Sunset/Sunrise Lava Tours

The tour begins with a wonderful drive of contrast and change from the dry-side resort area to the lush green country of Kohala. Along the way you’ll journey up the North Kona and Kohala coastlines over lava flows from Mauna Loa, Mauna Kea and the Kohala Mountains. Often from the shoreline you are able to see splashing spinner dolphins or in the winter months, breaching humpback whales. You’ll pass through the quaint plantation towns of Hawi and Kapaau, site of the life-size statue of King Kamehameha I. At the end of the road we pass through a locked gate onto private property, and the real fun begins, with a bumpy but short off-road drive in our 6WD Pinzgauer on an old cane road.

Out of the Pinzgauer, you’ll step back into the early 1900’s, when plantation owners began construction of the Kohala Ditch Trail to bring much needed water to the sugar cane fields. Along the 1.5 mile loop trail you’ll see tunnels blasted and carved from solid rock, walk over an aqueduct on two bridges, and learn the story of the tremendous effort it took to build an irrigation system stretching over 22 miles. You’ll delve into ancient Hawaiian history as well, visiting a former taro farming site just off the path. Seven beautiful waterfalls grace the trail.  You can take a refreshing dip in the last pool we visit, and play under a refreshing cascade. With stunning mountain panoramas, green valleys and pasturelands, and of course the abundant water, the Kohala Waterfalls Adventure is a fascinating way for young and old to experience Kohala’s “story of water.”

Included in the Tour: Deli style lunch with assorted soft drinks, juices and bottled water
Restrictions: Guests should be able to hike on uneven or rocky terrain. We sometimes encounter cool, wet or muddy conditions. Other tour restrictions may apply.
What to Bring & Wear: Comfortable walking shoes or reef walkers, bathing suit, hat, sunscreen and a light jacket or sweatshirt.

*Kids under 3 MUST be carried in a backpack carrier.

You’ll really get an idea of how big the Big Island is during the course of this tour. And you’ll appreciate that someone else is doing the driving. Starting out from our headquarters in Kona, we travel up the coast over desolate lava flows for about a half hour before proceeding up the rolling pasturelands on the flanks of Mauna Kea. Turning onto the Saddle Road that traverses the island between Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea, you’ll see a dramatic and diverse landscape of ranch land, sub-alpine dry forest and rainforest (with striking features such as cinder cones, lava flows, lava tubes and kipuka). We’ll stop for a short break and continental-style breakfast.
Continuing on, we drop down to near sea-level on our way through Hilo where we begin the final climb to the summit of Kilauea and the lush entrance to Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. On the way back, we’ll travel along the Hamakua Coast and pass through Waimea before returning to Kona. By the end of the day, you’ll have traveled over 300 miles and experienced an elevation change (we go up and down a few times!) of over 30,000 feet.

Included in the Tour: Continental Breakfast including fresh local fruit, baked goods, 100% Kona coffee, tea and hot chocolate. Deli style lunch with assorted soft drinks, juices and bottled water.
Restrictions: Guests should be able to hike on uneven or rocky terrain. We sometimes encounter cool, wet or muddy conditions. Other tour restrictions may apply.
What to Bring & Wear: Comfortable walking shoes, long pants, and a light jacket.

The excursion begins as we travel between two of the world’s largest mountains, Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa.  The region between these volcanoes is locally known as the Saddle and is home to some of the rarest plants and animals in the world.  After a brief stop for lunch at Mauna Kea State Park, we continue east towards Hilo.  Before our final descent into the rainiest city in the US, we’ll stop to explore Kaumana Cave.  This lava tube once carried molten rock from Mauna Loa’s upper rift zones down to the ocean, but now provides an excellent opportunity to test our trusty flashlights on a subterranean adventure. 
Leaving Mauna Loa behind, we make our final ascent to the summit of Kilauea inside Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.  Our Interpretive Guides will lead you through the must-see spots and hidden gems of this World Heritage Site and International Biosphere Preserve. As conditions change daily, we tailor your experience to the current eruptive events.  The summit calderas, steam vents, cinder fields, and native rainforests are all on our “must see” list.
After exploring the natural wonders of this World Heritage site, we’ll check current conditions to see which eruptive site is most active.  Our choices are Kalapana to witness the awesome power of lava as it enters the ocean at sunset, or Halemaumau Crater which contains a hidden lake of molten rock which glows after dark.  Also included in the evening’s itinerary is a delicious picnic dinner.  This is an incredible way to experience the dynamic energy of Kilauea, the most active volcano in the world.

