After breakfasting at the hotel, we hopped into the car and headed off around the southern coastline. At Punaluu Beach we had a short stop to view the black sand beach and a green turtle sun baking.

Eventually, we arrived at the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, where we paid $10 to enter and stopped first at the Kilauea Visitor's Center to pick up a map and some information. We drove around Crater Rim Drive, which originally circled the Kilauea Volcano, but for a number of years a large part of it has been blocked off by lava flows. In one direction, we got as far as the Jaggar Museum where we obtained good views of the caldera and the currently venting crater which was discharging a plume of smoke. On the way there we also passed a series of steam vents.

In the other direction along Crater Rim Drive, we stopped to walk through the Thurston Lava Tube before continuing along to Chain of Craters Road which goes for miles all the way down to the sea over old lava flows.

Upon leaving the park, we continued on to the village of Pahoa where we found the recent lava flow which has been threatening the village. We found the best view at the community Recycling Center which the lava flow had just missed, literally on the other side of the fence.

With the sun going down, we continued on to Hilo, where we had a quick meal at Taco Belle before heading back to Kona along Saddle Road which crosses over the middle of the island and past the large peaks Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea. Unfortunately, this trip was made in the dark and with plenty of rain, so there wasn't much to be seen. However, I'm hoping to come this way again tomorrow.