A walk into the maw of the Thurston Lava Tube at Hawaii Volcanoes National Park is always exciting. No matter how many times one does it.

Having grown up on the Big Island, I’ve been through it a couple dozen times.

Several hundred years ago a large eruption near the summit of Kilauea created this 500-foot long lava tube. It’s a cave-like tunnel that once carried fast-moving molten lava; now you can walk through it.

Lava tubes are created when a fast-moving channel of lava ducks under an above-ground flow. These channels are often huge near an eruption site, separating into smaller lava tubes that can feed a moving flow miles away.

Lava from the current Kilauea eruption is being carried to the ocean primarily through tube systems.

When an eruption ends (or magma diverts elsewhere), the lava channels drain, leaving behind hollowed-out tubes. Thurston Lava Tube is located near the source of the flow that coursed through it centuries ago. It was a big flow, so the section of it that’s open to visitors has enough height and width for most to move through comfortably.

A brief walk through a thick fern forest leads to a lush, near-invisible pit crater and the lava tube’s entrance. The trill of forest birds quickly gives way to the echo of your own shuffling footsteps and dripping water from the ohia tree roots that enter the tube’s ceiling from the forest above. There’s just enough electric lighting to see the varying textures and compositions of the lava walls.

I recommend a visit in the late afternoon when there are fewer visitors. It’s a little more eerie to walk through without much company—you may even find yourself a bit frightened if Kilauea’s chilly, forest-kissed winds are whistling through.

The walk through Thurston is brief. But you can stay as long as you like, before exiting back into the forest through a collapse in the tube’s roof.

The tube is named after controversial Hawaii newspaper publisher Lorrin Thurston, who had a hand in the area becoming a national park and the 1893 overthrow of the Hawaiian Monarchy. The lava tube also has a Hawaiian name, Na Huku, which refers to the protuberances on the tube walls.

Click here for directions to Hawaii Volcanoes National Park and Thurston Lava Tube.

  

Yesterday was not just another day in the office at HAWAII Magazine.

I hopped on a boat with the staff of the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary, as they went out on a routine research and rescue mission in the waters off Maui.

This wasn’t like my commercial whale watching cruise last year. These were the scientists who watch over the humpback whales and I needed authorization under a federal permit to join them.

Fortunately, we didn’t have to rescue any whales entangled in debris. However, we found ourselves surrounded by humpbacks, breaching, slapping the water with pectoral fins (pictured above), and singing as they glided underneath us, big as buses.

The sanctuary is a part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), dedicated to help protect Hawaii’s humpback whales. As many as 10,000 humpback whales travel from Alaska to Hawaii every year.

For the July/August issue of HAWAII Magazine, I’ll write a story about the NOAA heroes who work with these amazing creatures.  

But till then, here’s my video of a humpback whale breaching in the blue waters of the Pacific, between Lanai and Molokai. (In Hawaii, it's illegal to approach a humpback whale closer than 100 yards by sea. The photo and video may look close, but I've got a camera with a great zoom function).

It was better than sitting at my desk all day.



 

It’s always a good month to visit Maui. But, if you love aquariums, this is an especially good month.

Hawaii’s finest private aquarium, the Maui Ocean Center, celebrates its 10th birthday all month with events, activities and entertainment.

Some highlights:

March 13 @ 10:30 a.m.: Happy Birthday
The Maui Ocean Center’s actual anniversary date. There’ll be entertainment, crafts for kids and birthday cake. Admission for the day is only $10 if you purchase tickets here.

March 13 @ 6 p.m.: A Night at the Reef
The aquarium reopens for evening views of its Living Reef exhibits, presentations on Hawaii’s coral reefs and video of live coral spawning. Admission is $18. Reservations recommended, 808-270-7088.

March 17-26, from 9:30 a.m.: “Only in Hawaii” Naturalist Tours and Presentations
10 days of educational workshops and tours on different aspects of Hawaii’s marine environment. Click here for tour and presentations schedules.

March 28 @ 5:30 p.m.: “Sleep with the Sharks” Aquarium Sleepover
Spend the night at the aquarium and learn about what happens to the coral reefs and marine life after hours. Feed sea turtles and hammerhead sharks. Watch movies, and enjoy pizza for dinner and pancakes for breakfast! Bummer alert: It’s only for kids in grades three through eight. Reservations recommended, 808-270-7075.

Click here to find out about other Maui Ocean Center 10th birthday events this month.

  

Valentine’s Day is just around the corner, and it’ll be common to see couples enjoying a romantic time in Hawaii. But we won’t be the only ones.  

As many as 10,000 humpback whales travel from Alaska to Hawaii every year to “honeymoon” in Hawaiian waters. Besides being the perfect time for humpback whales to mate, Hawaii’s mild winters are also ideal for birthing and raising their young calves.

The humpbacks’ trip to warmer southern waters begins as early as November. But February is the peak of the humpback whale season in Hawaii, which ends in May.

February has also been designated “Humpback Whale Awareness Month.” That means you can have a whale of a time—pun, definitely intended—at various whale-themed events statewide. The Great Maui Whale Festival, one of the largest of these events, starts tomorrow and runs for two weeks.

The festival’s biggest celebration, Whale Day, kicks off with the Parade of Whales at Kalama Park in Kihei on Feb. 16. A free concert follows with Hawaii musicians John Cruz, Henry Kapono, Barefoot Natives and former American Idol finalist Jasmine Trias.

For a calendar of whale-themed events by island, click here.

Still not enough? On Feb. 23, the Sanctuary Ocean Count (on Oahu, the Big Island and Kauai) and the Great Whale Count (on Maui) take place at various shore locations. Volunteers are still needed.

On a whale watching cruise last year, I witnessed a family of humpbacks swimming near Oahu’s Waianae coast. Here’s a video clip.  


 

Check out the YouTube video below of Hexanchus griseus.

Talk about living large. It’s an 18-foot six-gill shark that University of Hawaii professors Jeff Drazen and Craig Smith caught on video off the coast of Molokai in 2006.

After it hit their submersible!

The duo was anchored more than 3,000 feet below the ocean surface in pitch-black waters when Hex paid them a visit. You can hear their surprised and animated reactions in the video.

Drazen estimates the width of the shark’s head alone as three feet—about the same distance it moved the submersible.

Also known as the blunt-nose six-gill shark, males of the species mature to an average length of 14 feet, while females average 11 feet. The largest observed sharks of the species have averaged 16 feet in length, so the oceanography professors' video capture is significant.

Hexanchus griseus sharks can live up to 80 years in the wild.
 

 

 The Hyatt Regency Maui Resort is proud to announce an addition to the family.  That is, to the family of African Black-footed Penguins that live in a custom-designed habitat at the resort.

Baby “Buddha” was born to parents George and Waddles.  Buddha has lost his downy chick feathers already and is developing the black-and-white “tuxedo” look of an adult penguin.

The African Penguins, by the way, enjoy Maui’s warm clime.  Guests can watch them gobble up 10 pounds of fish each morning for  breakfast.

The resort’s wildlife also includes East African Crowned Cranes, Black Australian Swans, Chilean flamingos, African Grey parrots, Scarlet Macaws and two species of ducks. There are free Wildlife Tours at 10 a.m. Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.