Mauna Kea
Trip Start
May 01, 2008
1
10
13
Trip End
Jan 04, 2009
Hilo,
Hawaii,
United States
Friday, October 31, 2008
The final feature of 'Imiloa was a planetarium where I watched a video explaining the Polynesian creation story of Mauna Kea, Mauna Loa, and Kilauea. It also explained exactly where to look for each celestial object in the evening sky, which was very useful as I had a tour up to Mauna Kea booked for the evening.
The tour started at 2:00 and included a stop at Rainbow Falls, a waterfall at the edge of Hilo, before continuing across the island to Mauna Kea. Mauna Kea is 4200m tall, the highest peak in Hawai'i, and there is only 60% as much oxygen at the summit as at sea level. As we drove up on the tour we saw the landscape change around us, going from lush coastal rainforest to temperate forest and finally barren lava plains. I've included pictures where possible to illustrate the change.
We stopped at the visitor's centre at 2800m to acclimatise for half an hour before heading to the summit for sunset. It was cold, very cold, at the summit. Coming to Hawai'i I had certainly not packed clothes to be out in -10 degree temperatures and so very nearly froze at the top. In addition, walking the short 200m distance from the bus to the actual summit took an extreme effort, and all our hearts were pounding and breathing laboured after only a few steps. The view was, however, very worth it.
After the sun set we were treated to a celestial show, and I saw more stars at the top of Mauna Kea than ever before in my life. We could clearly see both Venus and Jupiter unassisted, and with only a small telescope could see four of Jupiter's moons. The glow of the Milky Way was clearly visible, and we saw numerous shooting stars while there as well. All-in-all the trip to the top of Mauna Kea was one of the most impressive and awe inspiring things I have ever done.
