The Man writes...my final stop on Sunday's tour of Hawaii's Big Island was Mauna Kea. Said to be the tallest mountain in the world measured from its base (far below sea level), the 14000 foot summit is home to the huge telescopes of the Mauna Kea observatory.
The Saddle Road crosses the island between Mauna Kea and its slightly smaller twin, Mauna Loa. I was driving in misty rain when I turned off on to the mountain access road, but after about ten minutes of twisty climbing, I emerged from out of the cloud to a world of deep blue skies and reddish, dusty earth.
Sadly only four wheel drive vehicles can go all the way to the summit, but there is a small visitor centre at 9200 feet. A short hike away is a wind-swept peak where we watched the sun set and a brilliant full moon rise from below us.
Back at the visitor centre there was a convivial atmosphere. We watched a film, made hot drinks, hopped up and down in the cold, and "star-gazed" and chatted with enthusiasts who had set up half a dozen telescopes. Then it was just a question of negotiating the road back down to the valley...which included some unusual hazards...
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