DAY 2 (b) - MAUI : sunrise at summit of Haleakala Volcano

The land mass of East Maui is really the top of an enormous shield volcano that begins more than 5km below sea level. Haleakala (House of the Sun) is thought to have last erupted some 200 years ago and is still considered to be active, although not currently erupting. Its summit depression is formed by erosional forces acting on volcanic rock.

In under two hours, we drove from sea level to the 3055 m summit, rising from one ecosystem to the next while temperature and oxygen level fell.

Early Hawaiians applied the name Haleakalā ("house of the sun") to the summit area only, most likely due to the fact that from the west side of the island, the sun could be seen rising up over the eastern side of the mountain. In Hawaiian folklore, the depression at the summit of Haleakalā was home to the grandmother of the demigod Māui. According to the legend, Maui's grandmother helped him capture the Sun and force it to slow its journey across the sky in order to lengthen the day. In modern times, Haleakalā has become synonymous with the entire East Maui volcano. (Source: Wikipedia)

see that little bright dot in the sky? i think it's one of the planets ... mercury? hmm

yoshina and me!

yuuki and me!

check this picture out. as the sun rose, the moon casts a shadow on the atmosphere...do you guys see the black cloudy thingy in the right side of the picture? that's the shadow cast by the moon! cool eh?

hawaiian chant in honour of their sun god


guide gives a welcome message to everyone

i wore jeans, and trackpants over the jeans; a yellow jacket that sandy kindly lent me (else i would have frozen to death i think), and below that was my red sweater and below that was my t shirt!

haha we were supposed to hike down to the depression area but everyone was too sleepy after viewing the sunrise. we took an hour nap before starting on the hike.