We woke up and made breakfast in front of another incredible ocean view…one of the many perks of having a home on wheels! After breakfast, we packed up the Jeep, and headed off to Punalu’u Black Sand Beach again…only this time we had the beach all to ourselves. It was so peaceful and serene…probably one of the most memorable beaches we’ve been to.
Note: Go early in the morning and you might be the only one there!
After soaking in all the beauty, we continued our drive north towards Hawai’i Volcano National Park to explore Kilauea Volcano. Kilauea is one of the most active volcanoes on our planet, and the most active of the other five that make up the Big Island of Hawai’i. To enter the national park it costs $30 for a private vehicle, and the ticket is valid for 7 days. The national park can be explored via a main loop called Crater Rim Drive. However, due to recent eruptions, some of that loop is closed to the public (more on that later).
There are tons of trails in the national park, and the roads are set up in the shape of a balloon, with the The main loop is called Crater Rim Drive, and the one road going off the loop is Chain of Craters Road. When you enter the national park from the main entrance, there is a fork in the road. We decided to go right first, and so one of our first stops was Wahinekapu, which is a series of steam vents that have hot water vapor rushing out of them. Just across Crater Rim Drive you’ll find Ha’akulamanu, which are active sulphur banks. Be sure not to confuse the two!
Note: As of 2022, part of the loop road is closed and you must go back towards the visitor’s center near the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory and Jaggar Museum (both are currently closed as well).
We continued along Crater Rim Drive all the way to the Kilauea Overlook, which gave us up close views of the caldera that were just breathtaking.
As we mentioned before, the southern end of Crater Rim Drive is closed due to recent volcanic activity, so we turned around at this point and headed back towards the main entrance and visitors center. Once back to the main entrance, we took the other fork in the road to explore Chain of Craters Road and see other popular sites in the park.
Our first stop along Chain of Craters was the Kilauea Iki trail. This trail was a 1.2mile, 400ft descent through a dense volcanic rainforest. Once through the vegetation you arrive into the actual caldera, where you can experience firsthand the scale of these shield volcanoes…such an incredible experience!
After hiking back up the crater rim, we walked across the Chain of Crater Road to the Nāhuku Lava Tube, also known as the Thurston Lava Tube (and also known to be periodically closed for structural monitoring). These cave systems formed from flowing lava approximately 500 years ago.
After our spelunking adventure, we continued along Chain of Craters Road (We imagined people paving this road and wondering, “What should we name this road that has a bunch of craters on both sides?”). We planned to drive directly to the famed Hōlei Sea Arch, but along the way we stopped to admire a Nene about 30 feet from the road! We eventually made it to Hōlei Sea Arch, and took some time to admire the jagged coastline and this impressive arch formed where new land meet sea.
By the time we made it back to the park entrance, we realized just how hungry we were. We really wanted to stop in the beautiful town of Hilo for some lunch and landed on Kuhio Grille…famous for their 1lb laulau! At the last minute, we chose to only order the laulau, and we’re glad we did. It was exactly what we needed after such an adventure-packed morning, but how one person could finish that meal is beyond us!
We passed a little brewery on our way to the restaurant, so on our way back we decided to stop and get a flight of some local brews. Thumbs up to Ola Brewing!
After exploring Hilo, we made our way southeast. Not many tourists would go this way because of the recent Leilani Estates eruptions, but this was where we were staying for the night.
We decided to stay one night at an Airbnb to freshen up from our campervan adventures, and chose an Airbnb in Pāhoa. Much of the the remnants of this eruption is still visible along Kapoho-Kalapana Road (Red Road).
We stayed at a lovely beach house in the small town of Pāhoa. Since we’ve been primarily car camping throughout this trip, we strategically added an Airbnb stay (in the middle) and hotel stay (at the end) so we can have a proper hot shower instead of the chilly (though refreshing) outdoor showers at the campsites.
Since we had a late-ish lunch, we weren’t quite hungry yet, so we decided to drive further down the Red Road to go to Isaac Hale Park. This is one of the areas in which hot molten lava flowed directly into the cold Pacific Ocean. Much of the surrounding area is still closed to road traffic (some new “Dead End” signs have been erected), but you can access the park and the newly formed black sand beach.
Note: We originally planned on camping at this state park, but found out the campground has been closed since the Leilani Estates eruptions (though the park itself is now open).
After exploring the beach and some of the open trails, we worked up an appetite. We spotted a pretty popular Thai restaurant (we later found out it’s called Ning’s Thai Cuisine) in the small town of Pāhoa, so we decided to stop there for dinner. Though the town seemed small, there was a pretty lively strip of bars and restaurants…especially for a Monday!
The food was delicious and tasted authentic…as was the level of spice! After filling our bellies, we realized just how tired we were. We drove back to the Airbnb to get a good night’s sleep, because we have a big day ahead of us. Tomorrow we plan on exploring some of the Big Island’s most picturesque waterfalls and drive to the peak of the tallest mountain in the world…so stay posted!