Two of the Best Unique Big Island Adventures
On a recent trip to the Big Island of Hawaii – Hawaii; our group of travel agents were toured around the island with gracious hosts and wonderful hospitality.
The mission was clear – to SEE, DO, and LEARN about what makes the island of Hawaii stand apart from the other Hawaiian Islands.
As you would suspect the island of Hawaii has a myriad of attractions that make it unique – but I will focus on the two, which I enjoyed immensely. You will only get to experience them with a visit to the Big Island – where at this very moment new land is being created!
Without a doubt the number one “must“ see is a visit to Volcano National Park to witness the worlds most active volcano Kilauea. Kilauea means “much spreading“ in Hawaiian and is home to Pele the goddess of fire. Since its eruption in 1983 Kilauea has not disappointed visitors from viewing its lava in a variety of ways.
You can hike along the rough and uneven ground surrounding the Kalapana area and/or in Volcano National Park - but generally you will only see a slight glow of lava doing this. You can take a helicopter tour over the volcano which is an eye opening experience as you can see the effects in total. You can go to Jaggar museum in Volcano National Park to view (at dusk or night) the glow from the crater lake, or IF there is lava flow into the ocean you can take a boat out to witness the lava spewing into the sea – and this by far is the most spectacular way to see this phenomenal event.
Several years ago I went on a twelve seater boat, which was specifically designed to withstand the changing water conditions near the lava. In fact the company I used often takes National Geographic photographers and writers out to document the volcano. Name of the company is Lava Ocean. But you must call ahead and make sure there is lava to see as Kilauea has been changing rapidly over the last few years and often times lava is not spewing into the ocean but rather a lava lake is forming at the top of the crater. If this is the case then the best way to view it would be a visit to the Jaggar museum as dusk or night as the glow from the lava lake is easily viewable. Below is an amazing video showing the collapse of the Pu’u O’o crater and Volcano National Park information. You'll need Quick Time player to view.
http://volcanogallery.com/hawaii.htm
The second most amazing adventure, which anyone can do is to snorkel, or rather float in the ocean, at night to witness the graceful Manta Rays feeding on plankton.
I have to admit at first I thought – snorkeling at night sounds dangerous, won’t we get lost? But you don’t snorkel at all...
You will take a motorized catamaran for five minutes to anchor at a point just past the Sheraton Keauhou Resort, where for years manta rays, some as large as 18 feet, have come to feed.
You don wetsuits (a humiliating attire to say the least), grab snorkel gear, are educated on how to hold on to the floating device, how to keep your entire body afloat, entering the water and exiting the water. I have used two company’s for this tour and both were wonderful. This tour is a thrill of a lifetime – it is amazingly gorgeous to watch these fantastic creatures soar through liquid space beneath you feeding on microscopic food. And the thrill is when one does a summersault just underneath you and then starts gliding every so gracefully up towards you – with mouth fully open and then flips downward after brushing you ever so slightly!
The two companies I used were Sea Paradise, and Fair Wind.
Here is a video courtesy of Fair Wind – it is amazing!
A hui hou for now,
Joyce Craddock
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