September 2016

It was o-dark-thirty! The boat left the dock at dawn. A cup of some Kona coffee kept me awake. From a distance, I saw the fiery landscape as the lava flowed into the sea. Jack Johnson was playing over the loudspeaker, and made me want some banana pancakes! Sitting, waiting, wishing! Bubbly toes!   The heat rose as the boat inched closer. The waves crashed into the cliffs, rocking the boat from side to side. Hot air bubbles collided with the boat from below. It was an amazing experience!

I first visited Hawaii Volcanoes in November 2013. I landed in Kona and drove the long way along the coast and stopped at the Kīlauea Visitor Center on my way to Hilo. There was no visible lava at the time. I saw steam vents, did a lava tube tour, and saw the glow coming from Hale Ma'uma'u Volcano Crater. Otherwise, it wasn't very memorable. 

I kept an eye on the lava flow forecast. Living in San Jose, it was just a puddle jump to the Big Island (well, a 5-hour flight). When I had an opportunity to see a lava flow in 2016, I went for it. I booked a tour with Lava Ocean Tours. At that time, it was one of a few operators with a permit to navigate close to the lava flow. The company offers a lava sightseeing boat tour throughout the day, but the dawn tour provides the most beautiful views of the lava flow into the ocean. I stayed in Hilo the night before. The boat launched at dawn from the Issac Hale Beach Park near the town of Pahoa, a 45-minute drive south of Hilo. It took about a 40-minute boat trip to reach the lava flow. Unfortunately, there was an accident a few years later, resulting in an injury to a tourist. As far as I know, Lava Ocean Tour is no longer in business, but there might be similar tours available.