Alpha Centauri 2

Community => Recreation Commons => Topic started by: Geo on January 04, 2015, 05:18:05 AM

Title: Hawaiian wonders
Post by: Geo on January 04, 2015, 05:18:05 AM

Just a thread to write down some observations during my time on the islands.

This is my third evening in Hilo now, and first open sunset sky I saw here.

Never seen such a bright blueish sunset sky as far as I can remember.
Back home, there's always some brownish haze at the horizon. Not here, a very electrifying bright blue in the west. Marvelous! Think I even caught a glimpse of one of the volcanoes (west-northwest there's its still cloudy).

Title: Re: Hawaiian wonders
Post by: Geo on January 06, 2015, 06:07:20 AM

Last night, I took a sunset tour for the Mauna Kea. Typically, such tours depart at sealevel either in Hilo or Kona, have an acclimatisation stop at the visitor center at 9200 ft (2800 m), and continue to the top of the volcano. But the road was iced over, thus the rangers closed it for tourist traffic. Luckily there are a couple nice lookout points around the visitor center to enjoy sunset.
And I got half my money back. 8)

Our driver was a-bit-over-half Hawaiian (according to him ;) ), and gave us an introductionary Polynesian tour of the nightsky. The method their navigators used to find their way around at sea in the olden days.

Title: Re: Hawaiian wonders
Post by: sisko on January 06, 2015, 06:27:31 AM

(https://encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSIjlEF08HNNEw46cZYjrynTCP4EuTbPuVjcl7zmkOkDWVWb3fAJMDz0lY)

Title: Re: Hawaiian wonders
Post by: Unorthodox on January 06, 2015, 02:04:11 PM

No kidding...

Want to go back there and do some of the volcanoes someday.  We went scuba diving, which pretty much kills your chance at the volcanoes. 

It did teach me I never want to scuba dive again, though.  Holy headache afterword! 

Well, once more, I want to go feed the sharks someday. 

Title: Re: Hawaiian wonders
Post by: Geo on January 07, 2015, 12:35:23 AM

I have to work during vacation? :(

Some surplus pictures I took with the tablet. These I can with a bit of effort :P show here.

In order of appearance:
Mauna Kea summit kn the clouds as seen over Hilo Bay.
Mauna Kea (that white "cloud" between the trees) seen from a street near the bubbling potholes.
And as a kicker, I located ;santi; terrestrial boot camp prior to Unity's departure. :D

Title: Re: Hawaiian wonders
Post by: Geo on January 08, 2015, 11:44:53 AM

Went from Hilo's warmth to Volcano's vog (by means of convertible no less  :D ).

The sky was clear over the Kilauea caldera during the day. The rangers at the visitor center seemed to find that pretty remarkable. It gave me the opportunity for a couple nice shots.
Pretty cold here during the night though, and a chilly wind around the clock today.
Stayed close to the visitor center since I had my main backpack to drag along during the day.

In order of appearance:

View over the Kilauea caldera, as seen from about half a mile south of the visitor center on the old rim road.
The Sulphur Banks trail, about a quarter mile from the visitor center.
View of Mauna Loa through the vog released by the Kilauea, roughly half a mile of the visitor center on the same trail.
The Kilauea caldera close to the Jaggar museum on Kilauea overlook.
And to beat it all, Kilauea's nightglow seen from the Jaggar Museum. I had a hybrid Ozzie/North American at the hostel offer people a ride to the caldera after sunset. He got a decent Hawaiian beer out of it afterwards. ;)

Title: Re: Hawaiian wonders
Post by: Geo on January 10, 2015, 06:54:45 AM

Let's see...

Still in Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park.

Walked up to the road closure point at the Keanako'i crater (first attachment) yesterday of the crater rim drive. That's the south side of the Kilauea Caldera.
Nice lookout point for the smoking Halema'uma'u crater (nightglow) as well (2nd and 3th attachments with different zoom levels). The rotten egg smell was noticable.

