Treehouse, making Kilauea erupt, volcanoes in the dark - April 25-26, 2011

On Monday, we started a four hour leisurely drive to the town of Volcano.  The route would take us around the island counter-clockwise.  Lunch was in Kona at a tiny taco joint called Killer Tacos that was recommended in the "Big Island Revealed" guidebook.  (Thanks to Ed and Angela for letting us borrow the book!)  They were out of fish, so we had kalua pig burritos and soft tacos which tasted okay (not exceptional enough to snap a photo).  We also tried to get some macadamia nut pie for dessert, which was supposedly nearby at the Kona International Market, but we did not find the store.  Instead, we settled for the "best shave ice on the island", sold from a stand next to a Longs Drugs store.  The ice was not shaved fine enough...the best shave ice still has to be Ululani's on Maui, the #1 U.S. restaurant on TripAdvisor.

We continued on Highway 11, heading towards the southernmost point on the Big Island.  Did you know that it is also the southernmost point in the 50 states?  We didn't actually drive to South Point as it was 12 miles from the main highway.  We did make a rest stop at Punalu'u Bake Shop, the southernmost bakery in the US.  Free samples.  We bought a couple of baked buns stuffed with red bean paste and a piece of mac nut pie.

Eventually we make it into the town of Volcano.  Our home for the next two nights, "Treehouse Skye", was located in a residential community a few miles from the entrance of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.  We turned right off of the highway onto a two lane street which shrunk to a one-lane paved road, then turned left onto an unpaved gravel road.  Skye gave great directions to the place, though I would recommend getting there before nightfall as there are no streetlights and signs are hard to read.  I had given him a call before we arrived, so he met us at the driveway and took us on a tour of the treehouse.

in case you didn't know

stairway 20 feet up to the front door

little nook

fireplace and sitting area

nicely equipped kitchen (only missing an oven)

throne in the forest

shower (hot water comes from Skye's main house)

stairway up to the bedroom loft

raised bed, so comfy

trundle under bed for extra guests/kids; extra space behind with additional futons

view from the loft: cute decorative touches above the kitchen

view of the Treehouse from the "sky walk"

sky walk that leads to a small patio, all up in the trees!

What a work of art!  A lot of the materials were "recycled" (ie. leftovers from construction projects that would've been thrown away)   Five living trees were incorporated into the treehouse.  There was a lot of light as the walls were mostly windows with hardly any curtains (especially the bathroom).  Skye lived in a house (on the ground) 100 feet away, so it was supposedly private, and the entire property was five acres in size.  I was a bit worried about privacy with so many windows, but I couldn't see any other houses or structures.  (maybe there was a telescope hidden from view...)  One remarkable thing was that there were no bugs!  You'd think there'd be bugs crawling around due to the outdoorsy environment, but nope.  There was a small spider in the bathroom, but any house will have that.

For dinner, we visited the Kilauea Lodge Restaurant which was highly recommended in the guidebook.  The restaurant had a rustic feel to it, and we were seated next to the International Fireplace.  There was hardly anyone dining at 5:30pm, but the hostess still asked if we had a reservation.  Later on, Babe informed me that you could make a reservation on OpenTable, so they'd need to check you in.

decorated with plaques and items from all over the world

warm brie appetizer

fresh greens with papaya seed dressing

homemade soup

rabbit braised in "hearty hunter wine sauce"

"safari schnitzel" made from antelope

the best-tasting tea ever - locally grown in Volcano.  wanted to buy some, but couldn't find any.  apparently it is $400/lb.

After dinner, we stopped by a mini-mart to pick up some papayas.  It was rather dark getting back to the treehouse; fortunately we already knew the way.  The temperature plummeted at night as the area's elevation was over 4000 feet.  The hot water in the shower was adequate and the bed was very warm and comfortable.  There were robes available for use, which came in handy.

