Went to Volcanoes National Park today. Weather was awful, we're in the middle of the rainforest and boy, did it rain! Visibility poor most of day, but we still got out.
Went on a guided walk with a Ranger and learnt about some of the flora and fauna of the islands, and some of the local folklore.
Walked along rim of caldera. Could see it steaming in the distance, belching out thousands of metric tons of sulphur dioxide (not good for those with chest problems). The larger two volcanoes , Kilauea, which is the world's most active volcano and Mauna Loa, the world's most massive sub aerial volcano, were not visible today due to the weather.
Because of this we decided to drive to coast to see past lava flows, in particular the 2003 flow that covered the road. A fascinating drive, quite surreal. In many places the landscape is totally barren and in others new growth is coming through. In other places, lush rainforest.
At the end of the drive there is a huge sea arch carved out of lava, battered by the huge waves pounding against the cliffs.