Title: Re: Hawaiian wonders
Post by: Geo on January 10, 2015, 07:17:12 AM

Is it even possible to attach .mp4 movies? Made a nice one from the center of a small crater today...

Title: Re: Hawaiian wonders
Post by: sisko on January 10, 2015, 07:53:32 AM

.mp4 format is allowed in the media gallery, so you should be able to embed somehow..

Title: Let's see...
Post by: Geo on January 11, 2015, 05:27:33 AM

Kilauea Iki crater as seen from the center.

http://vid5.photobucket.com/albums/y174/GeoModder/Mobile%20Uploads/20150109_145349_zpsdsspwyht.mp4 (http://vid5.photobucket.com/albums/y174/GeoModder/Mobile%20Uploads/20150109_145349_zpsdsspwyht.mp4)

Seems to work. :D

Title: Re: Hawaiian wonders
Post by: Geo on January 11, 2015, 05:46:06 AM

Gettin' rid of the backlog...

Two more shots of the main Kilauea caldera. One as seen from Volcano House, the lodge next to the visitor center, and the other from the tiny part of the caldera floor were hikers are still allowed.

Also, the wind shifted today. Some slight precipitation with a voggy smell was noticable in Volcano Village. But I didn't know until afternoon. Tried to get to Pahoa (the lava-threatened village on Big Island) by bus. Didn't work out, missed the proper spot used as busstop (outside Hilo, there are no busstop markers) in Keaau when switching lines. The Pahoa bus driver decided to drive me by.
Went down to Hilo instead and visited the Tsunami Museum.

O yes. Spotted Alpha Centauri and the Southern Cross a bit above the southern horizon an hour before dawn. :D

Title: Re: Hawaiian wonders
Post by: Unorthodox on January 12, 2015, 06:51:28 PM

Tablet doesn't like the bright sun, eh? 

Reminds me a lot of the (ancient) volcanos around Flagstaff.  Don't know if I have any of those pics uploaded. 

Title: Re: Hawaiian wonders
Post by: Geo on January 13, 2015, 06:19:47 AM

Quote from: Unorthodox on January 12, 2015, 06:51:28 PM

Tablet doesn't like the bright sun, eh?

Tablet seems to handle the sun relatively well, at least if the pictures earlier in this thread are any indication. The sky was cloudy that day. Also, the wind had shifted and both the Visitor Center and Volcano Village (where my hostel was) sat straight in the path of the vog.

Only one picture from yesterday. I'll try uploading my camera pictures to the tablet later on.
Did part of the Napau trail, in Kilauea's east rift wilderness. East of that section is where the lavaflows that threaten Pahoa originate from. Lots of steaming vents in that zone. The eruptions there date from the 1920ties (some) and the 1970ties (mostly).
I went as far as the Makaopuhi Crater. The attached picture was taken near a collapsed section with lots of steam vents.

Title: Re: Hawaiian wonders
Post by: Geo on January 13, 2015, 08:01:56 AM

I don't know if its the forum, or the wifi of the last 3 hostels I stayed in, but it gets increasingly difficult to post posts with attached pictures. I've tried the whole evening now, and modifications involving an attachment simply don't finish updating. :mad:

Title: Re: Hawaiian wonders
Post by: Unorthodox on January 13, 2015, 01:50:36 PM

I've had intermittent problems with the forums the last couple days.  Couldn't post new threads yesterday, and generally slow overall. 

Title: Re: Hawaiian wonders
Post by: Geo on January 13, 2015, 04:17:52 PM

looks like at least the distance of my room to the hotel's modem is to blame (weaker signal, slower transmitting of data), but the forum keeps informing me my session timed out, or kicks me out so I have to log in again.

Title: Re: Hawaiian wonders
Post by: Geo on January 16, 2015, 12:37:12 PM

Saw a Humpback whale calf breach the water before the Kailua-Kona coast yesterday, on our way to a diving/snorkeling site. And after sunset over a dozen boats gathered there to see Manta's feed. There were three of those last night at the site.

