Lava flow approching Emergency Road and Ocean

[Chas]

"Breakin' the law, breakin the law".

That guy's a public menace and should be locked up.

Only on Punaweb.... sigh
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[ElysianWort]

The average walking time is not two hours going out there gypsy. It's a bit longer coming back because of wind. I did a brisk walk to the flow in an hour and 10 minutes.

[opihikao]

quote:

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Originally posted by bananahead

in 2005 a huge bench 44 acres in size collapsed....
in 1993 a French Photographer died in a collapse of a 1/2 acre bench
in 1998 a hiker foolishly climbed to the top of a cinder cone and fell to his death.
and Two hikers died of pulmonary edema after foolishly standing downwind of the hydrochloric acid fumes at the ocean entry....


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save our indigenous and endemic Hawaiian Plants... learn about them, grow them, and plant them on your property, ....instead of all that invasive non-native garbage I see in most yards... aloha

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Amen, Bananahead (to both of your last posts). SMH. When watching these people standing so near the "danger zone", without considering the potential collapse of where they are standing, is beyond belief!

The experience of seeing the lava flow into the ocean firsthand is a once in a lifetime experience for many. Unfortunately, it may be the last experience/memory if heed is not taken.

Be safe all.

JMO.

P.S. Further education may assist in where our visitors traverse. They are the ones most vulnerable to harmful situations.

[opihikao]

quote:

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Originally posted by gypsy69

Top of the morning to you bananahead.
Thank you for the many good reminders of how benches can and have collapsed. Maybe A short 10-minute volcano hazard and safety video should be shown to most tourists who venture out to visit the lava flow?
I have been out hundreds of times to visit the lava flows over the past several decades. Never have I seen so many careless, disrespectful, or clueless visitors as this flow has brought. During our Recent lava viewing trip, We saw many Tourists walking over the active lava tube or hanging over the cliff's edge to get better photographs of the lava entering the ocean. Some tourists are even bringing alcohol in place of water while others are throwing rubbish into the flow or poking the lava flows fresh breakouts with sticks. We even saw a little 8-year-old tourist girl walking alone, she had become separated from her parents for awhile. We talked with her for about 20 minutes about her favorite PokeMon games until she thankfully spotted her Dad. Jmo's

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Aloha ahiahi, gypsy. What a terrible, firsthand view of what is going on. Mahalo for taking some time for the little girl...OMFG. [!] You're right, our visitors (and perhaps, some of us), need to be better prepared/educated. Quite disturbing.

JMO.

[Guest]

Good evening ElysianWort, Thanks for the correction. Your right while in decent shape too.
The lava flow hike can be had in under two hours by most. We had 8 in our group this last time out, stopped ten minutes for coconuts and another ten minutes for bathroom breaks. Our pace may have been a bit slow, We didn't pass very many others along the way unless we counted the folks coming from the other direction. The lava flow entering the ocean was truly amazing and as always worth the trip. For some in our group, The sight of our vehicles at the end of the long hike was quite a relief.

[opihikao]

quote:

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Originally posted by gypsy69

Good evening ElysianWort, Thanks for the correction. Your right while in decent shape too.
The lava flow hike can be had in under two hours by most. We had 8 in our group this last time out, stopped ten minutes for coconuts and another ten minutes for bathroom breaks. Our pace may have been a bit slow, We didn't pass very many others along the way unless we counted the folks coming from the other direction. The lava flow entering the ocean was truly amazing and as always worth the trip. For some in our group, The sight of our vehicles at the end of the long hike was quite a relief.

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Are you doing tours, gypsy? If so, it's good that you know the terrain as well as you do. Just, please, be extremely careful. Who is doing the coconuts? (Seriously, I'm curious...at $5 a nut, it's quite a venture.)

All the boat tours, hiking tours, biking tours, etc., is really what helps feed our community in more ways than one. Most important is being knowledgeable and respectful (not only culturally, but moreso, safety wise).

We are so blessed to (again, for some of us) witness the lava flowing. The videos from land, air, and sea, defy superlatives!

Mahalo, e Tutu Pele. She gives, and she takes. Be safe in this wondrous experience.

JMO.

[ElysianWort]

Yeah, lets all have fun safely. Sounds like a good motto. Maybe a good life theme. My neighbor went out to the flow yesterday and has lots of beautiful footage including some video of a woman in flip-flops walking onto a fresh lava flow. She took a few steps looked around, then down and and then stepped off of it. I bet she was smelling burnt rubber when she stepped back. Also there was a ranger out there scolding some of the visitors who were poking walking sticks into the flow and watching them catch fire. Is this considered taboo? An insult to Pele somehow? Isn't there a lava tour company called pokeastickinit.com ? Or something like that.

[HereOnThePrimalEdge]

There is about 1/2 liter of coconut water in the average coconut, so at $5.00 per lava-walk-roadside coconut that would come to $10.00 per liter:
The coconuts being sold by local residents along the hike were absolutely heaven sent at $5.00 apiece.


Whereas a liter of Puna bottled water at $3.29 per liter is a complete ripoff, man (at least according to the topic link below, by the same person who considers $10 coconut water a bargain):
How can Russell Ruderman put this tap water on his health food shelves to then be sold back to us at tourist prices?
...
taking and reselling of our most precious resource
...
stories of people being allowed to take and haul water from our public stations and sell it for thousands

Don't forget to fill up at the Pahoa water taps before heading down to Kalapana!
http://punaweb.org/Forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=22580

The moon kind of surprises me sometimes. I’ll be out at night and I’ll see a nice moon, and say, “Hey, that looks good.” Then I’ll say, “Oh sh-t, I went up there one time!” Kind of surprises me. It’s like there are two Moons, you know—the one that’s usually around, and then that one. - Michael Collins, Apollo 11 astronaut

[Tink]

I guess it's all about supply and demand on this one, and gaining good profit from the unprepared Tourii. Locals I hope, would know to bring their own nut or two, depending on whose side of the Ohana they're on!

Community begins with Aloha

[kalakoa]

The coconuts being sold by local residents along the hike

Did anyone ask to see their GET certificate? Are they keeping the required transaction log?

I believe (not sure, have to call County and ask) that coconuts are an "ag product" until they're cut open -- at which point "food preparation" has taken place, which requires at least a commissary license attached to a permitted commercial kitchen.

While I completely agree that the rules are excessive, burdensome, and in some cases completely stupid, they are "the law", and "apply to everyone".