Hawaii's origin and life are closely intertwined with volcanoes. Without volcanoes that would have been no Big Island. Pele, the mythical God of fire, lightning, dance, volcanoes and violence, rules over the active volcanoes. The Big Island is made up of seven volcanoes, two of which are underwater. The five that are visible are Kohala, Hualalai, Mauna Kea, Mauna Loa and Kilauea, from oldest to youngest. Eruptions over the years have created layers and layers of rock and eventually created a gently sloped shield volcanoe, as Mauna Loa has shown.
The five volcanoes are not technically dead. They are dormant. Mauna Loa, the largest of all volcanoes, last erupted in 1984. Kilauea started erupting in 1983 and continue until 2018. I remember watch the news, seeing lava flowing into the ocean and changing the physical nature of the island.
At the beginning there was nothing on the island. Slowly, the landscape changed by the 3 Ws': Wind, Wave, and Wings. As you travel around the island you notice that the soil is all lava rocks. It's an interesting landscape and over time, seeds blown by the winds and carried by birds (wings) started a lush tropical landscape. Not the whole island is tropical. In fact it's said that the Big Island has 11 different climatic zones.
However, the rich lava soil, gently sloping mountain soil plus lots of rain produce what the Big Island of Hawaii is best known for - Kona Coffee. The farms are located in what is known as the Kona Coffee Belt, in the southwestern part of the island. You can read more about Kona Coffee in the link above and why it is so important to Hawaii.
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| Coffee Trees with Harvested Coffee in Bag |
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| Coffee Beans. Bright red ones are ready to be picked |
The two sites that are best known for its volcanoes are the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park (HVNP) and Mauna Kea. HVNP is about a 2-hour drive along Highway 11 from Black Rock Farm, where we are staying, in Captain Cook. There are many interesting places to stop and visit along this drive. One is the Puʻuhonua o Hōnaunau National Historical Park. We stumbled on this Historical Park by accident, as we were exploring the area below where we were staying. My friend Gary had told me about this place but it did not dawn on me that it was only 30 minutes away. This site is where native Hawaiians in the old days seek refuge when they break sacred laws, known as kapu, and ask for forgiveness. It's a very small historical site but bears significance in Hawaiian history. About 5 minute walk from this site is a popular snorkeling beach called Two Steps.
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| Sculptures at the Park |
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| Entrance to the Park |
About an hour away is the southern-most point in the United States. It's about a 30-minute detour from Highway 11. Many come here to take pictures of a sign that tells them they are at the southern-most point of the US. We did not find the sign. We say many people jumping off a cliff-side into the ocean. Another popular attraction nearby is the unique Green Sand Beach. It's about a 2-3 mile hike from South Point or you can catch a fee-paying shuttle to the beach.
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| Young Men Waiting to Jump Off the Cliff at South Point |
A few miles from where the side road rejoins Highway 11 we came to the town of Na'alehu. We stopped because we needed a break from the drive. We saw a couple of vehicles selling fruits along the side of the road. We approached the lady selling mangoes and bought five mangoes from her for $4. She told us about another farmer off to a side street selling Hawaiian papayas for four for a $1. That is an incredible bargain because they normally sell for $1.79 a pound even in a grocery store in Hawaii! However, we couldn't find the house but saw a building that attracted our attention: The Punalu'u Bake Shop. This bakery is well known for its malasadas, a type of Portuguese Fried Dough, similar to a donut. These were brought over by Portuguese immigrants who came to Hawaii to work in the plantations in the 19th century.
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Famous for its Malasadas
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| Malasadas |
Later we found the house that had the papayas outside selling for 4 for $1. We were also invited by Cathy and her husband Mike, to their house to pick lychees. We followed them to their farm a few miles away and Mike picked lychees from his trees. What a treat! In my whole life of eating lychees I have never picked them fresh from the tree.
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| Four Hawaiian papayas for $1! |
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| Lychees on a tree |
As we drive northeast towards HVNP we passed another well-known place called the Punalu'u Black Sand Beach. Because the island was formed by volcanoes, after years and years of pounding by the sea, the black lava rocks became sand. It's one of the few black sand beaches on the island.
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| Punalu'u Black Sand Beach |
The entrance to the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park is not too far from Highway 11. The first recommended place to stop is the Visitors Center where you may hear a Ranger giving suggestions on where to get the best views and what interesting things are there to see. There is a Volcano Village where you can stay inside the park. There is not much to do inside the park unless you plan to hike. But it's a worthwhile experience to see the crater and the steam vents. There are many view points where you can see different parts of the crater.
We were directed to several steam vents along the drive around the rim of the crater. The steam do not have any sulphuric or rotten egg smell like in other volcanic places like New Zealand and Iceland that I've been to. If this is your first time it's an amazing sight to see steam rising from the ground. On some trails you can get close to the rim of the crater. After the eruption that ended in 2018 some parts of the park are closed. You can't see very well from the top of the crater but you get an idea of the immensity of the volcano.
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| Steam coming out of the ground |
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| View of the Crater |