Included in the Tour: Deli style lunch with assorted soft drinks, juices and bottled water. Picnic dinner, snacks, assorted beverages, bottled water, and hot cocoa.
Restrictions: Guests should be able to hike on uneven or rocky terrain. We sometimes encounter cool, wet or muddy conditions. Other tour restrictions may apply.
What to Bring & Wear: Comfortable walking shoes, long pants, and a light jacket.

Named by Hawaiians long ago, Hakalau means “many perches” and is still considered critical bird habitat today. Once part of large cattle ranch, it was the first National Wildlife Refuge established in the United States for forest birds. It is home to some of the rarest plants and animal species on earth.  Hakalau Forest is a fascinating example of conservation in action. The forest you’ll access is recovering from a hundred years of grazing by cattle and damage from pigs. Our permit allows us to bird the Pua Akala meadow.  It is exciting to see the native plants sprouting through the old pasture grass. Giant koa trees, ohia-lehua trees estimated to be a thousand years old, ferns, and rare lobelias are just some of the native plants encountered. Like our Rainforest and Dry forest Bird watching tour the forest here is filled with the sounds of Hawaii’s rare birds. Often, we will encounter researchers or resource managers on our walks who are always willing to share up-to-date information.  Hakalau Forest National Wildlife Refuge, because of the history of grazing, has a park like setting in the higher elevations, and is densely forested below.  Our trail is a four-wheel drive road that bisects the meadow, and there is an elevation gain and loss of about 650 feet. It’s a beautiful place with lots of birds.
We will head up to Mamalahoa Highway heading north towards Waimea and the Saddle Road. Once on the Saddle Road there will be opportunity for some car-birding primarily for game birds and the Pueo or the Hawaiian Short-eared Owl. We stop in route on the Saddle Road for a restroom stop and a continental breakfast with juice, Kona coffee, and an assortment of teas. After the breakfast stop we follow the unpaved Keanakolu Road 11 miles to the Pua Akala tract of the Refuge. Plan on two and a half hours of driving each way.  Don’t worry about the drive time; you’ll be amazed at the constantly changing scenery and fascinated by your Guide’s interpretation of Hawaii’s remarkable natural, cultural, and geologic history.

Included in the Tour: Continental breakfast including fresh local fruit, baked goods, 100% Kona coffee, tea and hot chocolate. Deli style lunch, with assorted soft drinks, juices and bottled water.
Restrictions: Guests should be able to hike on uneven or rocky terrain. We sometimes encounter cool, wet or muddy conditions. Other tour restrictions may apply.
What to Bring & Wear: Sturdy closed-toe shoes or boots, long pants, and a light rain jacket.

Rainforest - Our destination is the Puu Oo Trail, a historic cattle drive route, located at the 6,000 foot level of Saddle Road on Mauna Loa’s northeastern flank. This is the windward side of the island, and is often cloaked in misty clouds. It is enchanting to be serenaded by the forest birds as we make our way over three to four miles of sometimes rough lava trail, crossing over the 1855 and 1881 lava flows.

Dry forest - At the Humuula hunter check-in station just off Saddle Road, we go into the Kaohe Game Management Area and four-wheel it to nearly 7,500 feet on the western side of Mauna Kea to an area known as Puu Laau.  The area is mostly park-like and typically commands stunning views of the leeward coast below. 
On the drive to our two primary locales, we head north along the coastline before starting the climb to the old Mamalahoa Highway, keeping an eye out for open-country birds. From there we’ll connect to the Saddle Road and begin car-birding, primarily for game birds as well as for the Pueo, or short-eared owl. Depending on the weather, we’ll stop for a bit of breakfast along the Saddle Road, often at Mauna Kea State Park at Pohakuloa, or at our Dry forest birding site.

Rainforest – We’ll park just off the Saddle Road at the trail head of Puu Oo, heading due south over the lava flows.  Small pockets of koa and ohia spring up along the trail but our destination is kipuka #34 and #35 which are some of the most productive birding areas in the state.  Some of the avifauna we hope to spot along the way are iiwi, apapane, amakihi, omao, elepaio, and the elusive akiapolaau, with its unique multipurpose beak.  Many of these are found in the ohia and koa canopy. 

Dryforest - The track leads to a gate that is the entrance to the Mauna Kea Forest Preserve.  Parked at the entrance to the Preserve we get down to some serious bird watching on foot in the mamane-naio forest.  Native Hawaiian dryforest's is one of the most endangered ecosystems in the world.  The sandalwoods trees which once dominated these slopes are all but gone, and the remaining mamane trees are at the top of the menu for feral ungulates which frequent the area.  Although the terrain is somewhat uneven, the hiking is easy. We are particularly interested in sighting the critically threatened palila, which feeds almost entirely on the green pods of the mamane tree. There are two other endemics of note to be found here: the Hawaii amakihi, and the local species of the Hawaii elepaio (noted for the white feathering on its head).

