Big Island of Hawaii -- Hawaii days 6 & 7: Settling in & Touring Volcanoes National Park

Day 6; Monday December 23rd was the day we were leaving Maui and heading to the big island of Hawaii. Our flight with Hawaiian Airlines was around 11 and we still had to drop off our rental car and navigate the crowded airport so we left our rental early in the morning just in case. 

It was a very short flight between islands but we still had to check bags, pick up our bags, drop off one rental car in Maui and pick up another in Hawaii so we treated it like any other arrival/settle in day. 

my new favorite Hawaiian snack! (we tried one other brand but it wasn't as good!)

Leaving Maui, I had a window seat!




Already spotting the big island on the horizon.






You can see huge lava fields from the plane; the ground is all black and cracked and dried looking. 


After picking up bags and the rental car we headed to The Big Kahuna Beach Grill. The food was yummy and we had a pretty view too. 



It rained a bit but we had to go get groceries anyway (at Wal-Mart with what seemed like everyone else on the island doing some last minute Christmas shopping).  At least Wal-Mart's food prices weren't as high as the grocery store we found on Maui. 


It cleared in time to watch the sunset from our back deck. 


I loved listening to the sounds of the waves






Christmas eve day we drove over to Volcanoes National Park (2 hours away) and spent nearly all day exploring. The drive there was a long one, but very pretty. We actually drove by the largest macadamia nut orchard in Hawaii. 








The night before when we were still in Maui my husband had read that the volcano on the big island had started erupting and I responded with "oh good! I was hoping it would!" He thought I was crazy and that the volcano erupting would be a bad thing for our trip but I assured him that it was something we really wanted to see. 

We went to the visitor's center first and then walked over to the volcano house to see the lava that just began flowing a day or so earlier. 



As you can see the eruption is pretty small and far away so we were safe


We went to the first overlook and looked into the crater, then walked over to the Thurston Lava Tube. 






It was a disappointment to us after having toured the Hana lava tubes but we didn't know what it would be like. It was rather short and very dark and just looked like a tunnel.

We went to hike a bit of the devastation trail.





We drove the rest of the crater rim trail down to the petroglyphs and then hiked out to see them (ancient carvings in the lava rocks). 










Then we went to the sea arch. 





We drove back up to the visitor's center and went back to see the lava flowing even higher. 







From there we walked over to the Volcano art center  to look at all the beautiful artwork and then took the trail to the sulfur vents. 







Evan and I enjoyed zooming in on the sulfur crystals. 





We saw lots of vents and steam too.






The park was S-U-P-E-R crowded (probably because the volcano was erupting!) but we got their early and seemed to avoid most of the crowds for most of the day. 

Linking up with:








Comments

  1. Fabulous shots from the air and also such a gorgeous sunset. Thank you for sharing your trip with us. #MMBC

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    1. I was so thrilled to get a window seat for that ride!

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  2. Such beautiful shots- especially those in the air- what an incredible destination!

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  3. The views from the plane! Wow! I am embarrassed to say this but you prompted me (from your earlier post) to do some research and I had no idea Hawaii had so many islands. I would find the grocery very interesting there. Walmart does it again! lol!

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    1. I enjoy grocery shopping no matter where we go just to see the different prices and varieties but Hawaii was really neat and oh so different.

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  4. The pictures are so pretty and glad you were able to avoid most of the crowds.

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    1. Aw, thank you! I have become a master at avoiding crowds.

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  5. What amazing views from the plane and how wonderful to be so close to the ocean.
    Seeing the volcano and the lava sounds so interesting.

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    1. Those plane views were incredible. We hardly ever see water that color!

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  6. Wow! Incredible. How lucky you were to see the volcano erupt.

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    1. We were so lucky to time it just right; the eruption only lasted a couple of days.

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  7. I would have had the same concern as your husband if I heard that a volcano was erupting but you were right... you were indeed lucky to see it! Beautiful photos!

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    1. Thank you! I am so glad it wasn't a major eruption that interfered with our stay because I'm not sure what we could have done at that last possible minute!

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  8. The pictures are incredible! This makes me want to visit Hawaii again sometime.

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  9. The second to last photo confused me with the line of white at the top and the steam continuing to rise up! The Big Island is so interesting, I remember climbing on the lava!

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    1. I know; a few of them confused me when the actual photos came in and I thought they messed up developing until I realized that white line at the top was how my camera saw the sky behind the crater!

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  10. These are incredible shots. I especially love them because our day there was chilly and foggy. But that is just how how travel goes. The views from the plane are great too!

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    1. We really lucked out with beautiful weather!

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  11. What an awesome adventure, Joann! I've never never been to the Big Island, but now I definitely want to!

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    1. Thank you! It really was quite an adventure and one I'm sure we'll be talking about for years.

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  12. What a beautiful trip! It looks like you had great experiences!

