Waikoloa to Volcanoes: the Pu'u Huluhulu Kipuka and Saddle Road at 6,632 Feet

The Waikoloa departure of a day run by a small company a geologist started, with David, Grant and Kawika guiding. The order here puts Punalu'u Black Sand Beach first, on the Ka'u coast between Pahala and Naalehu, where the sand is black because the island keeps producing it, and Honu, the green sea turtles, come up onto it. The Kona coffee farm follows, 100% Kona and award-winning, with a tasting and a tour. Hilo gets driven through, and then the park, starting with lunch at the Rim Restaurant in the Volcano House, over the Kilauea caldera, followed by the whole Chain of Craters Road, summit to sea. Big Island Candies is worth the stop for what goes into it: Big Island macadamia nuts roasted fresh, and 100 percent Kona and Ka'u coffee from farms on this island, worked by hand as they have been for over 45 years. The drive back takes Saddle Road, Route 200, 55 miles through all four climates on the island. Just after mile 23 the road passes Pu'u Huluhulu, an old Mauna Kea cinder cone that younger flows have surrounded without covering. That is what makes it a kipuka: an island of older ground left standing inside newer lava. The high point of Saddle Road is here, 6,632 feet.