Hilo
The skyline of Hilo as we approached, the white building to the right is the tallest on the Big Island
With our nausea cruise over, we landed in Hilo the next morning. The town itself was, frankly, not much to look at, at least the part we saw up close. Downtown had seen better days and the everyday houses were not what most of us from the mainland would be used to. However, what the city lacked in grand architecture, it made up in beautiful vegetation and gardens, this being the wet side of the island. Our first destination was a local botanical garden that had a gorgeous display of rich colored orchids and tall bamboo forests.
Sprawling vegetation at the Gardens
Beautiful blue koi
 Hibiscus, the official state flower |
 White Orchid |
 Birds of Paradise |
Rich red highlights on this bamboo tree.
Too bad orchids are so difficult to grow!
Scott overlooking the Kilauea Crater
Our tour then headed to the top of the Mauna Loa volcano and drove through Volcanoes National Park. Though not technically active in terms of lava flow, we were treated with expansive views of the Kilauea Caldera, steam and sulfur vents, and an actual drive across the craters lunar-like surface. It was kinda scary but also really cool.
Erich tentively places his hand over a steam vent.
Halemaumau Crater in the base of Kilauea
Sulphur steam rising out of Halemaumau and giving off the requisite rotten egg smell (left); the lunar like volcanic topography was quite a contrast to the lush gardens of Hilo (above)
Jim and Carlos, the flamboyant gay couple sitting behind us, kept us from being put to sleep by our tour guide’s Ambien-like voice as we ended with a stop at an extinct lava tube and the Mauna Loa Macadamia Nut Factory. Overall, Hilo ended up the least impressive of our stops. It still had its interesting highlights, though, not likely to draw us back.
That night our cruise ship cruised by the south side of the island and we got to see, in the pitch black of the night, red lava coming down the side of the island, hitting the ocean. Too bad the 60 photos I took couldn’t capture its beauty.
Actual lava coming off an active volcano, we actually could see the steam as the lava hit the ocean.
return to vacation home