hikespeak

In the summer of 2018, Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park experienced the most dramatic volcanic activity in it's more than century long history. Land considered stable was humbled and demolished. When the earth stopped exploding and when the shaking of 60,000 earthquakes ceased, Crater Rim Drive, the road that ringed Kīlauea, was ruined in many places. ...Read more.

Filled with bold volcanic features and landscapes reinvented by eruptions, Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park might seem an unlikely place to find a deep-rooted forest packed with plant diversity and a thriving bird population. Kīpukapuaulu rises like an oasis, framed the less-fertile lands forged by more recent lava flows. Kīpukapuaulu Trail is a 1. ...Read more.

Trees grow big and strong, but they are outmatched by the forces of lava. A tree's last stand against a lava flow can result in a tree mold - a hole in the surface of hardened lava where a tree once stood. Tree molds provide information about lava flows and preceeeding forests. See tree molds with your own eyes at a spot near the entrance of Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park. ...Read more.

Kīlauea Volcano underwent major transformations when it erupted in the summer of 2018. See changed landscapes in and around Kīlauea Caldera from Steaming Bluff, where steam escapes from hot spots just below your feet! Behind the bluff, a hydrothermal area called Sulphur Banks displays colorful mineral deposits, accompanied by eggy smells. Sulphur Banks Trail – Crater Rim Trail Loop starts from Kīlauea Visitor Center, takes a boardwalk through the Sulphur Banks, stops at Steaming Bluff, and then circles back through rainforest along Crater Rim Trail. ...Read more.

Taranaki Falls Track is an impressive 6.45-kilometer (4-mile) loop starting from Whakapapa Village in Tongariro National Park. The track crosses alpine grasslands, beech forests, and other landscapes shaped by incredible nearby volcanoes. Around the midpoint of the loop, the track reaches Taranaki Falls, which plunges nearly twenty meters (65 feet) from volcanic cliffs into a pleasant pool. ...Read more.

It's pretty obvious that Waitonga Falls Track goes to a waterfall, which is actually the tallest waterfall in Tongariro National Park. The track's other offerings may surprise you though, like a boardwalk across alpine wetlands with pools that hold a mirror to Mount Ruapehu, the biggest volcano in New Zealand. Indeed, you'll get big enjoyment from this 4-kilometer (2. ...Read more.

Tongariro Alpine Crossing is widely consider one of the greatest day hikes in New Zealand, which puts it on the shortlist of the world's greatest hikes. This 19.4-kilometer long track rises to its reputation and then some, crossing through an active volcanic area in Tongariro National Park at the center of New Zealand's North Island. It is one of the most dynamic and dramatic hikes that you will come across, with stunning scenery that reinvents itself over every leg of the journey. ...Read more.