Title: Re: Hawaiian wonders
Post by: Geo on January 20, 2015, 06:07:07 AM

Bloody hell. The same problem again as 2 weeks ago: page times out when I attach a bjnch of pictures. :mad:

Oh well...

From my dive yesterday,. A couple Manta's were feeding near our anchor spot.

Title: Re: Hawaiian wonders
Post by: Geo on January 20, 2015, 06:17:42 AM

Next to a rare Monk Seal (appearantly barely 1100 in the state of Hawaii) an a shark (sorry, I don't have an underwater camera), there were spinner dolphins and a couple of Humpbacks barely out of Kailula's marina.

Title: Re: Hawaiian wonders
Post by: Geo on January 20, 2015, 06:18:29 AM

Another one.

Title: Re: Hawaiian wonders
Post by: sisko on January 20, 2015, 09:48:28 AM

Quote from: Geo on January 20, 2015, 06:07:07 AM

Bloody hell. The same problem again as 2 weeks ago: page times out when I attach a bjnch of pictures. :mad:

:-\  Bad internet connection?

Title: Re: Hawaiian wonders
Post by: Geo on January 20, 2015, 04:31:19 PM

Hate to say it, but I think its the forum that has problems uploading pictures in a reasonable time (before timing out).

Title: Re: Hawaiian wonders
Post by: sisko on January 20, 2015, 04:54:39 PM

 :-\ Could be. I'll do some testing..

Title: Re: Hawaiian wonders
Post by: Geo on January 22, 2015, 07:21:36 AM

Today, I went snorkeling near Lanahai on the southwest coast of Maui. When diving to the bottom, and after clearing my ears (water pressure), I could here the whales sing/talk in the distance. ;b;
Something funny happened though. There were 3 giant turtles coming close tl the beach for feeding. Snorkelers kept out of their way, but the at least one swimmer (from my tour group) who didn't realize he was more or less blocking passage got a swap against his legs from one of the turtles. Appearantly, humans may not touch, but that doesn't go the other way around. :D

Picture of today: this is the kind of nostalgia I'd expect to see in England, not the most laid back state in the States.

Title: Re: Hawaiian wonders
Post by: Geo on January 25, 2015, 08:47:44 AM

Today, I walked through Heaven's Gate (sorry, UnO ;) ) at the end of the hike. Also known as Halemau'u Trailhead in the Haleakalā National Park at Maui.

http://vid5.photobucket.com/albums/y174/GeoModder/Mobile%20Uploads/20150124_171026_zpssp5zqvi4.mp4 (http://vid5.photobucket.com/albums/y174/GeoModder/Mobile%20Uploads/20150124_171026_zpssp5zqvi4.mp4)

Title: Re: Hawaiian wonders
Post by: Rusty Edge on January 25, 2015, 05:23:51 PM

Quote from: Geo on January 16, 2015, 12:37:12 PM

Saw a Humpback whale calf breach the water before the Kailua-Kona coast yesterday, on our way to a diving/snorkeling site. And after sunset over a dozen boats gathered there to see Manta's feed. There were three of those last night at the site.

I've seen a number of species of whales in the wild and up close.
I have seen various humpback behaviors, but I've never personally seen one breach.

Perhaps I'll start a thread...

Title: Re: Hawaiian wonders
Post by: Geo on January 25, 2015, 07:25:34 PM

I got a full minute video of a calf and two adults (its mother and its mother's 'suitor' splatter near our boat. Unfortunately I haven't figured out yet how to find .mov files on my tablet. :(

Title: Re: Hawaiian wonders
Post by: Rusty Edge on January 25, 2015, 09:47:45 PM

No big deal. When you figure it out, do it. No hurry, no worries. You'll have time to learn new things on the flight home/ sitting in the airport.

Might as well enjoy Hawaii while you're there.

