.All Trips / Hawaii / North America

Volcanoes National Park, Hawaii, Redux

00 Volcanoes National Park.  Chain of Craters Road

I’m a huge fan of National Parks, and one of the most amazing parks anywhere is Volcanoes National Park on Hawaii’s Big Island.  When you visit, you’ll know why it’s a UNESCO World Heritage site!  I’ve previously shared some of my experiences here, which you can read at this link if you’re interested.

I recently revisited Volcanoes NP (something about the volcano draws me back again and again).  Kilauea is still active, currently only to a limited extent within the park boundaries itself, although this could change at any time as volcanoes are notoriously unpredictable.  Where Kileau’s lava flows are most active right now is outside the park in the southwestern part of the island near the town of Pahoe.  This town’s very existence is threatened by flowing lava, which  may isolate it from the rest of the Big Island as lava flows continue to advance.  Access to the town and this area is restricted.

The following video clips have some excellent recent footage of this advancing tongue of lava which is causing lots of damage and which, since the clips were released, has approached Pahoe, now under an evacuation order.   The videos are worth watching if moving lava is of interest to you.

Within Volcanoes National Park, Crater Rim Drive remains closed past the Jaggar Museum because of high toxic fume levels within the Halema’uma’u Crater; at night you can still see the glow of lava from this crater.  No indication that the road will re-open any time soon.  Nene, the rare Hawaiian geese, seem to be increasing in number and we spotted several at a distance in the park, which I think is great!

(Click on thumbnails to enlarge, right arrow to advance slideshow)

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