mj_ski

Hi All, First trip to the BI (I've been to Oahu about 20 times)

One thing my wife and I would like to check out is a trip up to see and view through the telescopes up on the mountains.

I guess they give you winter coats, some have light dinner, hot chocolate etc. Then you do some stargazing at night.

Anyone have any expierence to share in this area.

Thanks

-MJ

Meesthare

You can do a guided trip up to the summit of Mauna Kea, where all the big telescopes are. We went with Hawaii Forest & Trail and thought they were excellent.
You can't look through those big telescopes - only the scientists up there can do that, and they're doing it by computer; it's very delicate and precise work. You can't really even gain access to the buildings in which the telescopes are housed, because of the easily-disturbed calibration of the telescopes. However, the tour guide will take you up in a van (usually about 5 or 6 people per trip) which has winter coats on board. They also have a supply of oxygen if you need it, which you might at the highest altitude up there. Most if not all of the trips these days go up in the late afternoon, so that you can see the sunset from the summit. It's an incredible thing to see! They stop at the visitors' center which is at about 9000 feet, so that you can get used to the altitude gradually. They give you dinner at that point.
Once you've been up at the top, cars have to be facing down the mountain after sunset so that light pollution doesn't interfere with the telescopes. You go back down to the visitors' center which is now lit in an eerie (but neat) infrared light that doesn't cause problems for the scientists. The tour guide will then get his own telescope put together, and give you some hot chocolate and cookies while you do your stargazing. It's a wonderful experience. Have a fantastic trip!

pb_and_j

We did a Mauna Kea tour out of Hilo with Arnott's Lodge which is MUCH cheaper than the other companies.
I definitely recommend it! You'll see all the observatories, but you can't go in them. Still the stargazing is great up there. I thought the stars at sea level in the Hilo area were pretty impressive also, not too much ambient light out there.
Try to time your tour as close to the new moon as possible too.

Hawaii05

My hubby and I just returned from our honeymoon in Hawaii and we took a tour with Mauna Kea Summit Adventures, which we booked through hawaiiactivies.com. I would highly recommend this tour. They pick you up in Kona and then drive you up to the visitor's center at 9000 feet on Mauna Kea. There you have sandwiches, soup and coffee or hot cocoa and then they drive you up to the summit at over 13,000 feet just in time to watch the sunset. It is stunningly beautiful up there with all the observatories. After the sun sets, you descend down to 9,000 feet where they pull off the road and set up two large telescopes. They point out the awesome night sky to you and view a few objects through the telescopes. They also give you hot cocoa and coffee during a brief break. Then you board the van once again and head back down to Kona. It is about an 8 hour trip altogether, but it is very informative and worth every penny.

fdecarlo

I agree with Hawaii05. We've done three different tours (MKSA, HFT and Arnott's) and MKSA was most enjoyable. If you can, get Pat Wright as your guide. He's very funny and knows an amazing amount of detail about Mauna Kea and astronomy.

mj_ski

Wonderful thanks for the feed back!

is a new BI revealed book worth it? Our town library copy is from 3 years ago.

thanks!

MileKing

We did Mauna Kea on our own when on our honeymoon almost two years ago. Although I don't believe you can go to the summit on your own, you can go as far as the visitor center. The stargazing there is incredible and the university students have telescopes set-up nightly for you to use. Well worth the trip.

gigib

You can drive up there yourself, just did it last Thursday! (I need to compose my BI trip report). We went in the daytime, tho, because my husband wanted to run/hike the trail from the visitor center to the summit. We spoke to someone who went up at night, I can see how it would be OK if you drove very carefully. From the visitor center, the road up is paved for a mile or two, then graded dirt (plenty wide enough, just a bit washboardy) for about 5 miles. Steep in spots, but our dumb Chevy 2WD rental car in low gear did just fine. Then, the last 2 miles are paved again. It would have been nice to have seen the stars from up there, they were quite impressive just from the beach! The drive to the top from Waimea must take about 1.5 hours, I lost track.

fdecarlo

The usual disclaimers need to be made about driving to Mauna Kea summit on your own. The summit area can and does get snowfall -- including occasional whiteout/blizzard conditions -- from late fall to early spring, usually with little or no warning. You definitely do *not* want to get stuck on these roads with a 2WD and no chains during one of these storms.

The Mauna Kea summit road is second only to Waipio Valley's access road in the number of tourists who get stuck every year. Towing charges on the BI for these two areas are incredibly expensive.

Sarah

My favorite thing to do is take a lounge chair and recline under the stars!

I saw a great film at Pacifika film festival in NYC this summer. I think its a must for a native perspective on the MaunaKea telescope projects. "MaunaKea Temple under Siege", PBS in NYC has shown it perhaps in your neighborhood too. Check it out.

JC98

I'm going to BI at the end of Nov, and I'd like to stargaze up Mauna Kea too. Anyone know what the weather will be like at that time of the year?

I've been monitoring the weather in Kona and Hilo, and they have been raining all these weeks. Wonder if I should postpone my Nov trip to a drier month?

How much are these tours?

The drive up to the visitor center is not too bad and you can do it with a rental compact or midsize car? Is it really worth it to go all the way to the top to see the observatories. It sounds like you'r not allowed to see the inside of the observatories?

Thanks!

Sarah

If memory serves, big island revealed says a four wheel drive is mandatory.

Unless you are taking advantage of the Thanksgiving holiday I would hold out for whale season (December starts).

Its going to be cloudy in winter and that will impact star view. Not to say that you won't get some clear nights but I SUSPECT (only) that this will be iffy on Mauna Kea in winter.

matnikstym

you can drive a normal car up to the visitor center and i've driven my old 4cyl 5 speed 2w drive to the summit, but i would recommend taking a tour. when we were at the summit, it was cloudy and could not see anything but the top of the clouds which was cool! the visitor center always has some telescopes set up. was up there last nov for a hula performance, no rain, clear night. froze my butt off as i was wearing a malu and lauhala skirt! as with everything in Hawaii, you can't plan on rain anymore than you can plan on good weather.