Kona to Kilauea via the Hamakua Coast: Laupahoehoe, Akaka Falls, East Rift

This one takes the long way round, up the wet side of the island, and it runs as a small group or as a private tour. After hotel pick-up the road follows Highway 19 and passes through Waimea, then onto the eastern flank of Mauna Kea, the Hamakua Coast. The stop at Laupahoehoe is where you see what the Pacific does to a coastline given enough time: the rock has been cut into pinnacles. Jungle roads lead to Akaka Falls. After lunch the route works towards Hilo on back roads, through gorges with jungle on both sides and past the ocean. The day closes at Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park, on Kilauea. There is the summit caldera to look into, and the east rift zone to follow along the Chain of Craters Road, past lava flows old and new. Time is allowed to actually look at it rather than being moved on. The combination is what makes this different from the standard park run: rainforest and sea cliffs in the morning, bare lava in the afternoon, on the same island an hour apart.