2ND TRIP / DAY 2: HAWAII ~ Helicopter Aerial View

Hawaiian Lava

This was our main mission for coming back to the Big Island: to see lava! Though Kilauea Crater has been steadily pouring out lava since 1983, there are periods of high activity as well as lulls...so luck & persistence are more of a factor if you get to see lava or not.

A little history...

Back in 1992, I backpacked around the Big Island and one of my best memories was the trek out to see the flowing lava. Mind you, this was an all-day trek taking our small group about 4 hours just to reach the lava. While it was exhausting, the close encounter with the lava was incredibly exhilarating! In those days, the type of lava flowing was of the a'a variety, which was very slow and lumpy. Thus, unless you were vegetation or a snail, pretty much any living thing could get out of its way. Still, a'a lava is friggin' hot and I remember screaming at my buddy to take the darn picture of my 3' closeup with the lava!

However, in recent years the lava has metamorphisized from the slow-moving a'a form into the fast-moving pahoehoe type that flows swiftly. The problem with pahoehoe lava is that tourists often get too close to the edge or the hardened lava they are standing on will suddenly give way without warning. Several incidents have occurred where hikers have been badly burned or even killed. After these incidents – and lawsuits, I'm sure – park rangers now strictly regulate access to the lava. So, Locke & I book a helicopter ride for a view from above and will try and make a trek if the park rangers allow us.

Helicopter Ride

We head over to Hilo Airport to get on our tour with Paradise Helicopters. We are quite fortunate...the rain is gone and the sun is out! There are different type of tours, and we reserved the open door version: great for picture taking, but we literally are held in only by our seat buckles! Locke & I luck out and get the front seat with the pilot – woohoo!

Linear lava tubes protrude into the ocean, creating immense steam when directly interacting with the cool ocean water... 

Lava skylights
Another feature are the lava skylights. These are formed when hardened lava on the surface collapses, revealing the flowing pahoehoe lava underneath. Remember my mention of hiking dangers? Skylight collapse is the main culprit for the unfortunate hiker as it is unpredictable and sudden. Anyway, for this flight we spot two skylights, and this will be our only direct sightings of lava flowing...

Pu u 'Oo Vent
Last stop in the volcano area is the Pu u 'Oo Vent. Though Kilauea Crater is considered the mother site of the latest lava eruption, most of the recent activity has been occurring at or near Pu u 'Oo.


















Lava skylight (above) and Pu u 'Oo Vent (below)

With the volcano tour complete, we fly over points of interests including the Mauna Loa Macadamia Farm, various Hamakua Coast waterfalls and downtown Hilo. In the picture of Hilo (right), note the breakwater in the far distance... this was built in response to the 1946 & 1960 tsunamis that destroyed much of the city.

Downtown Hilo

With the weather cooperating and the rains at least temporarily abetted, we finally head out for some sightseeing in Hilo. First stop is at the famous Hilo Farmer's Market, where we check out the enormous variety of tropical fruits and vegetables available. For some of the items, I just simply had no idea what they were! Since I've had scarier moments both in Asia and Mexico, this situation doesn't faze me. In the nearby local parks, flowers are amazingly abundant. For Locke & I, the wild orchids captures our eyes and imagination as they grow without much assistance.


University of Hawaii – Hilo
We make another stop on the University of Hawaii-Hilo campus. A unique architectural feature is the 'Imiloa Astronomy Center with 3 titanium cone roofs marking an intriguing, yet completely un-Hawaiian style. For some reason, it reminds me of Madonna's cone bras!

Local Party
Locke has a friend in town and we have an invite to stop by during a house party. We got to meet & greet so many locals and had a great time!

>> Al