If you want to see something different, visit the Lava Tree State Park which is located in the town of Pahoa in the Puna district of the Big Island. The lava trees were created in 1790, when a lava flow , reportedly 11′ high, entered this forest of wet ohia trees. When the lava came in contact with the trees, the trees cooled the surrounding lava and the heat burned the trees to ash.
Fissure
The entrance of the park has a huge fissure or crack in the surface of the earth. When this fissure opened, the lava flowed back into this opening and what was left was the cooled lava tree molds.
Lava Tree
The entrance of the park seems to have the best examples of lava trees. There is a three quarter mile trail that loops around the park, where you can take in all the lava trees that was left by Madam Pele, the Hawaiian goddess of Fire.
Lava Tree
Looking into one of the lava trees, you can see how the lava cooled upon contact with the wet ohia trees and formed a mold of the bark of the tree.
Lava Trees
Walking through the park, you can see the lava trees mixed in with the surrounding lush foliage. Quite a striking contrast and a visual treat for the eyes.
Lava Tree State Park
Highway 132
Pahoa, HI
Open: Daily, dawn to dusk
Cost: Free
Punaluu Black Sand Beach
Heading down south, you will run across Punaluu Black Sand Beach, which is not the only black sand beach in Hawaii, but probably the more famous. The black sand was created when molten lava made contact with the ocean and exploded into smaller pieces and the waves did the rest of the work over the ages. The sand is not as fine but more coarse, like small pebbles or gravel.
Hawaiian Green Sea Turtle
Green sea turtles or Honu’s are frequent visitors to this beach, they are federally protected, so do not disturb them.
View
Punalu’u in Hawaiian means springwater dive for. The beach is also fed with very cold fresh water, hence the name.
Punalu’u Black Sand Beach
Highway 11
Naalehu, HI 96772
Open: Daily
Cost: Free
South Point
South Point is the southernmost point in Hawaii and the United States. In Hawaiian, it is known as Ka Lae or “the point.”
Jumping Rock
The area is a popular place for fishermen and swimmers.
Swimming Hole
If you don’t want to jump off the cliffs, you can always jump into the hole!
Canoe mooring rocks
It is widely believed that this is the area where the first Hawaiians made landfall, as this is the closest point from Tahiti. Ancient Hawaiians drilled holes in these rocks to moor their canoes when they went out fishing.
Lighthouse
You can see the remains of an heiau or temple near this lighthouse that was built in 1929. During WW2, the Air Force built a small landing strip named Morse Field at the point and it was closed in 1953.
South Point
Naalehu, HI 96772
Open: Daily
Cost: Free
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