HILO, BIG ISLAND OF HAWAII

Hilo is a port town and the largest settlement on the east side of the Big Island of Hawaii with a population around 45,000. The town overlooks Hilo Bay located on two 'shield' volcanos. Although shield volcanoes are the largest on Earth, they do not form soaring mountains with conical peaks like composite volcanoes. Instead, they are broad with gentle slopes and are shaped somewhat like a warrior's shield lying flat on the Earth. They erupt basalt lava viscosity is more fluid and can flow on the surface for large distances. These volcanoes are built up by repeated eruptions over vast periods of time.

So, what a different view from our balcony (below) as we entered Kona Bay. This is not how we expect volcanoes to look like! This is the summit of Mauna Loa volcano which stands some 17,000 metres above the depressed sea floor and is over 8230 metres taller than Mt Everest. Unlike explosive continental volcanoes, the more fluid and less gaseous eruptions of Kilauea and Mauna Loa produce fiery fountains and rivers of molten lava.

Today we took a bus tour to Hawaii National Park about an hour’s drive into the Big Island of Hawaii to view Kilauea. This is just one in an Hawaiian chain the result of 70 million years of volcanism, migration and evolution as forces beneath the earth remind us this is a living, forever changing planet. We peered into the caldera of Kilauea as stream rose from its core and surrounding fissures along walking trails.

Scientists say that the Hawaiian volcanoes have been unusually quiet since the eruptions last month but not so elsewhere in the world:

Though Hawaii’s volcanoes currently aren’t erupting, other volcanoes around the world remain active. Here in the United States, Great Sitkin and Shishaldin are erupting in Alaska, generating lava flows and ash plumes in the remote Aleutian Islands. Multiple volcanoes are active in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ecuador, Indonesia, Japan, The Philippines, and Russia. Individual volcanoes are also active in Chile, Ethiopia, Italy, Mexico, and Papua New Guinea.

On our way back to the Coral Princess we had a brief stop at a Macadamia Nut factory where this (originally Qld) product is a leading export from the Big Island of Hawaii.

Not very good at these. But here’s a ‘selfie’ before dinner: 

Great dinner tonight once again with four different Kiwis from the previous night. I’m starting to like Kiwis! Coral Princess will now cruise to the west side of the Big Island of Hawaii to Kona for our last visit to the Hawaiian Islands. There is no port facility in Kona big enough for this ship; so tenders back and forth will be required. Since we are ‘Platinum’ passengers, we will get priority boarding apparently!

Seas are so calm there is no sensation of movement while sleeping.