Waterfalls Trail - Kuhala

Today we travelled north to Kuhala to trek over an area once used as a sugar plantation.  

Initially we drove along a very barren highway over lava fields..

At Kuhala we changed vehicle from an air-conditioned modern minibus to this all-terrain vehicle once owned by the Swiss army!  

It was also air-conditioned in a slightly different way.  We were advised to hold on to the straps hanging from the roof frame and try to avoid banging our heads on the metal bits!  Good advice as we headed up onto the rocky hillside and over lumpy tracks and fields..

Once on foot we headed to the first waterfall through damp and fertile wooded areas and open fields.  Guava trees were all around us - some unripe..

-and some fully ripe which we were encouraged to try..

The ground was slippery with yellow fallen fruit like this as well as the smaller strawberry guava which grows on bigger trees.  The guava is not native to Hawaii but having been introduced, thrives in the climate in this area.

The waterfalls on the trek were very beautiful as well as the plants growing around them..

At one waterfall we were all invited to swim in the pool beneath - cool water on a very hot morning..

No, of course we didn't - but it did look lovely..

Anaeho'omalu Bay

The nearest sandy beach to Waikaloa is known as 'A' bay, for obvious reasons!  It is accessible along a rather lumpy coast path of crushed lava and coral but with beautiful views.

On the other side of the path was a preserved habitat of semi-saline pools..

The beach itself did not disappoint..

We came across a rather spiky but very beautiful sea urchin washed up on the shore..

Again there was a freshwater/semi-freshwater pool behind the beach.

We stopped for lunch at a cafe with a great view..

The walk back was very warm and we were happy to cool off in the lagoon this afternoon before going to photograph what proved to be a very cloudy non-sunset..

Island Tour - Rainforest & Volcanoes National Park

From the black sand beach we climbed high up onto the windward side of the island where the climate is very different.  Whereas in Waikoloa and Kona on the leeward side of the island the annual rainfall is around 10 inches, on the other side the rainfall is much greater at up to 140 inches per annum.  The higher altitudes away from the coast are cloudy most afternoons and the mountains often shrouded in cloud.

In the Volcanoes National Park, the natural rainforest habitat of huge ferns and mossy trees has been restored by the exclusion of non-native animals which were destroying it.  We walked through part of the rainforest which is high above the now quiet but not completely cool caldera of a  huge volcano - there is a path across it - if you look closely you can see people hiking along it - but also fissures where steam is constantly venting out from the cooling lava deep underground.

We walked through a lava tube, a long tunnel, formed when the volcano had erupted..

From there we travelled a short distance to see some steam vents..

David was unimpressed at having to stand in the sulphurous steam to experience the steam effect.

We travelled on to the Volcano House - a National Parks Service hotel and restaurant - high up in the mountain it had a great view of the visibly active part of the volcano Kilauea with steam and gases rising into the sky from the caldera..

We had dinner at the Volcano House and then moved on, at dusk, to the vantage point of the volcano museum and observatory where the view of the crater was spectacular in the dark sky..

The colour was a reflection, within the steam and gases, of the burning lava within the crater and we were told that we were lucky to be viewing the volcano on a still night when the plume of steam and gas was not dissipating as fast as it might be.