We visited the Big Island of Hawaii and Oahu. The volcanos left behind lava fields and dramatic coastline. From March 2016.
The Big Island is geologically young. It’s Lava fields are from historic flows that run right down to the water in black sheets. The coastline alternates between raw a’a rock and pockets of beach that haven’t existed for very long. Oahu is the opposite — older, greener, more eroded, with the ridgelines of the Ko’olau range cut into deep folds.
Doing both islands in one trip is worth it precisely for that contrast: you’re seeing the same volcanic process at two very different ages. Make a trip to the active volcanoes on the Big Island if you get a chance.
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