Epic Round The World Trip Adventures! Stunning Photos & Articles - A fascinating gap year travel journal covering every stop of their journey.

Haleakala Volcano, Maui Island - Hawaii
Gap Year Travel Journal

(22nd June - 10th August) Maui, Hawaii - Volcano
All the Hawaiian islands were formed from volcanic activity. Big Island is still active and new eruptions were occurring there whilst we were on Maui. The eastern half of Maui is formed of the volcano Haleakala. This is the big volcano that dominates the skyline behind our house. We drove up on a morning when there wasn't too much cloud on the top. It's a long 37 mile zig-zaggy climb which ascends just over 10,000 feet (3,055M). We have a certificate which claims it to be one of the greatest elevation gains in the shortest distance in the world. Mike has included a photo of the volcanology of the whole of Maui for those of you who are intersted in that sort of thing. At the top we changed into our warm clothes - fortunately Mike had remembered how cold it can be up here! It was very windy and about 55 degrees F (13 degrees C) - freezing! Bizarre when you think that people were lying on the beach below us at a toasty 87 degrees. We stood at the edge of the huge crater leaning into the wind to stay upright. This is now a dormant volcano so no hot bubbling lava here - instead it was a vast sweeping valley with two big valleys leading off down each side towards the sea. The crater itself is full of lava with several cones of cinder. The colours are dramatic - reds, browns, oranges, greens. We attempted a short walk up to a lookout but since we'd gone from sea level to almost 2 miles high within an hour with no time to acclimatise we were feeling a bit light-headed and dizzy. We saw a flowering 'Ahinahina (Silver Sword) and here's today's interesting fact for you Melanie: these spiky plants are unique to Hawaii and can live for 50 years, but they only flower once and then they die. It was a truly breathtaking location with the clouds far below us and far reaching views of the whole island. (see the picture of Jo trying to fly).