Our next phase of the tour led us to the big island of Hawaii. Our stop over on this island was to see a live volcano and to get as close as possible to photograph it. When we arrived on the island, we heard that due to an increase in the volcanic activity the park was closed. Our fearless leader immediately got on the phone and started trying to find a way to get us close. Unfortunately, we were blocked at each new avenue we explored. The boat ride, was closed due to repair work being completed on the marina. Helicopter and boat traffic was also being stopped from going near the site, due to the large amount of gas in the area. Undaunted, we continued to hope. After additional research we found a new viewpoint, run by the county, near the lava flow but we were not able to determine if the site was open for viewing. We decided to give it a try. We could see the steam plume from quite some distance away. This got us even more determined to get as close as possible. As we got close to where we thought the viewpoint would be located, we ran into this signpost. TALK ABOUT CONTRADICTING ITSELF! Determined to get close to the volcano, we drove around the sign and continued toward the steam plume.
As we continued our drive, we started to see others that had ventured past the sign. We finally arrived at a parking lot with quite a few people and a gate that led onto the hardened lava. The gate had just opened and everyone was walking back toward the ocean and the steam. Our walk took us about 1/2 a mile back and gave us a wonderful view of the lava pouring into the ocean. |