Volcanoes NP & Kona

In the morning before heading west and north to Kona, I wanted to visit the steam vents on the north rim of the Kīlauea caldera in morning light. Approaching the Kīlauea caldera rim, I could see the flume plume from Halemaʻumaʻu rising straight up in the still morning air.

Still morning air allows the fume plume from Kīlauea to rise straight up a couple thousand feet before starting to spread. Aftenoon winds will push the fumes west.

Various fissures on the north rim of Kīlauea caldera emit steam. This is due to rainwater and hot rocks—they’re not volcanic fumes.

The steam vents are mostly just water steam, though one I walked by had a very slight sulfurous aroma. There is a place called the Sulfur Banks where the steam deposits sulfur. Oddly, there didn’t seem to be much sulfur odor in the Sulfur Banks area.

Morning light drawing shadows on clouds of steam.

Steam and various colors cover the slope of the Sulfur Banks.

In 2003, the Nature Conservancy helped the National Park Service acquire a large part of the cattle ranch called Kahuku Ranch. This area became a cattle ranch a few years before the 1868 eruption of Mauna Loa. Captain Cook brought cattle to Hawaii and gave them as a gift to King Kamehameha. Cattle ran wild until ranching began taking hold.

One of the cattle corrals on the Kahuku Ranch, surrounded by the lush pasture grass.

Mature forest trees, but the understory is pasture grass on a cattle ranch, not the lush vegetation of a natural forest.

For cattle, forest land was converted to trees and pasture grass. There is a dramatic difference between a natural forest and a cattle ranch forest, as the accompanying photos show.

A natural Hawaiian forest has dense undergrowth.

The warmer, drier Kona Coast is busier, not anywhere near as lush as the Hilo side. The highway into Kona passes through some very fresh-looking aʻa lava originating from Mauna Loa. They are not recent flows but appear fresh because it takes a very long time for aʻa lava to be able to host plants.

The lava flows can be confusing to walk on, with no real landmarks on the gently sloping terrain. The ahu (stone mojuments or cairns) help locate the trail. The ranger at the entrance gate mentioned that whe shen first worked at Kahuku Ranch, she took a hike on this trail loop, missed an ahu, and got lost. She had to hike downhill to where she knew she would find the road.

Beginning March 27, 1868, and continuing for two weeks, strong earthquakes shook the Big Island as Mauna Loa erupted. The volcano’s lava covered part of the Kahuku Ranch land.

The 1868 eruption contained obvious olivine crystals.

The Kahuku Ranch airstrip has green sand on it…olivine crystals.

The drive from the community of Volcano to the city of Kona was not the easy 90-mile cruise I expected. The road was frequently very narrow, and there were many sudden elevation changes and twists and turns. Fortunately, there were lovely coastal views and many interesting lava flows.

This lava came from a 1907 eruption of Mauna Loa. This lone ohiʻa is all that is growing after more than 100 years. Aʻa lava is very difficult to walk on—loose rock, very sharp edges. Walking on this will tear up boots pretty quickly. And don’t fall.

The hotel in Kona, Uncle Billy’s Kona Bay Hotel, was located right on the main shoreline drive, Alii Drive. While moving things into the hotel room, an old gentleman in a wheelchair stopped and said, “Hello. We’re neighbors.” Turned out this was Uncle Billy, himself. Seeing that he was leaving for the day, I hustled to get my camera and followed him to where he was waiting to be picked up. I asked if I could take his picture. The 92-year-old Uncle Billy graciously agreed.

Uncle Billy (William Kimi) is Hawaiian. I understand that his family are the only native Hawaiians who own hotels in Hawaii. He started a hotel in Hilo sortly after the 1960 tsunami. He wanted someplace his kids could have jobs. Uncle Billy, who still works a 6-day week, has been described as an importer, financier, retailer, wholesaler, enterpreneur, developer, accountant, farmer, innkeeper, restaurant owner, art dealer, and shopping center owner.

Home for the next four days. It is located in the middle of the Alii Drive tourist area.

Uncle Billy, himself.