Profile
Blog
Photos
Videos
Brenton Kovacs's Travels
20th
We leave Japan at 8pm on the 20th and arrive in Hawaii at 8am on the 20th. The flight is 7.5 hours. We have a few hours to spend in the airport as our night flight is not till 1pm, which is taking us to the BIG Island. It is only a 50 minute flight. We have booked a house for the week, and a rental car to get around the island.
We arrive at Hilo and collect or Jeep 4WD. Its a nice new red Jeep, and shauna is very happy. The car has a removable sunroof, which is what she wanted. Now its a short drive to our airbnb house. The house is quite nice and spacious, especially after all the places in Japan. After unpacking we dash out to the supermarket for some supplies.
As we are about 10ks from Hilo, and we are pretty much in the middle of nowhere and no street lights it is ever so dark. The night sky is full of very bright stars.
Now as we are pretty much on the very edge of the rain forest, the noise of the night insects is so so loud. But as we are very sleep deprived i am sure sleep will be easily attained.
21st
Yes we both slept well, as our body clocks are still out of sync form Japan. Our first place we visit is Waipio Bay in the far north of the Big Island. The views are impressive, the wind is incredibly strong. After this stop we head west across the island and the head south before turning east to head back along the Saddle road to drive to the top of Mauna Kea. It sis 13,500ft high, and the road is paved until the last few miles, where the road is very rough and steep in parts.
We managed to drive to the top with the roof down, but we have to fit the roof back as its a chilly 4 degrees C. The wind up here must be 30 to 40kph. This makes it feel even colder, and very hard to stand up straight. The views are pretty amazing. Its a sea of clouds below us, and beautiful blue sky above us. Snow is still on the mountain top. We decide to stay and watch the sunset before heading back down to the Observatory where you can do star gazing with telescopes, all for free.
The night sky is full of stars, and as the moon is on in the beginning of its cycle there is a lot to see. There would be 100 plus people here enjoying the night sky, be it cold. We dont get back to our house till after 9pm, and its off to bed, but getting to sleep tonight will prove difficult with all the night time noises.
22rd
Didnt get much sleep last night, but that was to be expected. The insects make so much noise, its incredibly loud. Today we head south to a remote black sand beach called Punaluu. The drive is about 2 hours and takes us from dense rain forest to the wide open vast areas of nothing but lava rocks. Vegetation is very slowing growing back, but will take a long time.
The beach has a few resident turtles, which by chance just happen to be basking on the black sands of the beach. There are plenty of people here, considering the remoteness of this place. The water is a pristine blue colour, and the incoming wind is creating small to medium waves that come crashing into the lava rocks.
Next stop is Volcano National Park. The admission ticket is good for 7 days, so we only see the steam vents and the massive Kilauea Caldera. There is plenty of smoke being admitted from the crater. There is no current lava flows, so we wont be seeing and molten lava, but we are told to return at night when you will see the red light coming from the crater lighting up the smoke. The lava pool is still bubbling away.
Now i should mention that the weather here is somewhat tropical. Hilo gets up to 10 metres of rainfall each year, making it one of the wettest places on earth. We can go from a nice sunny day, then it buckets down, then its sunny again. We have had a lot of rain each night as well.
Oh the joys of tropical weather.
23rd
Today is waterfalls day. First we visit Rainbow falls, where yes there is a rainbow. The surrounding area here is very unique. Beautiful lush green forest, crystal clear, cold water.
Next stop is Akaka Falls. These are quite impressive, and the walk to the falls takes you through some amazingly dense rain forest. Then its a visit to coconut island. Nothing much here, just a fancy name. WE take a scenic route along the coast and find some walking trails to some remote beaches. Huge waves crashing in to the lava rocks made for some good viewing.
Tonight we head back to Volcano NP to see the lava crater. Its is a sight to behold. The lava pit is half a mile wide and the lava pool is quite visible from the lookout. Now its not till the next day that we learn the lava has risen to and all time high level in the crater. Now wonder it looks so awesome.
