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Mahalo nui to ALL of you who post photos!!! Some amazing shots here. And a special nod (and congratulations!) to Asuhoru for the photo of your new baby.
From the parking area, it's about 3/4 of a mile to the viewing area over the lava. On this day, all of the fumes were being blown toward Mauna Loa. Had the wind been otherwise it could have been dangerous to persons with heart or breathing problems. It's something to consider should you decide to go have a look. You'll also need a flashlight for the walk back and enough water to get you from 5pm to maybe 8pm or so. There were people set up selling water, flashlights, glowsticks, photos, jewelry, t-shirts, etc. near the parking area. I would add that it was a very long drive back to Kona after a long day of running around. I'd recommend staying overnight on that side of the island.
This first photo is an extreme wide-angle, so it makes it look like we were further away than we were. I think they said we were about 1/2 mile away. The lava was pooring into the sea on the other side of the lava bench, so we never got to actually see molten rock on this night. I heard one guy say he was so disappointed. I suppose if people come with that expectation they could be let down, but I hadn't even planned on seeing what I did so I was completely jazzed. I got the impression the majority of others were satisfied customers. After all, it was free, courtesy of Madame Pele.
The pictures don't really do it justice. The rolling and billowing of the steam is a thing of absolute beauty and fascination. In the third pic of these three, you can see a small boat in the lower left. I felt they were dangerously close to the lava. As it got darker, every now and then some of the lava would explode and send "sparks" or streamers out as far as the boat was from the bench.
In the end, it was an awesome experience. Everybody walked back, flashlights and glowsticks lighting up the darkness. The only thing that would have made it better would have been having a nice girl along with me.
Admin's been having HT server problems. More buckaroonies could help him out. I propose a "Best of Hawaii Threads" coffee table photo book to use for a fundraiser! I'm constantly awed by the photos here. Breathtaking...
OOOH...I've been missing these beautiful pics, and I see y'all have been busy! Jim, great shots of the Big Island. I had to get out the fish book for your first two (not the plated one hehehe) and found you have a rockmover wrasse (the pretty green one) and a male yellowtail coris. There are lotsa humu's here off our local reef; they hang out in the deeper pools and slide around in between pools to keep track of their territory.
Sinjin and Asuhoru, beautiful kids! I esp love the waterslide pic. So "joy of summer!"
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