Day 4- Kaumana Caves

Day 4: Courtney Rodriguez


On day four our group went to the Kaumana lava tubes in Hilo. The lava tubes are caves many miles long carved out by the Mauna Loa lava flow of 1881. The caves range from very tall heights to heights of only a few feet. I was very nervous to walk through these lava tubes because I am scared of caves, tight spaces, and darkness. What terrified me the most was when we were told to turn off all of our flashlights and be quiet for a few minutes to experience the natural darkness and silence of the cave. I could not contain my fears during those few minutes and it was difficult for me to sit still during that short time. However, after experiencing that time of darkness and silence, I felt more calm and at peace, and I realized I had nothing to be afraid of. The more I looked past my fears and focused on the beauty of nature, the more fun I had and the more amazed I was by the caves. I am very glad that I was able to face my fears for this very special experience.
Heading into one section of Kaumana Caves.



Tigist Assaye


Today we went to Kaumana Caves and explored two caves that are separated by a steep staircase. My group entered the cave on the right side first, which had bright green plants surrounding the entrance of the cave. Walking on the rocks was hard at first because they were becoming looser and looser while we started walking further into the cave. After 10 minutes of walking in the cave our group decided to sit down in silence. During this time it was really dark and silent. I took this time to reflect on the past couple of days in Hawaii. Listening to the droplets of water coming from the cave led me to tranquility. After being in the dark for about three minutes we all turned on our flashlights and continued to walk. At some points during the hike in the cave I had to crawl like a duck and bend my back to the point where I had to sacrifice not using my flashlight because I thought it was going to fall out of my hand. I got to this point in the cave where there was water on the rocks and it was hard to get down from it. When I stepped on the rock, I slipped and fell on my butt. I got up and felt no pain at that time but when I checked my hands, they were red from when I placed my hand and my nails chipped off. Since this was my first time hiking in a cave, I felt adventurous and bold walking on all the different kinds of obstacles.









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