HAL Mauna Kea Summit Adventure?

[Jana White]

My DH and I are on the Zaandam in November. Anyone been on the HAL Mauna Kea Summit Adventure? Or are there other companies cheaper and or better. Noticed the UofH had tours on weekends but we will be there on a Wednesday and only in port from 8am to 5pm. Welcome any comments or concerns.

[emste]

I noticed your post and am also interested in doing the Mauna Kea summit tour. DId you do the tour? Throught HAL or independent? I have been doing some research and our ship (POA) is in port from 8-6 and I can't seem to find anyone that does a day tour, only late afternoon. I would appreciate any info if you did this tour. Thanks

[milolii]

I've only seen trips in the evenings. This is to take advantage of the sunset and the star gazing, seeings the rings of saturn is amazing. Everyone sleeps durning the day.

 

When is your trip. If I hear of anything, I will let you know.

[Steamboatin]

Below is from our cruise log from a repositioning cruise aboard the Carnival Spirit back in the Spring of 2004.

 

We both would highly recommend it.

 

Up top we actually saw SNOW in Hawaii.

 

 

CRUISE EXCURSIONS TAKEN:

HILO, ISLAND OF HAWAII

Saturday, April 24, 2004: Mauna KeaSummit Tour

Mauna Kea is a sacred place with the ancient history, cultural sites, and magnificent beauty created by fire and ice. The ancient Hawaiians considered it the home of Poli’ahu, the snow goddess. Today it is the world’s premier spot for astronomy. This memorable journey took us to the peak of the Pacific, the 13,796-foot summit! The view atop Mauna Kea can only be described as majestic moonscape and looking down on the clouds is mesmerizing. The tour included a ride through Downtown Hilo, Rainbow Falls, Mauna Loa lava flows, Kipuka Pu’u Huluhulu Native Tree Sanctuary, Onizuka Center for International Astronomy, and the world’s largest telescope at Keck Observatory. Jackets were provided and we wore long pants and comfortable shoes. This was a very informative fully guided tour. The minibus stopped in the parking lot atop Mauan Kea by the observatory on the top of the mountain. The observatories that we saw from the outside were:

1. The NASA’s 1st Observatory has a 24 inch telescope that was built primarily for satellite tracking and later was given to the University of Hawaii:

2. The Lowell Observatory contains a 24 inch telescope and was later donated to Leeward College on Oahu:

3. The University of Hawaii’s Observatory has an 88 inch telescope that when it was dedicated it was the seventh largest optical/infrared telescope in the world;

4. The Canada, France and Hawaii Observatory has a 3.8 meter telescope dedicated infrared telescope;

5. The United Kingdom Observatory has a 15 meter submillimeter antenna to look at the short radio wavelengths emitted by vibrating molecules in space;

6. The James Clerk Maxwell Observatory is a joint venture between the United Kingdom and the Netherlands and is one of the world’s leading observatories at submillimeter wavelengths;

7. The Keck I and Keck II Observatories were built by the University of California and Caltech. It is a 10.4 meter novel lightweight technology using multiple mirrors and automated control mechanisms to support a segmented mirror four times larger than anything before it. It transformed optical and infrared astronomy world-wide by being able to make observations that previously were impossible in a whole night of observing now can be accomplished in an hour or so, enabling many observations and real statistics to be obtained for the first time on critical faint objects like quasars and galaxies. For the first time astronomers can make reliable measurements of the density of the universe, and cosmology moves from guess work to measurement. The twin telescopes can work independently, each with its own suite or instrumentation. They also can work together, directing their two light beams down into a sophisticated beam combination room below the workshops. Keck was the firs large observatory to achieve this goal in 2001. The 10 meter aperture of a single Keck telescope provides a maximum theoretical resolution of about 50 milliarcsec at infrared wavelengths. With both Keck beams combined the maximum aperture increases to about 100 meters for a ten fold increase in resolution. This is equivalent to resolving a dime about 25 miles away and is the kind of fine resolution necessary to examine many astronomical sources;

8. The Gemini North Observatory has an 8 meter telescope that has a thin meniscus design and has controls on the mirror surfaces and all telescope parts that can be adjusted to maintain position and curvature as the telescope structure moves under gravity. It is a twin to the later built Gemini South located in Chile;

9. The Very Long Baseline Array or VLBA, consists of 10 identical 25 meter radio dishes spread across the United States from Hawaii to the U.S. Virgin Islands. All these dishes are operated remotely from Socorro, New Mexico and the data are transported fro subsequent combination and analysis. The 10 VLBA dishes effectively form a single “synthesis” telescope with an effective aperture of 8,500 kilometers;

10. The Submillimeter Array which is a collaborative project between the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory and the Academia Sinica Institute of Astronomy and Astrophysics in Taiwan. This array of eight, 6-meter dishes exploits the synthesis and interferometry aspects of physics to form a versatile telescope for observations in the submillimeter region. A single submillimeter dish has relatively poor resolution of about a dime at 100 yards away. By combining several dishes together with larger baselines this can be improved by factors of 10 to 100. Each individual disk can be relocated by a large forklift to provid a compact array which maximizes the resolution or the dishes can be spread out to almost 1 kilometer baseline to achieve maximum resolution, but with reduced sensitivity.

