HILO -- Lava is reaching the ocean again for the first time since Sept. 12, although it's sporadic and not much more than an ooze, the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory said.
But even an ooze is enough to please visitors, said Hawaii Volcanoes National Park ranger Dick Rasp.
On Tuesday, the first day the flow made regular entries into the sea, about 500 people walked the three-fourths of a mile from Chain of Craters Road to the flow, Rasp said.
"It opens up a whole new ball game," he said. "It's great for visitors."
Before Sept. 12, lava flows were much more remote, 3 miles east of Chain of Craters. From Sept. 12 to 23, the eruption shut off.
Since then, several flows have extended toward the sea, but no closer than a half-mile.
At sunset on Monday, a small flow reached a 50-foot sea cliff on the island's southeast coast and flowed onto an old rock "bench" at sea level, the observatory said.
The activity is taking place at a spot park rangers named Highcastle years ago because it was on higher ground than surrounding areas.
Older flows had covered the ground three-fourths of a mile westward from Highcastle, leaving a short, surviving stretch of the Chain of Craters Road at the site.
Another 230 feet of the old road were buried this week, the observatory said.
Meanwhile, the observatory said a narrow finger of lava from a second flow, about a mile to the east, was a little more than 100 yards from the sea yesterday.
