09-29-2020, 07:45 AM
(This post was last modified: 09-29-2020, 08:07 AM by Punaperson.
Edit Reason: Too many beers
)
What you consider a 'national treasure' to be used as a way to make $ via tours and a cafe is viewed differently by others. This lave tube system may be new to you, but it has a long history. Parts of it have a paper trail of documentation, and parts of it are known only as oral history. A few points that you should consider:
- There are many iwi ( burial bones ) in the Puna stretch of the tubes. Many of the side tunnels are not detailed by maps even after having been explored because they are burial sites.
- I have been in several parts of the tube ( many years ago, non-burial sections ). One time, we were hit by STRONG sulfur smells. We were able to make it out, but I was coughing for weeks, and it marked the last time I went into the tubes. This is part of a system of a still active volcano. Kilauea is not erupting right now, but she still burping, as the many instances of sulfur smells in the breezes attest. How would you plan on evacuating someone who was having a heart attack or a severe asthma episode because of a wave of volcanic gas? Would you expect first responders to enter ? What level of liability insurance would the county/state require you to carry ?
- You say you have purchased 3 acres. That means most of your expected tours will be going under other people's property. While there are over 100 documented entries into the tubes just in Puna ( meaning big enough for a body), there are multitudes more skylight openings. I know of one fairly recent arrival who spent a good bit of time trying to figure out where the noises he kept hearing were coming from. For a short time he thought he was either hallucinating or being haunted. It turned out he was hearing echoes from an entrance several lots up that was on his neighbor's property. That neighbor had a fondness for descending into the entrance on his property and playing his music ( bass guitar ), as he liked the acoustics. The last I knew was they are still trying to work out a solution. The moral of this tale: while you own only 3 acres, the repercussions of what you are planning will affect a much wider audience than you may envision. Maybe you should actually get here, and live in your neighborhood awhile before you decide what you should do. Seeing how this idea of yours will affect your neighborhood is the first consideration: learning the paperwork of a tour business and the health/sanitation requirements of a food establishment is a whole different kuleana.
randomq: Good luck suffering the slings and arrows of outrageous fools in your efforts to start a business in Hawaii County. I'm looking forward to visiting your attraction before it gets shut down! Wink
Pointing out obvious flaws to someone who has made grandiose plans that will affect their whole neighborhood before they even move here can be viewed in other ways. And why do you need a commercial tour / cafe enterprise take you into the caves ?
MM11There is also another enormous secret cave on Hualālai. This one is the steepest lava tube in the world, and honestly, should probably remain secret. Once Instagram gets ahold of something it goes to hell. This spot is very beautiful, maybe the most beautiful spot. There is no need for more "cave tours" with Kazumura being so vast and easy to traverse, and this one should remain shrouded by the mists, let's say.
Why would you even mention this on a public forum !?! It says a lot about you.
- There are many iwi ( burial bones ) in the Puna stretch of the tubes. Many of the side tunnels are not detailed by maps even after having been explored because they are burial sites.
- I have been in several parts of the tube ( many years ago, non-burial sections ). One time, we were hit by STRONG sulfur smells. We were able to make it out, but I was coughing for weeks, and it marked the last time I went into the tubes. This is part of a system of a still active volcano. Kilauea is not erupting right now, but she still burping, as the many instances of sulfur smells in the breezes attest. How would you plan on evacuating someone who was having a heart attack or a severe asthma episode because of a wave of volcanic gas? Would you expect first responders to enter ? What level of liability insurance would the county/state require you to carry ?
- You say you have purchased 3 acres. That means most of your expected tours will be going under other people's property. While there are over 100 documented entries into the tubes just in Puna ( meaning big enough for a body), there are multitudes more skylight openings. I know of one fairly recent arrival who spent a good bit of time trying to figure out where the noises he kept hearing were coming from. For a short time he thought he was either hallucinating or being haunted. It turned out he was hearing echoes from an entrance several lots up that was on his neighbor's property. That neighbor had a fondness for descending into the entrance on his property and playing his music ( bass guitar ), as he liked the acoustics. The last I knew was they are still trying to work out a solution. The moral of this tale: while you own only 3 acres, the repercussions of what you are planning will affect a much wider audience than you may envision. Maybe you should actually get here, and live in your neighborhood awhile before you decide what you should do. Seeing how this idea of yours will affect your neighborhood is the first consideration: learning the paperwork of a tour business and the health/sanitation requirements of a food establishment is a whole different kuleana.
randomq: Good luck suffering the slings and arrows of outrageous fools in your efforts to start a business in Hawaii County. I'm looking forward to visiting your attraction before it gets shut down! Wink
Pointing out obvious flaws to someone who has made grandiose plans that will affect their whole neighborhood before they even move here can be viewed in other ways. And why do you need a commercial tour / cafe enterprise take you into the caves ?
MM11There is also another enormous secret cave on Hualālai. This one is the steepest lava tube in the world, and honestly, should probably remain secret. Once Instagram gets ahold of something it goes to hell. This spot is very beautiful, maybe the most beautiful spot. There is no need for more "cave tours" with Kazumura being so vast and easy to traverse, and this one should remain shrouded by the mists, let's say.
Why would you even mention this on a public forum !?! It says a lot about you.