Included in the Tour: Continental breakfast including fresh local fruit, baked goods, 100% Kona coffee, tea and hot chocolate. Deli-style lunch, with assorted soft drinks, juices and bottled water.
Restrictions: Guests should be able to hike on uneven or rocky terrain. We sometimes encounter cool, wet or muddy conditions. Other tour restrictions may apply.
What to Bring & Wear: Sturdy closed-toed shoes or boots, long pants, and a light rain jacket.

On the slopes of Hualalai lies the world famous Kona Coffee Belt.  Nourished by afternoon showers and rich volcanic soil, this region produces some of the finest and most sought after coffee in the world. This fun and exciting half-day exploration begins at Hawaii Forest & Trail Headquarters in our 6 x 6 Pinzgauer.  We’ll journey from sea-level through a dense rainforest to a world of volcanic majesty at the 6,000 ft. elevation on the privately owned lands of Kaupulehu.  The story of Kona Coffee unfolds as we explore the volcanic and royal history of this area.  Although in plain sight of Kailua-Kona, these seldom-visited uplands are seemingly geologic light-years away.  Amidst distinctive native birdsongs, our rock-rambling tour will take you through a beautiful and surreal landscape of native dryland forest, lava flows and stunning craters.  Your Interpretive Guide will also lead you, on foot, on an exploration through an impressive lava tube.  After exploring the area’s volcanic features we’ll sample some of Kona’s finest at a local working coffee farm.  Learn how bright red coffee cherries are hand-picked, meticulously sorted and processed to ensure premium quality.  If you’ve always wondered what makes Kona Coffee so special then this is the tour for you!

Included in the Tour: Assorted soft drinks, juices and bottled water.  100% Kona Coffee served during Coffee Farm visit.
Restrictions: PinzTrek tours are rugged off-road drives, and are not for those with back or neck problems. Guests should be able to hike on uneven or rocky terrain. We sometimes encounter cool, wet or muddy conditions. Other tour restrictions may apply.
What to Bring & Wear: Comfortable walking shoes, a hat, sunscreen and a light sweatshirt or jacket.

The drive to the summit of Mauna Kea is one you’ll never forget. It’s hard to believe you’re in Hawaii as you climb to 13,796 feet above sea level. Once at the summit we are afforded spectacular views of the horizon, Haleakala on Maui, Mauna Loa and Hualalai, and Mauna Kea’s world-class array of telescopes.  Mauna Kea is the world’s tallest mountain, rising over 32,000 feet from the ocean floor to its summit, which is considered by many Hawaiians to be the most sacred place in all the islands.  In your hooded parka you’ll stand in awe at both nature’s sublime creation and man’s astonishing technological achievements.
Starting out from our headquarters in Kona, we travel up the coast over desolate lava flows for about a half hour before proceeding up the rolling pasturelands on the flanks of Mauna Kea. Turning onto the Saddle Road that traverses the island between Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea, you’ll see a dramatic and diverse landscape of ranch land, sub-alpine dry forest and rainforest (with striking features such as cinder cones, lava flows, lava tubes and kipuka).  We arrive at our private dinner location at Humuula approximately 2 hours before sunset for a hot, picnic dinner served family style.  After dinner and with a winter-style parka in hand, we’ll make the 45 minute drive to the summit.  As your make your way up, you’ll be fascinated by your Interpretive Guide’s interpretation of Hawaii’s remarkable natural, cultural, and geologic history.
After sunset we descend to the Visitor’s Information Station at 9,000 foot elevation. Here we set up our own telescope and have a star gazing party. Wrapped warm in Arctic parkas, enjoying hot beverages and cookies, you will marvel at the brilliance of the Hawaiian night sky.  Your Interpretive Guide will share with you stories of the observable universe, and offer you a personal and educational look at the heavens.

Included in the Tour: Picnic style dinner (your choice of hearty vegetable or beef stew and cornbread muffins), assorted teas, hot chocolate, and dessert.
Restrictions: Guests should be able to hike on uneven or rocky terrain. We sometimes encounter cool, wet or muddy conditions. Because of high altitude this tour is not advised for those with respiratory, circulatory or heart conditions, pregnancy or poor health. Scuba divers should be aware of altitude dangers. No children under 16. Other tour restrictions may apply.
What to Bring & Wear: Closed toe shoes, long pants and a sweatshirt or sweater.