Deeper into mysterious Puna!
As you continue along the coast road, you will next encounter McKenzie State Park.
Here the Ironwood trees create an unusual ambience of a pine tree
forest. The sheer cliffs and majesty of the ocean beg for
photographing. Swimming would be near impossible here, but the hiking
is spectacular. Tour Guide will give more information about this other- worldly park. A permit is required for camping and the facilities are a bit run down.
Not far away is Kahena Beach. This beautiful black sand beach involves a bit of a scamper to get down the cliff, but is well worth the effort. Tour Guide
will give you the easiest path to take. You may notice that this beach
is “clothing optional”, thus it’s popularity. Swimming here is good,
but currents can be strong if you get too far from shore.
Drive just a few miles further and you come to what used to be the town of Kalapana. Kalapana and Royal Gardens were destroyed in the lava flows during the late1980’s.
What
remain are a few homes and businesses where the road now ends. From
here one can see the plume of smoke coming from the vent upslope.
Sometimes the lava reaches the ocean about 2 miles from this spot.
A short five minute hike will bring you to Kaimu Beach, the newest black sand beach on the island. Tour Guide will give you the rich history of the ancient fishing villages that were here and the touching stories about the palms at Kaimu Beach.
Heading back from Kalapana, you will want to take Highway 130 toward Pahoa. This is your best chance of watching Kilauea erupt.
Just a few hundred yards north of Kalapana, is the old turn off to
Royal Gardens. This is now the official County of Hawaii Lava Viewing
Site. Drive as far as the attendants will allow you, park and walk into
where you can safely view the lava flowing into the ocean.
Daily updates on the volcano and conditions at site are available at
the Hawaii County Lava Viewing Desk, phone number 808.961.8093; more
information is here and here.
Farther along the
highway to Pahoa, you will see a “scenic turnout” where you can view
the Puna Geothermal Vents. Here a company has tapped the natural steam
to create electricity from these fumaroles. Tour Guide
will show you how, with a short hike off the road, and you can sit in
one of these natural sauna vents for some real relaxation.
Now you’re ready to head back to Kona. Take Highway 130 to Highway 11 and go south. If time permits, you may want to stop in Volcano Village,
just off the highway, for some food, gasoline, shopping or maybe even
some wine tasting. This may be the last gasoline available until you
get back to Kona. Find your hotel in your Tour Guide and get turn-by-turn directions right to the door.
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