8.16 Mauna Kea, sister of Mona Loa, two incredible mountains and volcanoes
We have no idea what Heaven is like. However, like many people, we have a little imagination and use it to conjure images in our mind. Sometimes we share these ideas; other times we avoid making a fool of ‘ourself’. Standing across from the largest mountain mass in the world, at an altitude of 12,500 feet, 1,200 below the peak, with thick white clouds straddling the saddle between the two Maunas, Loa and Kea, it felt like Heaven. On one side, volcano cones stood proud, the sand and stones swept smooth by the winds, devoid of any flora. Beyond the red and dark brown sand interspersed with cinder stones, the low clouds provided an ideal backdrop in virgin white. As we turned again, Mauna Loa’s peak, a place we sat last week, peered above the clouds, the rest of her great body dressed in shrouds. At one stage, its massive size felt so intimidating and overpowering that we almost raised arms and exclaimed, ‘We surrender’. The dynamics of the weather moved mist and clouds back and...