Earth, Wind and FIRE

Wednesday was designated Lava Day – time to get closer to the hot rock action.

Around the crater rim

A 5 mile walk around the main caldera, which features active lava fountains. The level of the lava in this area has been rising and falling by hundreds of meters over recent years.

The bizarre thing is that, when we rode up here from the coast, there was almost no tree cover till about 1000m. But up here, you have a rainforest surrounding the craters , and as a result the crater rim trail goes through very varied landscapes, from bare rock to lush greenery. We started at the NW side, with the view above . Below is a zoomed-in view of the hot spots …

Close up of lava fountains in the caldera ( *compare to the night-time views below)*

Walking east, we went through increasingly wooded tracks (which helped shield us from the gale which was blowing up on top)

Down into the crater

After a while the crater rim trail drops down into the caldera….getting more Jurassic Park-like by the minute. 🦖

..and down (Velociraptor ambush territory ?)

After a mile or so it opens out and you are deposited at the eastern edge of the crater itself – bare rock with some hardy O’hia trees and ferns somehow finding a purchase in the cracks

And after skirting some of this edge, you can climb again to the adjoining small crater ( Kilauea Iki) . There you can actually cross the centre of the crater, as there is no recent lava flow ( famous last words).

Looking down to the path across the crater

Kilauea Iki trail – wider view of the crater

Suitable footwear is important. But mine was still soaked from yesterday, so sandals it was. This rough , debris style lava is called ‘” **a a”** – a noise you tend to make if you try walking over it unprotected.💥

Some of the surface is this smoother rock ( pa **hoe-hoe**) – which can include some beautiful swirling patterns ( *see next entry*)

It was a fascinating walk, and we were lucky that it stayed mostly dry, compared to yesterday

Red Sky at Night

We decided to head back a few hours later and watch the main crater again by night. Could not believe how much more lava was visible in the dark. It was mesmerising to watch the changing shapes.

A whole network of lava is visible at night – like looking down on a city.

Above us, the clouds were illuminated a dark red, visible for miles around

It was an absolutely stunning day – photos can’t really do it justice.

Paul

February 12, 2023 at 4:32 pm

Amazing photos. I was expecting quite a desolate landscape. But then in Indonesia, one volcano we visited was really barren landscape, but there was a volcanic plateau that was really fertile. Love the night shots.