Whales and Volcanoes

Whales and Volcanoes

Day 4 Thursday. Let's go to the beach. North, past the airport, barely, to a small state park. The road out to the beach was through a lava field for 2 miles. It was definitely a 4wd road a poor mustang found out too late. The beach that we went to was about 10 feet wide at the water. On either side of the sand was lava. The snorkeling was great. There were plenty of reefs and fish. Dexter and Russ saw a Sea Turtle. Duncan got in the water and swam a little, but he was still a little timid. Spencer had a great time on the boogey board. The girls sat on the beach and got their feet wet. We all took turns watching them so others could go out into the water. We decided to eat at a restaurant down the road from our house. It was a definite sea food haven. This turned out to be a lazy day where we got something done. We needed it, because the next morning was an early one.

Day 5 After forcing ourselves to get up and eat, we were off to the Kona Marina. Gordon had planned a whale watching trip for us. The boat was a small double-decker that held about 25 people. The trip took us out into the deep ocean where we could see the peak Haleakala, the 10023 foot peak on Maui. The first whale we were watching for was the Sperm Whale. Stephanie claims she saw a tail, but before she could tell anyone, Taryn got sick. No one else saw a Sperm Whale so after an hour, the boat headed towards shore. Here, we were looking for Pilot Whales. Then it was Duncan's turn to get sick. Just as we got everyone cleaned up, a pod of Pilots showed up in front of us. We went over and the whales seemed to watch us as much as we watched them. In the end, it was us who had to leave and not them. We were back on land in 30 minuets and the rest of the day was unplanned. We decided the best idea was to lay around at the house. That night we had Mexican takeout for dinner.

Day 6 Saturday was a lot like Friday except we had no plans at all. We ended up staying home all day long. It was great to sleep in, swim in the pool, and read. The rest was nice, and we needed to pack, because the next day we were going to the volcano that is on the other side of the island: we would be spending the night over there. Russ, Spencer, and Whitney went out to a nearby beach and went swimming. We called them and had them pick up pizza from Rockie's.

Day 7 An early travel morning. We went South for the first time. We were headed for Volcano National Park. But on the way we had two stops. The first was at a religious sanctuary for those charged with crimes in ancient Hawaii. It was a small cove on the water that had several huts and the ruins of a large building. Legend has it that a if a criminal, charged with any crime, could escape and make it to the cove, they could live there until death without punishment. Back on the road we stopped for lunch at a small burger joint that had forgotten French fries. Our next stop was a ways off the main road. We were headed for the south point of the Island, which is also the farthest south you can go and still be in a U.S. state. Near the point was a 50 foot cliff that lead straight into the water. The water was probably over 50 feet deep. There were large wooden frames built to wench fish form the water after someone had caught one. A boat had tied off to a buoy in the water while a truck at the top took the fish. The only way for people to get up was a chain ladder. Apparently the spot was famous for cliff diving because about 15 people were there to watch and dive. Down the road we found what we believe was the actual south point. There was no sign. Dexter walked out on some rock to get as far south as possible. We drove back up the road to the main highway. Our hotel was another hour away. When we got there it was raining and getting dark. The hotel was in the town of Volcano, on the side of Kilauea. The main office of the hotel was actually a few miles from our rooms, which were in an old converted house. We unpacked, then headed out for the ocean. We had been told that the best time to go to the actually point where the lava hit the water was at night. What our informants forgot to tell us was that it was a 11/2 hour walk the lava. Luckily, a park ranger told us. Stephanie, Dexter, Russ, and Spencer decided to go. The others headed back to town for dinner. The walk was easy. There was an old road (about two months) that had been run over by a lava flow. We walked along the road for a couple of miles, then the road ended. Off to our East we could see the sky turn red as steam lifted into the air. But we were still half a mile away from the water. The last part of the treck was over the lava fields. Luckily we brought our flashlights. Another 1/2 hour brought us to the end of the trail. The trail ended about 20 feet above the water. The lava was about 100 feet away. When a wave came up it would cover the lava and as it went out, red steam would fill the air and we could see the lava trickle into the water. We stayed there for about an hour then headed back. When we got back to the road, a park ranger offered to give us a ride back to the Jeep. We ended up eating cold sandwiches and Cashews for dinner from a gas station at around 11:30, while the others had pancakes. But we all agreed it was worth it, even Spencer thought it was an amazing site. It was something we will never forget.