For volcano enthusiasts, Hawai’i is a unique destination offering one-of-a-kind encounters with Kīlauea, one of the world’s most active volcanoes, and Mauna Loa, the world’s most massive volcano. I was fortunate to get to know one of the most reputable local ecotour providers in Hawai’i, VolcanoDiscovery Hawai’i, and to experience the Big Island differently.

For centuries, high-minded travellers, wise men and ladies alike, have sought out the world’s mountains, revelling in the challenge of the climb and capturing in photographs and ink the terrific views and exaltation that come at the end of long and strenuous hikes. Ridge-rambling adventurers are, if anything, more numerous today than ever before. Fortunately, mountain treks abound, gauged to hikers of all abilities.

I look around at the motorcycles, the well-dressed children and the minimalist huts and find myself wondering if it’s all an act. Do they head back down the mountain after we’re all asleep? Is this just a well-produced illusion for tourists? Then I notice a woman hanging up laundry and I pass what looks like a bare-bones general store. This definitely is a lived-in – and by all appearances happy – village.

When I look at this photo I get a taste of what I experienced kayaking in Ang Thong National Marine Park. ‘The sublime’ is to feel our smallness in the natural world, to feel overwhelmed by its power and greatness. In turn, this feeling of wonder and humility grants us a connection to that world.

You’ve seen them flocking together at every major tourist site: groups of travellers in bright Hawaiian shirts escorted by their tour guides, who lead them around like herds of cattle. They snap photos with their brand-new cameras and are then wrangled back on the bus. One hopes that one day these folk will realise this is no way to see the world, watching the landscapes whirr by instead of savouring the journey.