Fuming Volcano

To Anil the highlight of our trip to Big Island was the night swim with Manta Rays. To me it was seeing an active volcano. The most active volcano on Earth, in fact, Kilauea, which current eruption has started over 30 years ago, in January of 1983.

During the day, when the sun is high above the horizon, the volcano doesn't look very impressive or scary. Then it's simply a giant hole with a bit of white fume coming out of it. It's during the night when the volcano starts to look both imposing and magical at the same time. I was almost hypnotized by its radiant beauty, and despite the cold of the evening and occasional rain, I felt the red warmth of the volcano working its way through my body to keep me warm, engaged, and happy.

Kilauea at night.

Kilauea at sunrise.

Full Moon over Big Island

The full moon over Big Island was amazingly bright last night. So bright that I needed to bring down the exposure to 1/500 of a second (at f5.6) to take a photo that wouldn't be overexposed and would show the moon's dark volcanic maria, bright crustal highlands, and some of its prominent craters.

This was the first time I shot the moon as the main subject. I was surprised how easy it was and I feel encouraged to try more of this type of photography.

Night Swim with Manta Rays

Last weekend we spent in Hawaii snorkeling, beach bumming, whale- and dolphin-watching, hiking active volcano, and–most awesomely–taking a night swim with more than 10 giant Manta Rays.

Check out the movie I took with my underwater camera to get a preview of what we were fortunate to experience. If you ever happen to go to Big Island in Hawaii, the night snorkeling with Manta Rays is a must!

Kauai - Alakai Swamp

Alakai Swamp is the highest located swamp in the world. Thanks to that, it has very specific ecosystem, full of plants and animals that are not present anywhere else in the world.

The swamp is located on a plateau near Mount Waiʻaleʻale, one of the wettest spots on Earth. It can be reached by the 3.5-mile (5.6 km) Alakaʻi Swamp Trail, which is often shrouded in mist. The trail connecting Waimea Canyon road with Alakaʻi Swamp Trail is called the Pihea Trail and it starts at the Puʻu o Kila lookout. The first mile of this trail runs along the ridge offering great views of Kalalau Valley:




As you can see mist and fog were our constant companions:


The forest through which we were hiking was very beautiful and it had also certain spooky quality about itself:


In parts, it was so wet and muddy that a boardwalk was placed there to facilitate hiking:


But there were also many places where there was no boardwalk and, moreover, there were obstacles that demanded some skills to cross:


Even though it was sometimes challenging to hike there, it was definitely worth the effort as the nature was simply stunning there:






My shoes are a testimony to how muddy this place was:


After the hike we stopped at Koke'e Lodge for a coffee and delicious chocolate-coconut cake. I wish I had asked for the recipe!

Kauai - Waimea Canyon

Waimea Canyon located in Western Kauai is often compared to Grand Canyon in Arizona. I have to admit that if I hadn't seen Grand Canyon before, I would definitely think that Waimea Canyon is the seventh world's wonder.

The canyon is pretty large: 10 miles (16km) long, 1 mile (1.6km) wide and 3'000 feet (900m) deep. It was formed both by the erosion and also by a catastrophic collapse of the volcano that created Kauaʻi. It is definitely beautiful and worth visiting. There are numerous lookouts into the canyon from the Waimea Canyon Road and there are also many hiking opportunities both within the canyon, as well as along its edges.

We decided to go for a hike leading to Waipo'o Falls. It was a nice short hike (~3.5 miles) offering spectacular views of the canyon. If you do not have a 4WD you need to park your car next to 14-mile marker on the highway and walk extra 0.5 mile on a dirt road. Soon the dirt road will meet the Canyon Trail, which runs parallel to the canyon rim. Views are tremendous from there (as you can see from the photos below). Waipo'o Falls, on the other hand, were truly disappointing. We definitely saw many way more spectacular waterfalls during our trip.

There are many viewpoints along Waimea Canyon Road that offer spectacular views of the canyon:








The path leading to the Canyon Trail:


We took short side trip to Cliff Viewpoint, from where there were outstanding views to the canyon:


My father pretends that he is deadly tired and can not walk anymore:




For some part, the Canyon Trail runs very close to the rim of the canyon:








Waipo'o Falls, not so impressive, ha?


Again, my father being silly and pretending that I am terrorizing him:

Kauai - Sleeping Giant

My parents were exhausted after hiking on the Na Pali Coast and they demanded one day of relaxing on the beach. As I prefer active resting, I decided to go for a hike by myself. It was an interesting experience for me as I always go hiking with other people. In principle, there is nothing wrong with hiking alone, but if you are in remote and desolate place and twist your ankle, you have a serious problem.

I chose to hike to the top of Sleeping Giant, from where there are great views to the large part of the island. To the north, one can see the Na Pali Coast. To the east, Kapa'a and the Wailua River Valley. To the west, there are 180-degree views of Wailua and the Makaleha Mountains.

The Sleeping Giant trail is 3.5 miles (5.6km) long, during which it climbs 1200ft (400m). It takes around 1.5-2h to cover all this distance, unless you stop often to take pictures or simply enjoy the views :)

Initially the trail goes through the beautiful green forest full of ironwood, guava and swamp mahogany trees:




Views to the east (btw, on this photo you can see several localized rain patches over ocean):


Views to the south:


Mountains in the west:




Views to the north (the Na Pali Coast is hidden under clouds):


After the rain moved to the west, the outline of the Na Pali Coast became more visible:


Wailua River and our hotel to the north of it:


At the top of Sleeping Giant:

Kauai - Opaekaa Falls & Wailua River Valley

On Kauai we stayed at Aloha Beach Resort, located on the east coast of the island on historic Wailua Bay. Both my parents and I liked it a lot and, therefore, I would highly recommend it. My parents were very happy with it mostly because we had our own cabana with a big terrace that reminded them of their own garden.

Here is my father in front of our cabana:


The whole resort was picture-perfect. It had several swimming pools, hot tubs and gardens full of flowers:


Also, just next to our hotel was located the Wailua Complex of Heiau (National Historic Landmark). It contains remains of heiau (places of worship), pu‘uhonua (places of refuge), and birthstones:


The hotel was also located just next to the beautiful beach that was offering great snorkeling options:


In general, there were many beautiful beaches on Kauai, especially along the northern coast on Kuhio Hwy. We went to explore several of them:




To the north of our hotel was sacred Wailua River. We followed the river inlands to get those beautiful views:


Opaekaa Falls, also located in Wailua River Valley:


A few miles north of our hotel was Coconut Market - a place with many nice shops and pretty gardens. Here is my father and I resting there and watching other people:

Kauai - Spouting Horn

The very last place that we visited on Kauai was Spouting Horn Park. It is a home to a natural wonder that produces 50 feet high bursts of water through a small opening in the lava shelf, at the same time making a loud groaning sound:


It is kind of cool, especially that the spray of water has a pretty big range and all tourist watching it get completely wet :)