Visit in May 2018.

It had been a surprisingly long, and often frustrating, ten years since I last had the opportunity to visit a new WHS in person. Only a few recent inscriptions of places I had visited in the past were added to my total during that time. Then, in 2018, a hastily-arranged trip, which was part personal business and part pleasure, would allow me the opportunity to see seven sites that I had not previously visited. Chronologically, the last of those was Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.

I have lived on the West Coast of the mainland USA for about 25 years, and during all that time I had a strong desire to go to Hawaii, primarily to see the ongoing eruption of the Kilauea volcano. However, as often happens, circumstances conspired to prevent any trip to the islands, and I consoled myself with the idea that if had indeed found the time to make a visit there, the over-thirty-year-long eruption of the volcano would probably have ceased days, or weeks, before my arrival, and there would have been little to see. I had never considered the possibility that the opposite situation would be closer to reality.

As I was on the homeward bound segment of my recent trip, 10 days before I was scheduled to reach Hawaii, I was resting one evening in Malaysia, and decided to check in on some of the international news broadcasts, which was something I had not done for several weeks. The first story that was reported was describing the evacuations of about 2000 residents who lived in neighborhoods about 40km from the main crater of Kilauea, as the volcano had just begun a major new eruptive phase. This activity was well outside of the Park boundary, and the WHS core zone as well, so I had no immediate idea what effect this would have on my visit. Consequently, I kept a close eye on the situation as I drew closer to the islands.

Instead of subsiding, the eruption continued in force, though the bulk of the activity was still far outside of the Park. Nevertheless, three days before the day I had planned to spend touring this WHS, the entire Park was closed due to fears of an explosive steam eruption at the main crater, similar to the one that had previously occurred in 1924. As such, there was very little to see once I arrived. The road that traverses the Park was the only segment of the main park area that could be used, so I rode over that for a while, just so I could say that I was actually there. However, because of the forests and topography of the area, it was not possible to see much of the eruption from the road. Leaving the Park and going to the nearby Volcano Winery, which is not located in the closed area, or in the WHS, was the only way to get a decent view of the venting material. It was actually very interesting to watch from there for a while, as the ash-laden steam plumes pulsed with increased intensity every two, or three, minutes, as if one were watching the respiration of the Earth itself. The photo attached to this review was taken from that location.

During this time, lava plumes were still affecting the neighborhoods far to the east of the Park. However, as much as I would have been fascinated by seeing that, because there was no reasonable access to the active zone, the possibility of hazardous gas emissions, and, most importantly, out of respect for the people who were in the process of losing their homes, I made no attempt to go to that area.

In ordinary cases, reaching the National Park by bicycling is fairly straightforward when coming from Hilo, the main town to the Northeast. That involves a climb of 1100 meters over a distance of about 50 km. However, the scenery along the route is rather nondescript, and the ride is not really very interesting. Coming from Kona, on the west side of the island would be longer, but probably a little more scenic. In either case, one would reach Volcano Village, just outside the WHS, where there is a limited choice of food and accommodation, all of which are, not unexpectedly, a little on the pricey side.