Mauna Kea - so close and yet so far!

[cybereye (Mario)]

Hello all!!

Well last night we arrived back from our family holiday to Hawaii which should have included a trip to see the observatories at the top of Mauna Kea.

I say "should have" because 15 minutes before my tour was supposed to pick me up I was informed by the hotel staff that they had just received a phone call and were asked to let me know that the tour had been cancelled. Due to the timings on these family holidays - every minute is precious - this was my only opportunity to get there and as a consequence I didn't.

However I've attached a couple of pictures that I took from my hotel room balcony at the Hilton Waikoloa Resort - an amazing place to stay - so at least I can say that I saw them!!

Cheers,
Mario

[iceman (Mike)]

Wish I could go there!

Have a great holiday.

[jjjnettie (Jeanette)]

How heart breaking for you.

[strongmanmike (Michael)]

....

Great distant shot of the domes Muzza, puts their height into some sort of perspective, how far away were they from your Hotel do you think?

Mike

[cybereye (Mario)]

Originally Posted by jjjnettie

How heart breaking for you.

JJJ, it was very dissapointing as I'd booked the tour back in May and had been looking forward to it ever since. I'd even reconfirmed the day before so was well and truly primed! Apparently they had vehicle issues - not good for a tour company. Oh well I now have an excuse to go back!

Originally Posted by strongmanmike

....

Great distant shot of the domes Muzza, puts their height into some sort of perspective, how far away were they from your Hotel do you think?

Mike

Mike, from a quick look at a map I think it would be about 35-40km in a straight line. I was hoping to get some ideas for the backyard while I was up there...

Cheers,
Mario

[SteveInNZ]

I'm very sorry to hear of your disappointment, but thank you for posting that photo. We're going there at new year and I hope to get a similar shot at night, so knowing which ones are visible from the lowlands is very helpful.
Had you booked a trip to the lava ? I understand that dried up a few weeks ago too.

Even if there's no lava and the summit is cloudy, it's still way better than being at work.

Steve.

[cybereye (Mario)]

Originally Posted by SteveInNZ

I'm very sorry to hear of your disappointment, but thank you for posting that photo. We're going there at new year and I hope to get a similar shot at night, so knowing which ones are visible from the lowlands is very helpful.
Had you booked a trip to the lava ? I understand that dried up a few weeks ago too.

Even if there's no lava and the summit is cloudy, it's still way better than being at work.

Steve.

Steve,

We did a round the Big Island bus tour which went to Volcanoes National Park. We were lucky as it was before the US government shut down. However we didn't see any lava as the tour bus didn't go to it.

I loved the Big Island and the Hilton Waikoloa resort where we stayed was a real Willy Wonka type place - to get to our room from the foyer required a 15 minute walk or a 3 minute tram ride or boat trip!

Have fun on your trip,

Cheers,
Mario