Jeff and Gary’s thoughts on the island – part 2
So, crack a card and do a heli tour instead! LOL No, seriously (cough).
Driving to Hawaii Volcano National Park will take one about three hours per direction, barring stops along the way (if you take the perimeter highway) . It’s windy but very picturesque. The over-island route via Saddle Road, is perhaps less beautiful but for sure shorter.
You’ll pass through Captain Cook, a town where he landed apparently – or got killed – so we kept going. This town has the national history coffee museum, might be worth seeing. We decided to stop at a side market in a local park about an hour or so enroute, which offered the likes of creamed honey from bee farms, wood and cloth designs by local artisans, and the usual Kona coffee offerings from local plantations. Generally, much less lethal. This west highway option allows for view area of massive lava flows decades old and a stop at the famous Black Beach, about 45 minutes from there to Kilauea. Turtles abound here!!! The north highway option, which is to the north of KOA airport, will get you to Hilo in an hour and a half – easier — and, from there, the park entrance is about 30 minutes, we’re told. The entrance fee into the park is USD30. Locals suggest instead of the long commute back to book a hotel room overnight and enjoy the Big Island’s next big city. There’s a notion.
Here’s a pro tip from a Saskatchewan family who had just done it days prior – and gave us their seven-day USD30 week pass, to boot! How Canadian; be nice! So, once you enter the park, proceed to your left and take the East Loop of that caldera and park at the first parking area. From there, proceed on foot along the ridge trail and enjoy the sights and info markings along the way to the second parking area, where one would walk from there to view the lava caves.
According to Mr. Sask., when one parks at the second area one cannot turn left and turn for the West Loop. Traffic barriers and patrols force you to turn right and continue down the road for 15+ minutes in a long, single-lane road before you can turn around, which is a big timewaster. Parking in the first lot and simply walking back from the caves to the car will mean an easy left-turn exit and travel to the visitor center, hotel (if you’re early enough for eats before sunset lava “show”) and the steam pits.
And, if you’re lucky, fog and rain won’t come in and strip any chance of seeing the lava glow as it did for us. Oh, well, it was a lovely (cough) three-hour trip back in the dark on a single-lane, windy and rainy roadway (sigh). Say, have I mentioned the heli tours? Note: I suppose driving from the second lot instead of walking back to car is equally 15 minutes, but look at it as you’re in the car for two to three hours back to house, so maybe some movement is “judicious.” Hey, it’s your vacay, so whatever goes! Another pro tip is to opt for the sunrise viewing. One would generally leave the house around 3:00am or 4:00am, arrive at the caldera early, see the lava glow, sunrise, then – dunno – grab pancakes at that hotel and make a run for either home via Hilo (shorter) or Black Beach for a very nice day. Y’know, an early start, but I think that’s how I’d grab it. At that hour traffic would be negligible. Just saying.
Additional pro tip for Black Beach enroute to Kilauea — or any beach, really, on the Big Island and islands generally — buy widely available beach swimmer booties as the sand is lava hot – see what I did there? – and avoid burning feet and, depending on nature’s randomness, the occasional Red Fire Ant bite. If bitten, it’ll feel like someone is putting a cig out into one’s skin (only for about 20-30 minutes)! Some calamine cream or bug bite spray should be a standard in one’s beach knapsack — preach! — or, if you’re new to all this (points to face), a cold Coke can be kept on the very invisible but spicy nip!
Yes; there’s a hut for drinks n pizza nearby as well as Ts and sweatshirts. Locals say falling on lava, even in water, is like falling on glass, so include those booties and those Speedo Ts for snorkeling as all beaches in Hawaii require this turtle-friendly tanning cream varietal, which is like painting oneself white and feels like varnish and isn’t particularly nice. And we LOVE the turtles. Another thing is to be mindful and aware of beach condition notices. Guests that the bro and I travelled with didn’t respect the wave power at the black beach up by the Four Seasons. One barely made it back to shore and the other came back like he fought off a lion and lost. Respect the waves. Novices! Yes; the house’s first aid kit in the laundry room came in handy.