Hawaii June 05

FLOWER BIG - The follwing pictures including this one were all taken on a trip to Hawaii in June 05 by yours truly.


This picture and the next one were taken at the Hawaii Tropical Botanical Gardens which is just outside the town of Hilo. The gardens were very beautiful indeed, though I didn't linger to long as it was pouring with rain. I had an umbrella in one hand and the camera in the other, so all things considered they have come out OK.

JUNGLE BIG 

LAVA BIG

This picture is one of the main reasons for this trip in that one of my ambitions has always been to see a real live erupting volcano. The picture above is of a (mostly) underground lava flow which is being produced by a subsiduary vent of the Kilauea volcano. The lava is at 2000C so it was jolly hot taking this photograph; my asbestos underpants came in very handy!

MICK2 BIG

Me with Waipo valley and coastal scenery in background.

MICK BIG

Me in typical "brave" pose. It was hotter than a "Bombay Bad Boy" snackpot!

ROCKS BIG

Picture taken from old lava flow near Kilauea cauldera looking toward the 13679 foot high Mauna Loa volcano.

SEA BIG

Coastal scenery near Hilo.

SIGN BIG

The sign says it all really. I hiked for apx 2 hours to see lava flowing into the sea. It was quite a difficult and very hot hike, but well worth it.

STEAM 2 BG

Every so often there was a large explosion and magma was hurled into the air.

STEAM BIG

Lava flow in the foreground. In the background you can see clouds of steam and sulphuric acid
generated when the lava flow reaches the sea.

TELESCOPES BIG

Sunset

TELESCOPE BIG

This and the next picture were taken at sunset at the top of the 13796 feet high dormant Mauna Kea volcano. The effect of altitude was very marked at this height. I really struggled for breath even standing still, let alone moving about. It was also windy and extremely cold and was quite a contrast to the steady 28C experienced at sea level. This site has some of the clearest air in the world and invariably stands above the clouds. This has resulted in a large number of astronomical observatories being situated here.

WATERFALL2 BIG

This and the next waterfall are situated in the Hawaii Tropical Botanical Gardens. This area experiences over 150 inches of rain a year so there is no shortage of water or waterfalls to see.

Waterfall

Can't remember much else at the mo, but there will soon be some beautiful prose here!