All things bright and beautiful: (2019) 9 days in Hawaii --- Day 4 (Thursday) Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, Hawai'i Big Island

Kilauea Volcano Caldera

A large part of our Day 4 in Hawaii was spent in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, which is within an hour's drive from Hilo. Hawaii Volcanoes National Park may well be the most popular attraction on the Big Island. Many a people are fascinated by the might and power of volcanoes --- such awesome natural wonders of our planet Earth. For me, volcanoes bring into mind images of powerful eruptions, with fountains of lava shooting high into the air, thick ash plumes rising up, and unstoppable streams of red hot lava flowing down mountain slopes, relentlessly scorching rocks and vegetation alike along the way. Hawaii Volcanoes National Park is all the more special as it covers two active volcanoes --- the Kilauea, which last erupted in 2018, and the Mauna Loa.

It was somewhat disappointing that our visit to Hawaii coincided with the 2018-2019 US federal government shutdown. Because of the shutdown, the Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park was only partially open. Some of the trails in the Park, as well as much of the popular Crater Rim Drive, was closed. Nonetheless, we tried to make the most of what was available, by walking on three trails that were open --- the Sulphur Bank Trail, the Crater Rim Trail, and the Keanakakoi Crater and Overlook Trail. All of these are mostly flat, easy-to-walk family trails.

True to its name, yellow patches of sulphur compounds are visible by the Sulphur Banks Trail

On the Sulphur Banks Trail

Steam vents abound along the Sulphur Banks Trail

On the Sulphur Banks Trail

More distinctive yellow sulphur compounds on the Sulphur Banks Trail

Native ʻōhiʻa lehua flower, on the Sulphur Banks Trail

On the Sulphur Banks Trail

It didn't take very long to complete the Sulphur Banks Trail. We had time in the morning for another one. One end of the Sulphur Banks Trail actually joins up with Crater Rim Trail. So we went on this trail --- at least, the parts of it that were open. The Crater Rim Trail offers a fairly close-up view of the magnificent Kilauea Volcano Caldera. With Kilauea being an active volcano, it was a sobering thought that the landscape we saw was ever-changing, only maintaining the present look until the next eruption, at a time in the future that no one could predict.

The magnificent Kilauea Volcano Caldera, viewed from the Crater Rim Trail

Kilauea Volcano Caldera

Kilauea Military Camp at one end of the Crater Rim Trail

For people like us, who did not bring any picnic lunch, the choices of where we might get lunch in he Park was fairly limited. Fortunately, the Uncle Georges Lounge restaurant in the Volcano House hotel, just across the road from the Kilauea Visitor Center, well sufficed. After having a light lunch there, we went on another trail --- the Keanakakoi Crater and Overlook trail. With various sections of the roads through the Park closed at the time due to the US federal government shutdown, some parts of the roads became open to pedestrians. So it seemed that people ended up walking on a mixture of the official trail and roads normally used by vehicles.

Keanakakoi Crater and Overlook trail

On the Keanakakoi Crater and Overlook trail

View from the Keanakakoi Crater and Overlook Trail

On the Keanakakoi Crater and Overlook Trail

We stayed in the Park until maybe about 4pm or so. Actually we rushed a little on the last trail, as we planned to go further down towards the southern coast of the Big Island. The place we wanted to visit was Punalu'u or Black Sand Beach. Our main reason to visit the beach was the wish to see some green sea turtles, as they are known to rest on the beach usually in the late afternoon. The beach itself, covered by the distinctive black sand, is actually well worth a visit by its own merit. The black sand is made of basalt, formed in the rapid cooking of lava when it reaches the ocean. It is interesting that the sand feels fine and smooth in the hand, but on close examination, actually has somewhat larger grains than the regular sand on a common beach. As regards the green turtles, we were not fortunate enough to see one or more resting on the sand. However, there was one that stopped short of coming out of the water. Nonetheless, it drew the attention of the visitors, attracting a fairly large crowd gathering around to catch a glimpse of it.