Madame Pele doesn't really stick to a schedule or an itinerary. The Volcano Goddess of Hawaiian myths and legends is capricious and hard to predict. Which may explain why you really can't plan ahead for volcano watching trips. The Kilauea eruption is one of the longest running in modern history. Trouble is, the eruption doesn't run in the same place or at the same pace. Over the course of days, the lava could shift a flow path from very close to the end of Chain of Crater's Road (the sole paved access road down into the eruption area) to a flow path necessitating a seven-mile hike across slick and frighteningly jagged fields of sharp a'a lava. Since the lava is best viewed at night and a seven-mile hike in the pitch black back to Chain of Craters road is extremely dangerous, that means the eruption is best viewed from helicopter, if at all. Another wonderful hazard -- huge lava benches formed by the flow collapse into steaming Pacific with very little warning. Even more terrifying, should the winds shift to the wrong direction, you'll find yourself sucking down breaths of toxic vog, enough to induce serious asthma attacks and cause painful burning lungs. The gas contains glass, hydrochloric and sulfuric acids.

Enough caveat volcano? No worries. Even driving down to the end of Chain of Craters road to view the flows uphill is a remarkable experience. The flows are mesmerizing, with rivers of glowing orange running along the hillsides, pulsing a wierd reddish light as if the veins of the Earth were filled with molten rock and coursing. Whew! At any rate, now is an O.K. but not great time to see the volcano. The flow volume has slowed and viewing is fairly far from the road (3 miles), and the chances of getting out there are low. If you are contemplating a quick hop over to the Big Island to see the flow, check the status before booking your trip.

Hawaiian Volcano Observatory Status Page (written in sciencese, very hard to understand)
Hawaii Volcanoes National Park Visitor Page ((808.985.6000)

Related Posts Honey wine from the Volcano, Kilauea Night Hike

Image via NPS

—Alex, 12/19/06