand, I’m not sure we would have found it. We had to pass several signs that said, “KEEP OUT” or “ENTER AT YOUR OWN RISK” as well as cross three stretches of road where older lava flows had wiped out the road (it was re-paved). We weren’t exactly sure what to expect except 1) there would be an area to park our car, 2) there would be other people there, 3) we had to bring flashlights if we wanted to stay after dark, 4) we had to be in by 8:00 pm and 5) we had to be out by 10:00 pm.

When we arrived, there were county workers helping to park cars, some enterprising locals selling water, coffee, flashlights and artwork, there was an EMT team waiting in case anyone got hurt, and there was a 3/4 mile path across a lava field marked with reflective posts guiding the way to the viewing area.

Being at the viewing area was a little like going to see fireworks on the Fourth of July. There were about 100 – 200 people there, tourists and locals alike, with cameras and their loved ones. And like a great fireworks show, it did not disappoint. In fact, it was better, because the producer of the show was Mother Nature (or Madame Pele, the Hawaiian goddess of the volcano).

While the sun was out, we saw rocks being thrown into the air against a giant steam plume. But as the sun set, the “rocks” began to glow red – they were actually lava bombs. What an incredible sight! Here are a couple pics:

Above, the viewing area with the crowd waiting for the sun to set.

Above, the plume created by the lava flow hitting the ocean.

Above, there were frequent mini-twisters that would drop from the plume down to the ocean surface. This picture shows two at once.

Above, once it became dark, the same lava bombs we saw earlier appeared redder and redder.

Above, a close-up of a lava bomb explosion.

Above, a long exposure shows the trails of the lava bombs.

Above, that purple splotch above the lava bomb explosion is a lightning flash which occurred frequently within the plume. You’ll see one of these near the end of the video if you watch closely.

We also got some video – it’s about 2 minutes long and goes from day time to night. To see the video in QuickTime format, click here for a small version (faster download) and click here for a larger version (bigger picture). Likewise for Windows Media format: click here for a small version and click here for a larger version. Enjoy!

– Meredith

While we stayed near Kona on the Big Island, I took an afternoon/evening to go scuba diving while Meredith relaxed back at the resort. One of the recommended dives in that area is a night dive to see manta rays. I admit I was on the fence before going. I felt like I could take it or leave it since I was really in the mood to relax but in the end, I’m really glad I went because it is one of the best diving experiences I’ve ever had.

I went with Dive Makai (hello, David, Trish, and Alison!) and was glad I did. We had a small group and everything was very smooth. We did two dives with the first one in the late afternoon. It was a decent dive with some colorful fish and several rays. We went back to the boat after an hour to chill out, dry off, and warm up. I’ve noticed that in the last few years I’m a little more sensitive to motion sickness and that combined with a small, rocking boat and a stomach still not 100% after the antibiotics I was given for my finger meant that, after an hour back in the boat, I was feeling pretty ill. We went through the pre-dive briefing for the manta ray dive which I’m sure took only about 5-10 minutes but by that point, I wanted to get back in the water so badly that it seemed to take forever. Luckily, as expected, once I was back in the water, I felt just fine in less than a minute.

So here’s how the dive works: there’s a spot off the coast south of Kona where someone has set up some spotlights on the bottom (about 35 feet under) pointing toward the surface. These lights attract krill and small fish. The krill then attracts manta rays who feed on them. And then the mantas attract the humans who sit/kneel on the bottom while the mantas swoop and fly around while they feed. They’re harmless to the people even though they come extremely close sometimes. The number of mantas is a bit unpredictable in practice. Supposedly two months ago they had about 30 manta rays at the site. When I set up the dive, they said that they’d seen only 2 the week before.

It was my first night dive and what people said was kind of true. They said it was like floating through space. The boat gives each person an underwater light (basically a waterproof, handheld flashlight) and if you’re not close to others in your party, you see just a bunch of floating lights. We dropped down to 30 feet and swam over to the site. When we got there, there were no mantas yet. The spotlights were on though and shining upward which made a beautiful scene. In a light blue column from floor to surface, schools of shimmering silver fish swam around. We waited about 5 minutes and one manta arrived. It had about a 6-7 foot wingspan and it was incredibly graceful as it swam around. I was amazed how close it came to the divers – sometimes within inches of them. After another 5-10 minutes, another larger manta showed up – perhaps an 8-9 foot wingspan. Both swam around and around. I’m not sure what I was doing right but, for much of my visit, both mantas seemed to circle around me, diving towards me and skimming past me. It’s an amazing sight when they open their giant mouth and come directly for you and at the last minute, they “pull up.” They continued to buzz me, sometimes just an inch or two over my head. There were a few times when I needed to duck and once one of their wings grazed me. I could have stayed for a much, much longer time and I was surprised when, David, our divemaster pointed to his watch to say we’d been down for an hour and needed to head back up.

