During this tour you will be provided with an intimate and unique experience told through the voices and faces of people who lived through and witnessed the 2018 Lower East Rift Zone (LERZ) eruption. This is a unique and one of kind experience that is not available anywhere else. We will drive you to each of the four different properties to explore where you will have the option of taking the guided tour or feel free to walk around on your own. On the guided tour you will have the option of learning about the 2018 eruption, the history of each property and the opportunity to ask questions of the owners who witnessed the eruption first hand. Each property has its own story along with providing special features and views. For example you can walk through a recently active fissure, feel 200 degree steam vents right from the ground and peer down an 80’ fracture in the earth that was recently spewing 2000 degree lava. That’s all just on one property! The four properties included in this tour are The Canyon, the Cracked Yard and Gardens, the Fissure’s Views and Fissure 9 and the Remnants of a House.

Cracked Yard and Gardens This property was going to be the location for Rod to build his dream home on. He spent the past 10 years and countless hours perfecting the property with fruit trees, ornamentals, palms, Hapu’u ferns and anthurium flowers. In addition to all the plants he had made a path through the Ohia trees to where his dream home was going to be built. He brought in over 60 tons of cinder to level his property out to make it the perfect layout. This property has the perfect balance of old Leilani with the new Leilani. You can see the flowers, fruit trees and green growth and walk the path to what was once going to be his home. That path now has a bridge so that you can cross over one of the larger cracks safely. You can also see the dead trees and the end of fissure 10. The property is no longer level and you can walk over up to 50 foot deep cracks with some as wide as 4 feet. This property has a lot to explore and is very quiet.

The Fissures’ Views Property The Fissures’ Views Property aka “Views” has outstanding views of Fissure 1, Fissure 3, Fissure 7, the famous Fissure 8, Fissure 21 and Fissure 22 with the ocean behind it. I have never seen a view of Fissure 22 where you can also see the base of the fissure as well. You walk onto this property from the lava flows edge and follow an established path through the flow field to a point were the lava is about 30′ thick. In addition to the Fissure views listed above you also get an expansive view of the flow field along with steaming vents. On a clear day you can see Mauna Kea in the distance and the telescopes on top.

F9 and House This property has the remnants of Heath’s burned down home from the eruption. It is rare to find the remnants of a home from an eruption as they are usually covered over in lava. Walk around a home that burned down with all the owner’s possessions inside. You can see what remains of the children’s bike, their trampoline and several household items. This is the only home that Heath’s children have ever known and they still visit frequently. On this property, you will get to see and feel the steam vents that are still at 200 degrees. Walk over steaming cracks and the highlight of this particular property is you get to actually walk inside a fissure. You read that correctly, you get to walk inside Fissure 9. At the top you can pier down an 80’ hole that was once spewing 2000 degree lava. There is a perfect photo location inside the fissure and at the top you have a great view of Fissure 8 and the ocean behind it.