First stop was the Honaunau (Hoe-now-now) Place of Refuge National Park - we saw Totems and some ancient huts and learned a little about life in early Hawaii. Bix got friendly with the locals and Brooke had a little bit rougher time...
Then we headed to the Punalu'u Black Sand beach. The sand was created when hot lava came in contact with the sea and shattered into fine fragments. While not as round as typical beach sand - (think crystal shards) - you can still walk on it and sink down into it. 
The kids loved playing in the surf. Also there were a couple of sea turtles resting on the shore.
After the beach, we headed up the mountain to Volcano - rising
over a mile above sea level - the climate change was dramatic. The Big Island hosts 11 of 13 recognized climate zones, with only Saharan desert and Arctic climates not represented. Today we went from desert areas to mildly wet areas to rainforest. We did not yet go to the snowy areas, but they exist - all within an area only about 95 miles by 75 miles. Our cottage in the rainforest near the Volcano National Park is very nice - called Kahi Malu. The owner gave us a lot of great info on the park.
We went for dinner at the Kiluea Lodge - germanish food - I had rabbit - Brooke was all about it. Bix crashed at the table exhausted and missed dinner.
After dinner we went into the park and checked out the Kilauea crater, which glows red at night from the liquid hot magma only 100 meters below the surface. It was FREAKING AWESOME.
The kids loved playing in the surf. Also there were a couple of sea turtles resting on the shore.
After the beach, we headed up the mountain to Volcano - rising
over a mile above sea level - the climate change was dramatic. The Big Island hosts 11 of 13 recognized climate zones, with only Saharan desert and Arctic climates not represented. Today we went from desert areas to mildly wet areas to rainforest. We did not yet go to the snowy areas, but they exist - all within an area only about 95 miles by 75 miles. Our cottage in the rainforest near the Volcano National Park is very nice - called Kahi Malu. The owner gave us a lot of great info on the park. 
After dinner we went into the park and checked out the Kilauea crater, which glows red at night from the liquid hot magma only 100 meters below the surface. It was FREAKING AWESOME.
No comments:
Post a Comment