24th
Shauna wants to swim with the dolphins, which means a trip to the west side of the island. The drive takes 2 hours and we arrive in a place called Kona. This is the touristy side of the island with many upmarket hotels and cafes. There is a cruise ship anchored offshore. This side gets very little rain, so nowhere near as green as the east side. For lunch we have a Loco Moco which is a local dish. Nothing fancy, just a beef patty with rice and egg and covered with gravy. It was very good. We are told to drive south to a place called 2 step. Here you can jump off the lava rocks and swim with the dolphins. We see plenty of dolphins, and now Shauna is convinced she must do it. But she wants to do it from a boat with other people. After a lot of calls she manages to find a tour boat that has a vacancy. Now the tour starts at 8am, we decide to stay the night here. Doesnt take long to find a hotel for a reasonable price. So we bunk down here for the night.
25th
Up at 7am and i drop Shauna off at the marina. I am not going on this tour, so i head back to the hotel till checkout time. The tour finishes at midday and i am waiting as she arrives. Shauna tells me that there were up to one hundred dolphins swimming close by. The visibility under water was very clear, so she managed to get lots of footage on the gopro. She also tells me that the water depth was over 30 metres, which is way to deep for me, so i am glad i didnt go.
The drive back to Hilo takes a few hours and we put the feet up and do some relaxing before heading back to Volcano NP to see the activity in the lava crater. The activity in the lava lake has made headlines on the island, so the place is packed. Parking is a problem, but we finally get one. This time the lava lake has risen even further, and you can see it bubbling around the edges. Bangs can also be heard as the lava explodes. The lava has risen over 40 metres in the last few days. Now that is a lot of lava considering that its nearly 200 metres in diameter.
There is a web cam in the building next to the lookout and offers some very dramatic close up footage.
As we are driving out of the park, the queue to come in must be over 2 kilometres long. Thats going to be a long night for them, as parking is a big problem.
What a finish to a great day.
26th
This is our last full day on the Big Island. So we head down to the south coast to see what is left of a town after a lava flow destroyed over 170 homes. This happened about 20 years ago. Some of the pictures of before and after certainly show the devastation.
Next stop is back to Volcano NP to drive down the crater rim road to the sea. This is where the lava, when flowing, reaches the sea. No lava is currently flowing into the ocean. What you get to see is the vast amount of lava flow, it is huge. We head back and take a walk through a lava tube before calling it a day. Tomorrow its a short flight back to Honolulu where will will spend a week, before Shauna goes home. I am not looking forward to that day at all.
We leave Japan at 8pm on the 20th and arrive in Hawaii at 8am on the 20th. The flight is 7.5 hours. We have a few hours to spend in the airport as our night flight is not till 1pm, which is taking us to the BIG Island. It is only a 50 minute flight. We have booked a house for the week, and a rental car to get around the island.
We arrive at Hilo and collect or Jeep 4WD. Its a nice new red Jeep, and shauna is very happy. The car has a removable sunroof, which is what she wanted. Now its a short drive to our airbnb house. The house is quite nice and spacious, especially after all the places in Japan. After unpacking we dash out to the supermarket for some supplies.
As we are about 10ks from Hilo, and we are pretty much in the middle of nowhere and no street lights it is ever so dark. The night sky is full of very bright stars.
Now as we are pretty much on the very edge of the rain forest, the noise of the night insects is so so loud. But as we are very sleep deprived i am sure sleep will be easily attained.
21st
Yes we both slept well, as our body clocks are still out of sync form Japan. Our first place we visit is Waipio Bay in the far north of the Big Island. The views are impressive, the wind is incredibly strong. After this stop we head west across the island and the head south before turning east to head back along the Saddle road to drive to the top of Mauna Kea. It sis 13,500ft high, and the road is paved until the last few miles, where the road is very rough and steep in parts.
We managed to drive to the top with the roof down, but we have to fit the roof back as its a chilly 4 degrees C. The wind up here must be 30 to 40kph. This makes it feel even colder, and very hard to stand up straight. The views are pretty amazing. Its a sea of clouds below us, and beautiful blue sky above us. Snow is still on the mountain top. We decide to stay and watch the sunset before heading back down to the Observatory where you can do star gazing with telescopes, all for free.
The night sky is full of stars, and as the moon is on in the beginning of its cycle there is a lot to see. There would be 100 plus people here enjoying the night sky, be it cold. We dont get back to our house till after 9pm, and its off to bed, but getting to sleep tonight will prove difficult with all the night time noises.
