Travis on the Big Island

G'day. Aloha!

That means much more than just “Hello”. When you talk to someone, the Hawaiians say, you share your breath and therefore a part of your soul with the other person. What a nice picture.

The Aloha sign hung in our first accommodation on the Big Island. In Volcano, just a few minutes away from Volcano National Park.

We went there immediately after arriving on the “big island” - Big Island.

But before I go on, I first have to apologize to you for not writing anything down here for so long. I haven't really told you yet, but I can't do it all alone. And my oldest, who usually helps me with this, probably preferred to spend more time with “the children”. I can totally understand that. They're really nice, both of them. Unfortunately we had to say “Bye!” again yesterday. say as we dropped her off at the airport (sniff...)

Well, in any case a lot has happened since I last told you something here. I'll try to give a reasonably short summary. But it will be difficult.

In the Volcano area there is rainforest everywhere where the Kilauea volcano has not covered the landscape with lava or where there are not the craters of the volcanoes. That's a pretty interesting mix.

We toured the national park and also hiked through the Kilauea Iki crater. Wooaaahhh, that was impressive, I tell you.

When you walk through a crater like this, where there is smoke here and there because it is so hot underneath, you have the feeling that you are very close to the power of the earth. And until relatively recently you could still see lava flowing in this area. Unfortunately not at the moment. It was actually something that was on my oldest's "bucket list," she said. Bucket probably means bucket - I haven't yet figured out what the list and the bucket have to do with each other.

In any case, the crater is "Iki" - the little one. The big Kilauea is even more impressive - or better: differently impressive. And it is also sacred to the Hawaiians because the goddess Pele lives there.

Four of us - or rather five - went on an evening tour with a guide who took us to a little-known viewpoint. That was very special. Somehow a really spiritual experience, my oldest said.

And when the volcano actually erupts, molten rock is distributed very finely and forms threads, fiberglass, as it cools. In the light they shine like gold: "Pele's hair" is what they call it. The guide showed us. Wooaaahhh!

There was a lot more to see there in Volcano National Park. For example, tunnels that the lava made. So big you can walk through it. Not just with my size, but also as an adult! Really now!

And there, where you have driven back over the volcanic field almost to the sea, you will once again find sacred sites for the Hawaiians. Symbols and figures are carved into the lava everywhere. These are called petroglyphs.

We also saw Nene at Kilauea. A very rare species of wild geese, of which there were now only a few hundred left. There are now around 4,000 again and they are very important to the Hawaiians. There are signs on the streets everywhere so that you don't drive over anyone or anything like that.

And every now and then rainforest:

The next morning we got up pretty early to watch the sunrise over the crater. It was a bit fresh and beautiful at the same time - almost a bit magical.

We also spent another night below the volcano, basically in the middle of the lava field. That was a very unusual environment!

It's cool, I tell you!

The next day we went to Maunakea together. It is called "White Mountain" because it is so high (over 4000 meters!) that there is often even snow on it.

By the way, we saw three world record volcanoes:

Kilauea as the most active, Maunaloa as the heaviest (in terms of total mass) and Maunakea as the highest (approx. 10,000 meters from the sea floor!) volcano. All within sight of each other.

To drive all the way to the top of Maunakea, you need a four-wheel drive car. And you have to wait at least half an hour at an altitude of 3000 meters - that's where the Visitor Center is. My older ones said that you have to get used to the altitude. And the park rangers also make sure that you pay attention to all of this. Simon drove us up and down the mountain in his jeep. He did really well. I wasn't afraid at all.

Before that, however, he actually had to pass a small test with the ranger. So that he really knows how to handle the car properly.

I didn't really notice it. But the adults said they could actually physically feel the altitude. The views were definitely worth driving to the top!

And according to Hawaiian legends, a goddess lives there too - Poli'ahu - who was once in competition with Pele. Fire fighting ice! Great story...

And as I said. The views...!

It was hard to get enough of it!

From there we went to the west side of the Big Island. The slipstream side. We actually wanted to dive or snorkel with manta rays at night in Kona. But unfortunately the sea was so wild that we couldn't go out.

At our accommodation in Captain Cook we have lots of beautiful green geckos. They are totally trusting and always come over when there is something to eat.

We have a really great sea view from the balcony - we can constantly hear the noise and see the spray from above. And the whales! They are found everywhere in Hawaii this time of year.

Here the four of us - well, actually five of us - celebrated my oldest's birthday. That was really nice.

And we were always out and about here in the area and looked at, among other things, historical Hawaiian sites.

One of the most important is a place where the bones of 23 kings lay. And so - the Hawaiians believe - this mausoleum and the sacred area around it is full of mana, spiritual energy, so to speak. People who had violated any rules and were therefore threatened with the death penalty could also take refuge in this place. There they set out on a healing inner path with the support of "priests" and later emerged "purified" from it.

Oh, I could say so much more. But maybe I'll stop now. That's quite a lot for you to read.

I would like to quickly show you just one of the many rainbows here:

My older ones and I are staying here on the Big Island for about another week. I keep you updated.

See you soon and greetings from Travis the Buddy Bear.