Ireland day 0977. Saturday 01 June 2024- Honolulu 5

Today’s summary	Did a circular walk round the outside of Diamond Head crater and midway walked in via the tunnel to climb to the top. Very worthwhile despite the crowds and the $5 entry fee because the views were superb. Went for a quick swim in the sea later in the evening.
Today’s weather	Sunny and warm and mostly dry, though with a light shower in the evening. Strong north easterly wind. Appx 26c

Today’s overview location (The green mark shows the location of our route)		Close-up location (The orange line shows where we walked) (Click button below to download GPX of today’s walk as recorded, or see interactive map at bottom with elevations corrected): Diamond Head

Commentary

(Summary blog only. Last full blog was Day 0368).

We have a bit of a thing for volcanoes and islands and so, not content with yesterday’s crater exploration and climb, we decided to do the same again today.

Our objective was an ascent to the high point of the Diamond Head crater rim, which is clearly visible from our hotel room balcony – although from here it looks more like a hill than a crater (you have to look on google earth to see its true identity). At the moment it’s bright green with vegetation but apparently that’s not its normal condition. By the end of the dry season, which starts about now, it will be parched brown.

One of the best features of Diamond Head (which incidentally gets its name from the calcite crystals embedded in the tuff which makes up the crater rim) is that it’s within walking distance of the hotel. So today there was no need to extract the car from the hotel parking system ($50 per night plus tax plus tip) and no need to negotiate the Honolulu traffic, which is surprisingly heavy.

So we were up and away hiking straight after breakfast and soon reached the tunnel you have to walk through to get into the crater itself. At this point we discovered from the numerous signs dotted around everywhere that we would have to pay $5 each (plus tax) to climb to the top. So I spent the next ten minutes doing battle with the online booking system to try and make the reservations. It seemed to require endless details about me – practically to the level of what colour underwear I was wearing. Totally unnecessary and very frustrating.

Anyway, eventually we were all sorted so we went through the tunnel, displayed the requisite QR code at the entry, and started – along with dozens of others – the hike to the top of the crater.

The trail was hot and busy, but the walk was quite short and not too taxing. There are ladders, more tunnels and a spiral staircase to negotiate to reach the summit, all of which add to the interest. We duly made it to the top and paused to admire the view. We could see back to the Koko Crater we ascended yesterday- and could just about make out the steep tramway track to the top. The view back over Honolulu was especially impressive.

It was breezy and busy at the peak, so we didn’t stay too long before headed back down again and out of the crater.

We returned to the hotel round the western flank of the crater, completing the circumnavigation we had started in the morning. The path back mostly follows the road, so it’s noisy, but affords spectacular views down the cliff to Diamond Head beach and of the lighthouse.

Once back in the hotel we turned on the air con and then finished off the cooling process with a dip in the Pacific breakers.

Dinner at Denny’s again tonight – everything is so expensive here, we are downgrading our dining as it seems to be a fairly non painful way of reducing of our expenditure.

Overall a very rewarding day and we are looking forward to many more volcanic explorations!

Today’s photos (click to enlarge)


Diamond Head peak from just outside our hotel	Hmm…

In one of the tunnels leading to the summit. Not a route for claustrophobes!	Here we are on the top admiring the view

Looking down on the iconic Diamond Head lighthouse	From the pathside above Diamond Head beach, on the western flank of the crater

Honolulu from the top of Diamond Head. With a population of about 500,000, it’s roughly midway in size between Dublin (350,000) and Vancouver (700,000)