22rd
Didnt get much sleep last night, but that was to be expected. The insects make so much noise, its incredibly loud. Today we head south to a remote black sand beach called Punaluu. The drive is about 2 hours and takes us from dense rain forest to the wide open vast areas of nothing but lava rocks. Vegetation is very slowing growing back, but will take a long time.
The beach has a few resident turtles, which by chance just happen to be basking on the black sands of the beach. There are plenty of people here, considering the remoteness of this place. The water is a pristine blue colour, and the incoming wind is creating small to medium waves that come crashing into the lava rocks.
Next stop is Volcano National Park. The admission ticket is good for 7 days, so we only see the steam vents and the massive Kilauea Caldera. There is plenty of smoke being admitted from the crater. There is no current lava flows, so we wont be seeing and molten lava, but we are told to return at night when you will see the red light coming from the crater lighting up the smoke. The lava pool is still bubbling away.
Now i should mention that the weather here is somewhat tropical. Hilo gets up to 10 metres of rainfall each year, making it one of the wettest places on earth. We can go from a nice sunny day, then it buckets down, then its sunny again. We have had a lot of rain each night as well.
Oh the joys of tropical weather.
23rd
Today is waterfalls day. First we visit Rainbow falls, where yes there is a rainbow. The surrounding area here is very unique. Beautiful lush green forest, crystal clear, cold water.
Next stop is Akaka Falls. These are quite impressive, and the walk to the falls takes you through some amazingly dense rain forest. Then its a visit to coconut island. Nothing much here, just a fancy name. WE take a scenic route along the coast and find some walking trails to some remote beaches. Huge waves crashing in to the lava rocks made for some good viewing.
Tonight we head back to Volcano NP to see the lava crater. Its is a sight to behold. The lava pit is half a mile wide and the lava pool is quite visible from the lookout. Now its not till the next day that we learn the lava has risen to and all time high level in the crater. Now wonder it looks so awesome.
24th
Shauna wants to swim with the dolphins, which means a trip to the west side of the island. The drive takes 2 hours and we arrive in a place called Kona. This is the touristy side of the island with many upmarket hotels and cafes. There is a cruise ship anchored offshore. This side gets very little rain, so nowhere near as green as the east side. For lunch we have a Loco Moco which is a local dish. Nothing fancy, just a beef patty with rice and egg and covered with gravy. It was very good. We are told to drive south to a place called 2 step. Here you can jump off the lava rocks and swim with the dolphins. We see plenty of dolphins, and now Shauna is convinced she must do it. But she wants to do it from a boat with other people. After a lot of calls she manages to find a tour boat that has a vacancy. Now the tour starts at 8am, we decide to stay the night here. Doesnt take long to find a hotel for a reasonable price. So we bunk down here for the night.
25th
Up at 7am and i drop Shauna off at the marina. I am not going on this tour, so i head back to the hotel till checkout time. The tour finishes at midday and i am waiting as she arrives. Shauna tells me that there were up to one hundred dolphins swimming close by. The visibility under water was very clear, so she managed to get lots of footage on the gopro. She also tells me that the water depth was over 30 metres, which is way to deep for me, so i am glad i didnt go.
The drive back to Hilo takes a few hours and we put the feet up and do some relaxing before heading back to Volcano NP to see the activity in the lava crater. The activity in the lava lake has made headlines on the island, so the place is packed. Parking is a problem, but we finally get one. This time the lava lake has risen even further, and you can see it bubbling around the edges. Bangs can also be heard as the lava explodes. The lava has risen over 40 metres in the last few days. Now that is a lot of lava considering that its nearly 200 metres in diameter.
There is a web cam in the building next to the lookout and offers some very dramatic close up footage.
As we are driving out of the park, the queue to come in must be over 2 kilometres long. Thats going to be a long night for them, as parking is a big problem.
What a finish to a great day.
26th
This is our last full day on the Big Island. So we head down to the south coast to see what is left of a town after a lava flow destroyed over 170 homes. This happened about 20 years ago. Some of the pictures of before and after certainly show the devastation.
Next stop is back to Volcano NP to drive down the crater rim road to the sea. This is where the lava, when flowing, reaches the sea. No lava is currently flowing into the ocean. What you get to see is the vast amount of lava flow, it is huge. We head back and take a walk through a lava tube before calling it a day. Tomorrow its a short flight back to Honolulu where will will spend a week, before Shauna goes home. I am not looking forward to that day at all.
- comments