We woke up at 7am the next morning as the light was pouring in through the windows.  (this may be a problem for people who need complete darkness to sleep)  We also heard a cardinal repeatedly attacking his own reflection from a window in the sitting room, which was sad, but funny too.  Later in the morning, Skye dropped by to give us a loaf of locally baked bread as he forgot to stock the fridge with bagels for breakfast.  There were half a dozen eggs already in the fridge as well as individually wrapped pats of butter and tubs of cream cheese.  The pantry was stocked with whole coffee beans and a grinder with all the condiments, bagged teas, and oatmeal.  There wasn't any fruit (which I had expected from seeing the pictures online, though technically he stated "breakfast fixings" in general), which was why we got papayas the previous night. 

Today was dedicated to visiting the volcano and hike around.  We got to use our National Park annual pass again, so continued to get our money's worth!  First stop was at the visitor's center...not much there, but you have to go there for this box:

The ranger gave it to us and as we pushed the button, he went "Oh no, look what you've done!" and showed us a computer monitor with a video of the volcano erupting, haha.  Hilarious!  He said that in the past, a couple of visitors had freaked out, thinking they actually did make it erupt.

Unfortunately today's lava flow wasn't accessible via hiking, as it was erupting inside Kilauea's Halemaumau vent.  The entire area near Halemaumau was closed off due to toxic gases, so we couldn't drive there to take a look either.  We decided to do the Kilauea Iki hike.  You get to walk right across what once was a lava lake.  There was a huge group of people on a Holland America cruise shore excursion in front of us, mostly non-American from their accents.  A lot of them were wearing brand-spanking new white leather tennis shoes...soon to be gray colored.  I wondered if the ship was able to dock overnight, as it would be a large investment of time to see the volcano, with a 3 hour drive back and forth from the port.  Babe and I were slowed down by them in the beginning as the trail was narrow, but we managed to squeeze by when they took a short break.

view of the crater from above

eventually life does fight to exist on the barren crater floor

there are still some steaming vents

that white in the background is rain...it was dry on the trail until we crossed the crater

We then checked out Devastation Trail, followed by a drive along the Chain of Craters road.  We stopped at various craters on the road.  Cooled lava can take on many different textures and shapes.

looks like a bad plaster job

a small lava tube

lava flows petrified in time

eerie lava landscape

this lava was crunchy

looks like oil slicks.  the lava is very light and porous

this lava cooled into what looks to be the bust of an animal

Near the end of the road was the Puu Loa petroglyphs, which was about a 1.5 mile hike roundtrip.  The petroglyphs were carved by the early Hawaiians as they had no written language at the time.  This was and still is a sacred place for Hawaiians.  A wooden boardwark was built by the park around some of the petroglyphs to prevent further damage to them by visitors walking on them.

petroglyphs like these are all over the site

petroglyphs of humans

the holes were made to bury umbilical cords to ensure long life for the child

not a petroglyph, but interesting how lava can cool in spirals

At the end of the Chain of Craters road is where lava meets ocean.  New land made by lava flows is usually unstable; there were signs everywhere saying not to approach the edge, as the lava shelf may crumble and fall into the ocean.  There was an area where it was "safer" and you could see a sea arch from there:

We didn't have time to walk past the end of the road (a gate blocks cars from entering), but if you did walk further, you'd enter a housing development that was devastated by the lava flows in the 1980's.  We drove back up the road and stopped at Thurston Lava Tube.  You get to walk through an old lava tube.  It was set up especially for visitors, with a nice ramp and handrails, concrete walkway and electric lights inside.  You'd expect a gift shop at the exit.

We went back to the treehouse to eat last night's leftovers for dinner, then headed back into the park for nighttime viewing of the volcano from Jaggar Museum.  It was dark, easy to see the orange glow coming from Halemaumau crater.  Pretty cool.

not too bad with a pocket camera though an SLR would've been better

Tonight was our last night at the treehouse.  Tomorrow, we go towards Hilo and check into our vacation home located right on Champagne Pond!