Koningsdam adventure, Hilo, Hawaii...

I got up at 6am before sunrise to do my usual sail in photos but we were already at the port not quite docked but close enough that my sail in photos today were limited.  Ann, Cathy, our friend Barb and myself took a taxi to pick up our rental car.  We were anxious to see the volcano as it had started erupting two days ago. Driving to the National Park we had our first siting of the billowing smoke in the sky.  After entering the park gate, we stopped at the Visitors Center and decided to walk across the street to the Volcano House Hotel…a great decision! After taking the trail…there it was…spewing brilliant red-orange lava flowing and shooting up in the air. We continued along Crater Rim Trail West stopping at some of the best viewpoints for this eruption including Uēkahuna, Kilauea Overlook, Wahinekapu (Steaming Bluff), Sulphur and Steam vents and Kupina'i Pali (Waldron Ledge). In order to get a different view of the Caldera we switched direction and drove along Crater Rim Drive East.  From the Kilauea Overlook we had stunning views of the Kilauea Crater a vast crater measuring 3000 feet across. I took the Overlook trail through the fern forests overlooking the lava fields to the Nahuku Lava Tube. We were so lucky that we had perfect weather for our park visit.  We then made our way to Akaka Falls State Park and took the loop trail to see the spectacular Akaka Falls drop in excess of 400 feet. We were very disappointed in our visit to Akaka Falls…since my last visit, the falls has certainly gone downhill…the vegetation is overgrown to the point that you cannot see the bottom of Akaka Falls and the Kahuna Falls is totally covered in tropical foliage.  They may want to spend a little of the millions they pull into their coffers into vegetation control.   We had some extra time before the ships departure so we drove to Rainbow Falls in Wailuku State Park. This waterfall has four streams failing into a series of circular pools looking like boiling pots of water…nice view!  Today, we had a great day for touring the majestic sites of Hawaii….  It is amazing how lucky we were…What a day!