Getting a little too close to the lava
I believe this practice of taking tour boats this close to the lava flows has been banned due to a tragic incident where people were hurt, if not killed due to a unpredictable lava explosion that occurred and hit passengers on the boat with red-hot rock.
So all we have left today are photos like this an our imagination. There are still boat tours but they no longer go this close where you could actually feel the heat of the rock.
Hawaii: Hot Lava on the Big Island by Eli Duke is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0. Image may have been resized or cropped from original.
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I went on a Lava Boat tour the day after the tour boat was hit by the lava bomb. I didn’t know a thing about it until my friends on the mainland started texting and emailing me about it! Yes, we had to stay farther away from the shore but it was still one of the most deeply moving experiences of my life. Three miles of shoreline with lava pouring into the ocean… Wow! And as we headed back towards South Point to return to Hilo we could see Fisure 8, Ahuʻailāʻau, in the growing darkness. The power and majesty of Madame Pele broke my heart open. I will remember it always.
Great story! Thank you for sharing!
Hi Peter, Please don’t share this but I wanted you to know I love your pictures of the week & post every one to my computer. I have not been able to catch your Friday shows but wanted you to know you were a huge influence & also our family that we moved from Los Angeles to Oahu in February. I miss the familiarity of our home on the mainland but now that we have made the big move we love it here. The weather is so wonderful but mostly it is such a joy to be near all our family that moved here some 17 yrs ago. We have had a terrible time buying a home as we were over bid on 3 homes but finally were able to purchase a lovely condo in Mililani Mauka. Your show was so helpful in so many ways & I just needed to personally thank you.
Sincerely,
Sharon W