Usually at this point I’d show you a bunch of pictures and video that I took underwater. The problem was that, because we went to Hawaii via Mongolia, I didn’t want to haul my heavy underwater housing gear around the world. (I took the housing to the Galapagos for the video I showed here on the blog and the housing alone is 5 pounds!) So, linking you to other people’s photos and video will have to do (it’s not legit for me to embed their photos in my site). The best still photo’s I’ve found are right here on Dive Makai’s page about their Manta Ray dives. The picture on the top left (including the bug-eyed diver and the ray an inch above his head) are pretty accurate for what I must have looked like. The picture on the bottom left is what a ray looks like when its mouth is wide open and headed straight in your direction. The bottom right picture is a typical view of the white bottom of a ray as they swim past you. The best video I’ve found is located on the manta ray dive page of a competing dive shop (it should auto-play if you load the page). It replicates very well how I saw the lights and the manta rays.

If you’re a diver and if you’re going to Hawaii’s Big Island, I can’t recommend this dive enough!

– Dave

Here is the view from our window at our B&B near Kilauea volcano:

– Meredith

As promised, the video of our helicopter tour on Kauai is finished, so…here it is for your viewing pleasure. It’s about 3 minutes long.

To see the video in QuickTime format, click here for a small version (faster download) and click here for a larger version (bigger picture). Likewise for Windows Media format: click here for a small version and click here for a larger version. Enjoy!

Also, Dave had his GPS thing on while we were flying, so if you’d like to see the route we took, check out the map and altitude chart below (people reading this via email will have to go to our web site to view it). The tour started in the southeast corner in a town named Lihue and goes in a clockwise loop:

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– Meredith

Here is the view from our balcony at our hotel on the Kohala Coast on the Big Island:

Pretty sweet.

– Meredith

Here is an overhead picture of the place we’re staying for three nights on the Kohala Coast of the Big Island:

Seriously?

Lest you think the architect didn’t know what his building looked like as he was designing it, take a look at where the ballrooms are located:

– Meredith

Kauai is a gorgeous island.  It’s the oldest of the major Hawaiian islands, so its mountains are eroded by water and wind, and covered by a carpet of lush green plants.

During our stay, we saw the two major landscape attractions, the Na Pali Coast and Waimea Canyon.

The Na Pali Coast looks like this:

View of the Na Pali Coast from the air 

View of the Na Pali Coast from the water 

The coast is not accessible by car, so to view it, there are several options: a 5-hour round-trip boat ride across choppy water, an all-day kayak tour (one-way; get picked up by support vehicle on the other side), a 22-mile roundtrip hike over very difficult/steep/slippery terrain, and a helicopter tour.  We did a boat ride and a helicopter tour.

The Waimea Canyon looks like this:

View of the Waimea Canyon from the air

The canyon is accessible by car, which we did on a somewhat rainy day, so the incredible views were mostly hidden from us that day.  But the helicopter tour we took was on a nicer day, so we got to see the canyon from above.  There are also miles and miles of hiking trails in the park, which we didn’t venture onto because of the rain, and because my ankle still isn’t 100%.  One of many reasons to come back to Hawaii.

We also visited some of the island’s many waterfalls and scenic beach vistas.  Here are some pictures from our relaxing week in Kauai:

Dave and Meredith on our Na Pali Coast boat ride

One of Kauai’s many beautiful beaches

Kauai is full of waterfalls

Dave and Meredith after our helicopter tour; notice the stupid grins on our faces, as well as the Hughes 500 helicopter with no doors! 

– Meredith

P.S. We have some video of the helicopter tour.  We’ll post it as soon as we edit it down.

We went to a luau while on Kauai.  If you’ve ever been to one, I’m sure you know what it was like – I think they’re all fairly similar in format:

1. Arrive, tour the grounds.
2. Imu ceremony to unearth a pig you will be eating soon.
3. Bar opens, watered-down mai tais are served while a Hawaiian trio (ukulele, guitar, singer) performs.
4. Find a place to sit among 500 of your closest friends.  Meet the people sitting across from you.
5. Buffet opens, get food, sit down, try poi and not like it.
6. Head to theater for Polynesian extravaganza complete with erupting volcano.

The strengths of the luau we went to are the beautiful grounds (lots of flowers, trees, and birds) and the food, which was really very good (except the poi).  The show was decent, but the guys in the show lacked enthusiasm.  Also, half of them were scrawny teenagers.  The ladies did a better job.

Here are some pics from the evening:

A peacock chases a peahen on the grounds (given how much the peacock shook his feathers to try to attract the female, they should have put him on stage during the show)

Unearthing the pig in the Imu ceremony

A Hawaiian dance

A Tahitian dance

A Maori dance with poi balls (not the same kind of poi served at the buffet; perhaps these would have been tastier)

The show ended with a Samoan fire dance

-Meredith

Here we are in a tropical paradise.  What do you think the most frequently spotted (and heard) bird is?

It’s probably not what you’re thinking.  Here he is:

What?  A rooster?

Yep.  A lot of these guys (and gals) got loose in a big hurricane in 1992, and now there are feral roosters and hens roaming all over Kauai.  Talk about your free-range chicken.

The roosters crow all day and night.  Maybe the hurricane scrambled their internal clocks.

– Meredith