Hawaii Volcanoes National Park was established just over 100 years ago. It is located in the southeast side of the Big Island of Hawaii. There are two active volcanoes, Kilauea and Mauna Loa located within the park. We had the opportunity to visit the park twice – once near the top by Kilauea and a few days later we biked and hiked to the lava flows near the ocean.
With about half a day to explore the park, we started in the Kilauea visitor center to get our bearings, and then decided to go for a hike. The Kilauea Iki trail was the perfect hike. We hiked along the crater rim trail and then dropped down through rainforest into the Kilauea Iki Crater. Not much is growing in the crater and steam was rising in spots. We got to walk on old lava and climb back out of the crater on the west side. We then did a quick stop at the Thurston Lava Tube, where we were able to hike down and then took a short walk through the tube. Lava tubes were once giant lava flows. The outer crust hardens and the inner lava continues to flow. When the flowing lava stops, the outer crust remains as a tunnel.
No visit to Hawaii Volcanoes would be complete without a visit to Kilauea Overlook to look into the active crater. We saw lava spewing, flowing and rumbling, from a safe distance. Shortly after our visit, the volcanoes became very active in Hawaii, so many of the places we visited may now be closed to the public.
The trip was not only memorable for the amount of animals we saw but also for the people and accommodations at the two camps where we stayed. Our first guide, BK, was a wealth of information about the animals, landscape and down to the plants and what they were used for. Everyday out was a learning experience with him. All the people at the camps were gracious and the food was excellent.
Our second camp in the Okavanga was just as good as the first as far as the staff, accommodations, food and animals. After our experience at the first camp we amazed that the high quality remained the same. Our guide, G, made sure we were able to enjoy every experience including a rush through the bush to witness a cheetah and an ensuing hunt that he heard over his radio.
In both camps there were enough guides out that if they saw something the other guides were informed which helped in seeing as much as possible. It was also nice that the concessions were large enough that we did not have vehicles following each other throughout the day.
Normally there is always something in a trip of this length that we think could be improved upon but this is the rare case where we cannot think of anything. From the time we left the States to when we returned it was one of the most hassle free vacations we took.
Perhaps emphasizing the use of the laundry facilities at the camps would be useful because of the luggage restrictions would be the only thing I can think of as an improvement to future clients.
Kenneth Dropek
2 days ago
Mary was so pleasant and professional. She made sure all of our questions were answered.