Epic Island Volcano Journey in Kailua-Kona, HI

Our group of four participated in the Mauna Kea Summit & Stars Adventure last night. Justin was our trusted leader & guide. From the very start, he was friendly, upbeat and learned all of our (sometimes unique and hard-to-pronounce) names. He outlined our itinerary for the day, explaining where we would stop, bathroom breaks, meal plans and, ultimately, what to expect for our sunset & Star-gazing experience. Every aspect of the trip was carefully orchestrated for efficiency, timeliness and fun. We had a great time hearing about the geologic history of the island, the evolution of the land, vulcanology, and Justin’s personal experiences with them all. Our group was 14 people from all over the world and Justin was a effective host / facilitator, encouraging us to get to know one another and then including everyone to share their personal backgrounds. Ultimately, I’d recommend this experience to the amateur astronomer, geologist, naturalist, scientist, or any small group looking for a cool (literally COLD 😉), nighttime excursion. Couple of tips: Long pants, warm socks, plenty of layers, and closed-toed, solid shoes (not a lightweight air-hole, mesh sneaker!) are an absolute must! Lastly, spend a couple minutes reading about altitude change & it’s effects. It effected us all differently. Some felt dizzy, others mildly nauseated, and others mildly drunk and tipsy. We all felt normal by the time we hit the visitor center at 9,000 feet. To break it down: Overall Experience: Five stars Tour Guide: Five Stars Bathroom trip frequency: Five Stars Food: 4.5 stars - Big portions, good flavors, but served at about 4pm. Eat a light lunch or late brunch beforehand. Some people in our group had only just finished lunch and skipped their meal. Would definitely go again! Angela from Alaska

Picked up as arranged on time, well looked after. Food reasonable. Parkas and gloves provided and were needed. Unfortunately the weather was blowing a gale and thick cloud but guide made a real effort to find a place where we could see the stars. He was very knowledgeable.

Awesome experience. Everything was thoughtfully planned and arranged. Our guide was friendly, caring and super knowledgeable about the sights. The setting is breathtaking and having our own portable telescope to use after dark was a nice touch. Never thought I would be wearing a PARKA in HI. Definitely recommend.

My wife and I went on the Hakalau Forest Reserve outing. It was a 12 hour day. Garry was our guide. Extremely knowledgeable both Hawaiian culture and birding wise. Pleasant too! We spent a good seven hours in the Reserve. He made every effort to find birds and make sure we all saw the bird. We were lucky and had excellent weather on the trip. Not that it would have been their fault if we had not. So, we had a great day of birding with an excellent guide.

Justin was our guide, and he was the best! Never saw such an enthusiastic and energetic guide in my life! The food was great, love the brownies and hot choco. The sunset was just amazing, must see event. We were unlucky because it was too cloudy to see the stars but still had a great time, we got to see the nebula and the stars in the orion belt and sirius. Didn’t know north star was that low in hawaii! Anyway, I recommend you all to take this trip, it was worth it. And hope you would meet Justin as your guide!