Title: Re: Hawaiian wonders
Post by: Geo on January 26, 2015, 07:58:43 AM

Looks like it will have to wait 'til I'm back in Europe.
Whale time is over now. I don't expect to see humpbacks near the shores of Oahu during the next week or so. And after that I'm going back to mainland USA.

Title: Re: Hawaiian wonders
Post by: Rusty Edge on January 26, 2015, 08:40:39 PM

Are you doing anything in the mainland, or are you basically traveling back?

Title: Re: Hawaiian wonders
Post by: Buster's Uncle on January 26, 2015, 08:42:21 PM

He's planning to rape-burgle an innocent mainland American family on his way home.

Title: Re: Hawaiian wonders
Post by: Geo on January 27, 2015, 03:46:27 AM

Quote from: Rusty Edge on January 26, 2015, 08:40:39 PM

Are you doing anything in the mainland, or are you basically traveling back?

Next to dropping 'samples' in some remote middle-of-nowhere out-of-the-way spot near the eastern shores ( ;)), I booked a few nights in San Diego. The USS Midway there is on my list of things to visit.

Title: Re: Hawaiian wonders
Post by: Rusty Edge on January 27, 2015, 05:47:30 AM

Cool. 8)

Title: Re: Hawaiian wonders
Post by: Geo on January 28, 2015, 05:11:24 AM

Finally back to reasonable prices for a private room. Here in Honolulu I pay a third of what I paid in Maui. And both places are hostels!

Title: Re: Hawaiian wonders
Post by: Geo on January 30, 2015, 08:48:50 AM

And... Northshore goes back to near-Maui levels. But at least the comfort should be of a better standard.

That aside:

I think I did mention before Pearl Harbor was on my list. Plan to make a separate thread for it, but the pictures below wouldn't fit there.

1) I took a navy 'sloop' towards Ford Island...
2) ...to visit the Arizona Memorial.
3) The main part of the ship that still breaks the surface, the base of one of the old gun turrets.
The markers in the background show where the other ships in battleship row were moored at the time of the attack.
4) A picture taken from within the Memorial. A number of people in the group brought a lei with them.
5) I didn't see a single lei return to the shore with us.

For those unaware of what a lei's final fate is in the Hawaiian tradition, the wearer is supposed to unknot the string and return its contents to nature, or a place of significance for him/her.

Title: Re: Hawaiian wonders
Post by: Geo on February 01, 2015, 09:18:11 AM

Testing the Northshore upload speed...

The picture was taken during a whale cruise between Maui and Lanai. IIRC, this one more or less surfaced 50 yards in front of our boat.

Title: Re: Hawaiian wonders
Post by: Geo on February 04, 2015, 03:49:18 AM

Pre-flight jitters: will the Speedishuttle van be on time? No traffic jams to the airport? No problems with the flight back to the mainland? :-\

Title: Re: Hawaiian wonders
Post by: Geo on February 05, 2015, 05:27:30 AM

Let's try play catchup.

1) 'Volcano's in the mist'. The Haleakala caldera on Maui.
2) The highest point on Maui, about  3,050 m.
3) Just clouds going in. That's not volcanic outgassing. The caldera has several 'gaps' in its rim that allow it.
4) Didn't spot it on Big Island, but here is the famous 'Nene'. An offshoot of Canadian goose (IIRC) that took residence on at least Hawaii and Maui several millennia ago.
5) After a 12 mile loop trail, we were 'just' too late to see a traditional sunset on the mountain.

Much better wifi here in my An Diego hotel. It diesn't time out half the time. Though I have to modify the post each time I attach a new picture.

Title: Re: Hawaiian wonders
Post by: Rusty Edge on February 05, 2015, 05:51:34 AM

I never knew of the Nene Goose. Some ancestral goose must have said "This migration nonsense is for the birds! Let's fly somewhere nice and stay there." :danc:

Title: Re: Hawaiian wonders
Post by: Geo on February 05, 2015, 06:40:32 AM

Yeah. It looks like the (sub?)species is in the proces of losing its ability to fly. Some don't, most are still capable of it.