09-17-2014, 05:41 AM
Lava isn't for everybody, but there were a lot of people coming to see the flows on the park side and on the Kalapana side. A lot of tourists would drive from Kona and there were shuttle buses from Hilo that picked up the tourists from the cruise lines and took them back during the few hours that the ship was docked there. Small groups of tourists would even go in taxis. Sometimes the line of cars parked on the shoulder was more than a mile long. The stream of tour choppers and small planes was endless during the day. On the park side, many licensed tour outfits would guide tourists to the flows. On the Kalapana side, hundreds of tourists per day were willing to pay upwards of $100 to be guided to the flows after the security personnel left the area or from locations which were out of view. Some residents of Kalapana Gardens were at first opposed to people invading their subdivision, but pretty soon they were cashing in on the excursions. There were a lot of vendors selling their photos and other stuff at the viewing area.