Kula Kai Caverns

On our way north from visiting Green Beach and South Point we saw a small note on google maps for Kula Kai Caverns.  A bit of googling, 2 emails and 2 phone calls later we had tickets to tour this unique lava tube created space.  Note - all my pictures are .... lacking.  It was quite dark in the cave and we had head lights to make our way through.  

There are three tours offered by Kula Kai Caverns.  The short tour, the long tour, and the crawl.  We were there for the crawl, though it had been on hold since COVID.  

Another couple was co-scheduled with us for the 1:00 tour on Monday afternoon, though they were registered for the short tour and us for the long.  The first half or so of the long tour IS the short tour.  Most of the short tour was over pretty easy terrain.  No kneepads, helmets, or lights were required.  

Roots from trees on the surface find their way down through the rock into the caverns and keep growing.  I some cases, they grow all the way to the cavern floor and then on through the rock below.  

We did have the opportunity to squeeze through some of the tighter areas of the cave once we were along with our tour guide.  Perks of there only being 2 of us :)  We also got to take a break partway through and see the burning of a kukui nut.  Back when the native Hawaiians would use these caves for transportation, kukui nuts were burned for light.