Mauna Kea Visit

[AussieTrooper (Ben)]

I’m off to Hawaii next week, and of course this wouldn’t be complete without a trip to Mauna Kea. J
Has anyone been there? Any recommendations?

[batema (Mark)]

Hi Ben,
I have been in 2010 and yes it was fantastic. I went on an organised tour of Gemini South and it was amazing. The only problem we had was we got out of our tour at five past two and the public viewing area for the Keck scopes closed at 2 so we missed that. I was puffing a bit and am fairly fit but no real concern. We finished drinking a softdrink at the top and closed the lid on it tightly and when we got to the bottom it was squashed flat. Another guy had a packet of chips expode as we went up so that was cool. Did the night time viewing on the way down and that was great. I would check on rental cars as I was told by our tour guide that companies don't allow their cars to be driven up there. Check that out. It was fantastic and I am sure you will love it.

Mark

[barx1963 (Malcolm)]

Hi Ben
I went to Hawaii in 2012 for the Venus Transit and went up MK twice. First time to observe the transit at the summit and second time with an organised tour (Mauna Kea Summit Adventures see http://www.maunakea.com/ )
While you can take cars up to the Visitor Info Station (VIS) at 9000ft, past that a 4WD is required and the only way is via a tour or on Saturdays you can join a convoy that goes up from the VIS. You must have a 4WD (not AWD) to join the convoy!
The VIS also holds regular viewing nights
The tour I did was excellent with MKSA. They picked up from near the hotel, had a meal at the VIS then up to the summit and wandered around the various telescopes and sight while waiting for sunset. the sunset is spectacular, one of the best things I have ever done! then back down to an area near the VIS to set up a coupe of C11 scopes for a couple of hours stargazing. That can be a little less interesting for southerners like us, as many of the people on the tour were observers and they all want to look at Omega Centauri, 47Tuc etc that they cannot see in the US, while I wanted M51 etc!! Having said that, I am heading back to Hawaii in a month with the SWMBO and I am dragging her up the mountain on the same tour.

Be careful of the altitude, it is not bad, but you find you just have to be a little more careful and teh brain gets a tad fuzzy at 14000ft!!

Where are you staying on the Big Island by the way?

Malcolm

[barx1963 (Malcolm)]

Actually my memory is failing me, you need a permit for groups of 10 or more.
There is a lot of info on summit visits here http://www.ifa.hawaii.edu/info/vis/

Malcolm

[AussieTrooper (Ben)]

Thanks Malcolm. We will do the guided 4WD tour. SWMBO will be coming too She doesn't like hiking, so the short trip to the summit should be ok.
Does the escorted tour always get entry into the Keck telescope?

We are in big island from May 15 - 19, so we'll go up either the Saturday or Sunday, whichever has the better weather. Thanks for the advice on the hire car. Who did you hire from?

We are staying in Hilo, but haven't booked yet. Any recommendations? We're leaving is until we get there, as if it's cloudy, we'll go to Volcanoes National park first.

[AussieTrooper (Ben)]

Originally Posted by batema

Hi Ben,
I have been in 2010 and yes it was fantastic. I went on an organised tour of Gemini South and it was amazing. The only problem we had was we got out of our tour at five past two and the public viewing area for the Keck scopes closed at 2 so we missed that. I was puffing a bit and am fairly fit but no real concern. We finished drinking a softdrink at the top and closed the lid on it tightly and when we got to the bottom it was squashed flat. Another guy had a packet of chips expode as we went up so that was cool. Did the night time viewing on the way down and that was great. I would check on rental cars as I was told by our tour guide that companies don't allow their cars to be driven up there. Check that out. It was fantastic and I am sure you will love it.

Mark

Haha, yeah. I worked a season at Mammoth Mountain in 2000, and had similar stuff happen.
I'm dead keen to see the Keck telescope too.

[GOTO (Geoff)]

...I rented a 4WD but as I picked it up they told me about the tracking device on the car to ensure I DID NOT GO UP, d'oh! So I went to the half way point twice and the road to the top was also closed due to bad weather. The visitors centre was good though I didn't think the guides were all that friendly and some of the other foreign tourists were less than well behaved.

In 1994 I went up with Pat from Mauna Kea Summit Tours. It was expensive but I had a ball and he looked after EVERYTHING.

I stayed in Hilo at the Hilo Naniloa hotel. I think Hilo is an interesting run down town. The resorts on the other side of the island are great but stunningly expensive. Check Trip adviser for reviews of the Naniloa.

Hawaii is a great place and you'll have a ball BUT be careful about trying to get to the top with the wrong vehicle. Go with Pat imo.
Cheers
Geoff

[barx1963 (Malcolm)]

Originally Posted by AussieTrooper

Thanks Malcolm. We will do the guided 4WD tour. SWMBO will be coming too She doesn't like hiking, so the short trip to the summit should be ok.
Does the escorted tour always get entry into the Keck telescope?

We are in big island from May 15 - 19, so we'll go up either the Saturday or Sunday, whichever has the better weather. Thanks for the advice on the hire car. Who did you hire from?

We are staying in Hilo, but haven't booked yet. Any recommendations? We're leaving is until we get there, as if it's cloudy, we'll go to Volcanoes National park first.

We didn't hire a car, next trip we are only hiring on Maui. We stay at Waikaloa over the other side, the Marriott there is very nice but can be expensive, but has one of the best beaches in all Hawaii!
The escorted trip do not go inside the Keck, the little area you can go into ( it is glassed of as they don't want tourists wandering around inside) closes early afternoon (2pm I think)

Malcolm

[AussieTrooper (Ben)]

Couldn't find a rental company that lets you take cars off a sealed road, so I'll go with a tour company.

[Eratosthenes (Peter)]

it's a fairly high peak at over 4000m.

Do you intend to hike to the summit?

There is also a great Astronomical Club at the University of Hawaii that conducts star viewed nights. I cant recall the name of the club but may be worth a try.

[Eratosthenes (Peter)]

University of Hawaii Hilo Astrophysics Club

[AussieTrooper (Ben)]

Originally Posted by Eratosthenes

Do you intend to hike to the summit?

Yep. It's not far, but the advice seems to be to take it slowly.