Thu, Oct 31: Helicopter tour

We took a helicopter tour of the island.

by dormant vents,

over the active Halemauau crater on the Kilauea volcano,

over some fault lines, active fissures, and vents,

passed an area of trees that the lava bypassed,

over where the lava underneath is destroying the forest.

The darker lava is the most recent.  The most recent flows (starting in the 1980's I think) have extended 15 miles of shoreline by 30 - 40 feet, and added 300 feet depth at the source, tapering down as one goes toward the ocean.

 We then flew along the north coast past Waipio Valley and up into Waimanu Valley.

Fri, Nov 1: At Hilton Hotel

I washed clothes in the morning.

we saw mongoose at the hotel.  They were originally brought in to control rats.  Only did a so so job, since the mongoose are active during day and on/under ground, and rats were active at night and nested in trees.

Around the hotel:

Lots of Asian art work around the hotel and on the grounds, including this "museum hall", which is how one walked from one hotel building to another, and is generally open to the outside.

The Grey Crowned Crane is native to Africa, but some were brought to Hawaii.

Fri, Nov 1: Mauna Kea

In the afternoon and evening we took a tour to Mauna Kea.  On the drive, we saw the Nene, the offical state bird of Hawaii.

Only 4 wheel vehicles are allow to go past the visitors center, and rentals are forbidden to do so, 4 wheel or not.  If you break down, $700 for a tow, $400 for a taxi ride back, the rental agency charges $300 for breaking the contract, and you pay for the repairs.  So a tour is probably a good way to go if you want to go to the summit.  Our tour included a boxed dinner (about 4:00 pm at the vistors center), information about the 13 telescopes on Mauna Kea,

a parka to wear against the cold while viewing the sunset from the summit, 13,803 feet elevation,

And using the telephoto:

and a private telescope star gazing back down near the visitors center at about 9,000 feet elevation, where is it not quite so cold (the visitors center also has telescope viewing, open to the public).  We really liked the tour.

Sat, Nov 2: Kona coast

We drove along Kona coast

And then had lunch in Kailua-Kona at Huggo's.  Highly recommended to us was the Mauna Kea Ice Cream Pie (with macadamia nuts).  Unfortunately, it was not ready yet, so we will have to try it another time.  We then went to the airport for our flight to Molokai.