Lotsa lava locally

On an afternoon's drive, we came across Lava Trees Monument State Park in Pahoa, just south of Hilo.

This plaque at the park entrance best describes how the area looked many years ago.

The next plaque explains how the lava trees were formed in 1790, when this land became engulfed by hot molten lava. 

Here's an example of the new growth, referred to in the plaque, on top of a lava tree. I've circled the new growth in pink, as it's difficult to see otherwise.

There's a .7 mile walking loop (1 km) on a set path, allowing you to do a self-guided tour of the area. 

At a distance

A closer look

As well as the lava trees, there are beautiful examples of lush ferns and rainforest greenery. Although these may be common to locals, they're certainly interesting to us. Thinking about my 3-year old fern in our garden in Canada, which still struggles and is less than a foot high, I really appreciate these ferns, many of which are taller than me.

I was also taken by this orange fungus, as it stood out amongst the otherwise green carpet of growth.

In this more open stretch of the park, Greg and I both commented that the growth on this tree looked like clusters of bonsai. Not as obvious in the photo, but it was in real life. That's Greg standing next to it, on the path, which gives you an idea of the height of the tree too.

Difficult to see lava trees in photos!

On that afternoon drive, we went from lava trees to lava rock at the beach. You see lava rock everywhere here, but that's not surprising, given the close proximity to active volcanos!