We did enjoy the “Sea to Sky” experience on this adventuresome journey! We also saw the snow atop the mountain and all of the various observatories located atop the mountain. The altitude affected our breathing somewhat in that it required us to take deep breaths and move slowly. The box lunch included a bottle of water and a very large and delicious deli sandwich with chips and cookies. The tour lasted approximately 6 hours and was well worth the price.

Naha and Pinao Stones: 300 Waianuenue Avenue in Hilo is in front of Hilo Public Library. The Pinao Stone was an entrance pillar of Pinao Temple. The Naha Stone was used as a test of fitness for royalty. Reputedly only chiefs of Naha blood were able to move it. Legend says that Kamehameha I overturned the stone and later justified the belief that he who succeeded in performing this feat would be the greatest king. We enjoyed seeing them from the bus.

Rainbow Falls: Located off of Waianuenue Avenue on Rainbow Drive in Hilo. In the morning a rainbow often appears in the mist around the falls. The volume of the falls in Wailuku River State Park dwindles during the dry summer months. We enjoyed a walk from the bus to go over and actually see them.

Kipuka Puaulu: Is on Mauna Loa Road. A kipuka is an island of older soil and vegetation surrounded by more recent lava flows. A 1-mile trail loops through its forests and grassy meadows.

Mauna Loa: Adjoins Kilauea to the west and reached via Mauna Road. It is the world’s largest volcano. The summit rises about 31,784 feet above sea level. This enormous mountain was built by innumerable lava flows. In the last century Mauna Loa has erupted on an average of once every 3.75 years. Lava produced during this period has totaled more than 3.5 billion cubic yards. The summit may be hiked one way from the end of Mauna Loa Road is 18 miles. One of the most voluminous flows in recent history began in 1950. Highly liquid lava escaped from a fissure 13 miles long and reached the sea in less than 3 hours having advanced at a speed of approximately 3.75 miles an hour. This massive eruption amounted to about 600 million cubic yards of lava and is enough t pave a four-lane highway 4.5 times around the world. With the exception of a brief eruption in July 1975 Mauna Loa waited 34 years before generating another major eruption. On March 25, 1984 Mauna Loa began a 22-day eruption that sent lava flows down its northeast flank from a vent at the 9,400-foot level. The two longest flows extended about 16 miles from the vent. This eruption coincided with yet another eruption of Kilauea for the first time that both volcanoes had erupted simultaneously in 65 years.

Mauna Loa Road: Branches off of Hwy 11 opposite Kilauea Caldera and reaches an elevation of 6,600 feet. The road may be closed due to high fire danger. A short turnoff leads to molds of trees formed when lava made a shell around the trunks. A trail at the end of the road passes through mountain parkland and above 10,000 feet enters barren lava fields; ice lingers in cracks protected from the sun at the summit. This path follows the northeast rift zone. The trail considered one of the island’s most difficult hikes might be closed due to high winds or deep snow. Under any circumstances the ascent of Mauna Loa can take a toll on the unprepared hiker in the form of severe sunburn and worn shoe soles. Shelters at the 10,000-foot level at Red Hill and near the summit are available on a first cone first served basis.

Mauna Kea State Recreation Area: It is located 35 miles west of Hilo on Hwy 200 at the 6,500-foot level on Mauna Kea. Near the park are cinders and spatter cone formations and examples of shield volcanism. A road leads to the 9,000-foot level at Hale Pohaku that is a base camp for the University of Hawaii’s Mauna Kea observatory and continues to the summit. Skiing is available weather permitting from November through January. Access to areas off Hwy 200 is by foot or four wheel drive vehicle. Note that there is no drinking water available. Open from dawn to dusk and admission is free.

Hope this was of some help.

[emste]

I know NCL offers a morning trip to the summit. I am very torn between Volcano Nat'l Park and the summit tour. Thanks for the info. We will be sailing in August.

[milolii]

Aloha, emste,

 

I guess I thought you were asking about independent tours.

 

I really can not tell you which tour is better, both are outstanding natural wonders, both by day and night. On top of that there is no way to know what factors weather may play the day you are there.

 

There is no guarantee Madam Pele may stop or continue her current activity by August, and to tell you the truth most of us would prefer it if she stops. But there is also the chance she may put on even more spectacular shows.

 

There is a good chance you will have awesome weather on top of Mauna Kea and excellect views.

 

My advice, come back to the Big Island and stay a week, or two, or four,or more. And do both. Then again, you are in a lucky position to have to make such a decision, don't you think?

 

Aloha!

[scootercali]

The main draw to Mauna Kea is the night telescope stargazing at the visitor center level. The tour from the ship doesn't go to any of the big telescopes, just the public visitor center and the summit to take in the view. The volcano, any way you get there, is the draw from Hilo. The UH tour of the telescope in the day sounds really interesting, although I don't know that I'd skip the volcano sights to get there and you'd ned to find a way to get there.