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  13. Amazing Photos Joanne! When I went to the Hawaiian Islands, I decided the Big Island was my favorite. The stark contrast of terrain, colors, and volcanic soil on one side and lush Hilo greenery on the other was a treat. Saw your post at SSPS # 344. My shares this time are #53, 54, 56, 57, and 58. Warm regards, Nancy Andres @ Colors 4 Health

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    1. We thought the contrast in terrain was really neat too!

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  14. We loved this island and the volcano was fascinating. We have also been on Oahu. Maybe this year we will go to Maui.

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  15. Fantastic pictures. You made the most of the window seat! Fantastic to see a volcano erupting

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  16. The volcano activity would have been great to see, I am glad that you were able to enjoy it. Your whole trip has been so much good hiking and sight seeing! I can clearly se that the Big Island would also make a great vacation. I have no doubt that Maui has changed so much since I was there...

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    1. We did do a lot of hiking and sight seeing. I can't imagine traveling that far that just to sit at the pool or the beach-- though we made sure to do that at least part of one day!

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  17. The views are incredible and how wonderful you get to see the volcano erupting. Talk about it once in a lifetime thing
    Xoxo
    Jodie

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    1. Absolutely! We really lucked out as the volcano hadn't erupted at all since maybe August and we weren't expecting to get to see any fresh lava at all.

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  18. I really loved Big Island. The marine life was extraordinary and the volcano and lava fields are amazing!

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    1. I really loved seeing the lava fields too; especially seeing people's home built on the old lava rocks with black front yards. It was unique for sure.

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  19. Very cool pictures of the lava flow! Looks like a great day out!

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  20. Amazing photo's! Seeing lava in real life like that must be a really special experience and those sulpher crystals look so interesting.

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  21. How cool that you got to see the lava! All of your pictures look so pretty and interesting. It looks like you had such a great trip!

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  22. I remember just being in awe of the Big Island!! It smelled so good...like tropical flowers! We did a lot of sightseeing but I wish I could remember more of what we did! Your photos are stunning!

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  23. Oh wow.. that is incredible.. the lava! Need to get ourselves to Hawaii soon.

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    1. It was really neat. At times it felt like we were on a foreign planet.

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  24. All is very beautiful. WOW. So lovely.

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  25. Joanne, this trip is absolutely incredible! How cool that you got to see an erupting volcano! You guys have certainly made the most of all your time! Your pictures are so beautiful!

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  26. It's all so beautiful Jo - even when the sky was overcast. The scenery and the tropical feel came through big ime in your photos. I sounds like you're having the best time!

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    1. Thank you! We learned that the eruption caused the overcast weather; they call it vog for volcanic fog and it often causes rain and low pressure systems on the side of the island we stayed on.

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  27. You got some amazing pictures and how wonderful that you saw the volcano errupt. Would have been a scary thought for me at first too, but glad to hear they are safe for visitors to see.

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  28. Your pictures are beautiful! And dark chocolate sea salt macadamias....oh my gosh.

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    1. Aw, thank you! I think we ended up eating 3 bags of those over the 10 days... and I really wish I had bought one last bag on our last day.

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  29. I've never been to the big island the scenery is so different than Maui but just as beautiful! So cool that you got to see the volcano erupt!

    Jill - Doused in Pink

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    1. Yes, we were struck by how different the two islands looked too. It was so neat that we got to see the volcano erupt; we planned it just right!

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  30. I had heard the flights between islands were just like flying somewhere else because of the airport rigamorole. What gorgeous photos you've taken! Did you stay at a condo, airbnb or vrbo? I really want to go someday, and who knows? Maybe, Mike will recover enough to finally say yes!

    https://marshainthemiddle.com/

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    1. We stayed at Airbnbs. We had hoped to do a day trip to Oahu but yeah, with all the airport rigamarole it didn't really seem worth it.

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  31. Wow! What a view for the sunset! I bet the sound of those waves was so peaceful!

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  32. Your sunset pictures are gorgeous! Also, I think I would be scared if I was near flowing lava... Yikes!

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    1. It was a tiny bit unsettling but mostly I felt relieved that it was small and flowing; that way the pressure isn't building up for a bigger explosion.

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  33. Wow, wow, wow. I have never been to the Big Island--your pictures look absolutely amazing. How neat/strange to be so close to a lava flow. :) And, really, Hawaii from the sky is so gorgeous, too! Thanks for sharing this with us at the Will Blog for Comments #54 linkup. We hope to see you again at #55 next week!

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    1. Thank you! It was really neat and definitely a bit unsettling as well to be so close to the lava flows.

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    2. This blog post was one of the most popular at the Will Blog for Comments #54 linkup! Congratulations. :) It will be in the spotlight starting today and throughout #55. You're welcome to celebrate with your readers by saving the "This Blog Post Was a Featured Favorite" image from there and sharing it here, if you like. :)

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  34. That is just the coolest thing that y'all got to see the actual lava erupting from the volcano!! That's not something that many people can see that they've seen in real life! Y'all had some excellent timing!

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