Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park
I’d been looking forward to the day when we visited Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park, and today was that day! It’s the 37th national park I’ve visited, and all the waiting was worth it – it’s one of the most beautiful parks I’ve seen. Immediately after parking, we saw several nฤnฤ up close! Nฤnฤ are the state bird of Hawai’i, and a threatened species, so we felt incredibly lucky to have this experience.
Halemaโumaโu Trail
The first part of our hike to the caldera floor was through a dense lush rainforest. We kept seeing a bunch of brown knobby roots sticking up out of the ground, and another hiker told us it was yellow ginger, a native plant. Once we reached the Kฤซlauea caldera, we were treated to stunning panoramic views.
Kฤซlauea Iki Trail
The main event for today was hiking down into and across the Kฤซlauea Iki Crater!
WOW! This is one of my all-time favorite hikes! We hiked down into the crater, then across it. We admired the flora that grew out of the cracks, and we admired the cracks itself. The hardened lava is so fascinating how it ripples and rolls and crumbles. Sometimes it’s dull, sometimes it’s shiny. Amazing!
There were so many gorgeous plants growing out of the lava rock, I just want to cheer them on!
Haโakulamanu (Sulphur Banks)
This area can be around 205ยฐ F not too far under our feet! We hiked around in the delicious egg-smelling air, and peered over into some of the smaller vents. Native Hawaiians consider sulphur to be the waste of the volcanic deity Pele.
Overall, we hiked about 12 miles, with a total ascent of almost 2000′. It started to rain towards the afternoon but the real downpour came just minutes after we made it back to the car. We stopped at a Thai food truck after leaving the park, and devoured the delicious curry and summer rolls.
