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Arriving on the Big Island of Hawaii we drove up the 4000
feet to book into the Volcano
House Hotel on the edge of the Kilauea Caldera. The Hotel is the only
one the Volcanoes National Park and has a long tradition going back some
125 years. We later walked out to the edge where the lava
was entering the sea and also had a memorable helicopter
trip over the active craters and lava entry |
| The accommodation was comfortable, if not luxurious, but
being at the centre of the park with a number of tracks heading off was
very handy. The lack of TV and Cell Phone coverage can be regarded as a
real advantage. The meals were good and service excellent |
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The view from our front door was truly out of this world,
across the steaming Kilauea Caldera to the Fire Pit of Halemau'uma'u |
| The view to the west was towards the brooding mass of Mauna
Loa all 13,661 feet above sea level with considerably more below sea
level , it is regarded as the worlds highest mountain and it's largest
volcano. It last erupted in 1984 and is presently inflating as a possible
precursor to a new eruption |
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To the north this height was exceeded by the extinct volcano
Mauna
Kea the home of a number of important astronomical
observatories |
| The Sulphur Cliffs a short distance from the hotel was a
reminder that the fires were not far below |
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| Reminders of the ongoing activities at the caldera were everywhere.
The lava cascades were erupted in 1971 |
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We walked across a solidified (but still steaming) lava
lake, in the caldera floor which was erupted in 1974. Ohi'a tress (Metrosideros
polymorpha) a relative of our Pohutakawa are starting to establish
themselves |
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The Halemau'uma'u
crater inside the Caldera is believed to be centred over the top of the
active magma reservoir. The crater held a permanent lava lake until 1924
and has further discharges of lava, generally at the start of the major
eruptive episodes. The Crater is the home of Pele the god of fire and
offerings are still left for her. The Discharges of Volcanic gases quite literally
takes your breath away |
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The Kilauea
Iki Crater erupted in 1959 and at one point had a lava fountain
1800 feet high which erupted from the base of the Puu Puai cone (vent
bottom left). A lava lake 400 feet (120 metres) formed which took
until the early 1980's to solidify. Walking across the surface is an
unreal experience |
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| At the start of the Chain of Craters Road we visited the
1974 Lava trees. These are moulds where the lava flowed around the trees
and then subsided leaving the fragile columns with hollow centres. The
remaining bleached trees litter the surface. Part of the eruptive fissure
is visible on the lower right. We had earlier gone underground in the Thurston
Lava Cave |
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