Sightseeing on the Big Island

Thursday and Friday, February 17th and 18th were sightseeing days on the Big Island. Lore and I were chauffeured around the southern end of Hawaii by my niece, Nanette, in her husband's new Toyota FJ Cruiser. It was wonderful to be pampered. Since Lore was riding shotgun in the front seat, getting in and out of the back seat was fine the first day, but by the second day, the pretzel twists to get in and out took their toll on my back. Lugging my 14 pound camera pack didn't help either. The good company and the photo ops were worth the pain. It also gave me a great excuse to lay around on Saturday without feeling too guilty.

Thursday we visited the City of Refuge. Hawaiian lore has it that if a native, in trouble with royalty, could make it to this location, they would be safe and eventually forgiven. Is that a "get out of jail free card" or what! Next stop was Kealakakua Bay. Just across the bay is a monument to Captain Cook who was killed by the natives in 1779. That certainly put an end to his explorations and it was all over a stolen boat.

Next stop - St. Benedict's Roman Catholic Church in Captain Cook, Hawaii. It's also referred to as the "Painted Church". Rightfully so... the paintings adorning the walls and ceiling were illustrations used as teaching tools, since many of the congregants couldn't read or write. The church was originally built in the mid 1800's, but moved in 1899 farther up the slopes of Mauna Loa where the climate is cooler.

Friday found us at the Black Sand Beach watching whales! It seemed every time there was an interesting shot, I had the wrong lens on the camera. By the the time I ran back to the car to get the telephoto lens, the whales had moved farther out to sea, but if you look carefully - you'll see a whale's tail.

We visited the Volcanoes National Park during the day. Nan took me through the Thurston Lava Tube while Lore waited in the car. She had been on that jaunt before. The ferns in this area are huge. They only grow two inches a year, but are mammoth in size. Obviously there have been no recent lava flows here. I asked Nan if she got tired of playing tour guide, but her positive upbeat response was, "No, I get to take a vacation when we have company." Needless to say, they do have a lot of relatives and friends who stay over while their vacationing.

After the park, we journeyed past desolate lava fields and across wind swept plains to South Point. The wind turbines can be seen for miles. This is the southern most point on Hawaii and in the United States!

As it got dark, Nan took us to Kalapana Lookout where we walked about a mile to see lava flowing into the sea. Mauna Loa has been very active lately, accounting for vog (volcanic fog) in the mornings, and if you could get close enough - spectacular views of hot lava flowing into the ocean. No such luck for us, however. We saw what resembled glowing coals in the distance. My attention was in the other direction. I was fascinated by the full moon which was so bright, we could see our shadows.

The day wasn't done yet. Nan took us back to the observatory so we could view the caldera at night. The hot lava is actually three football fields deep from the lip of the volcano. What an incredible sight!

We didn't make it to bed with the chickens on Friday, but the beauty of the desolate landscape lighted by the moon and the glowing caldera were well worth the late hour.

For all my Big Island Sites, go to BonnieKingPhotography.com