Any AZ Divers been to the Big Island?

[AZdiver1279]

Charles R -

We're staying in a condo at Waikloa beach resort area.

I'll check your links.

Thanks!

 

[fkostyun]

fkostyun-

Thanks!

How close to the lava were you when you took that picture?

Wow, great footage of the Manta night dive! Did you do this with Wanna Dive? What type of equipment were you using? It looks like the plankton was drawn to you and therefore the Mantas also.

Great stuff, thanks!

We were about 1/4 mile from the lava at the time. Picture was taken with a 300mm lens.

The manta night dive was also with wanna dive - one of the big reasons why the plankton was atracked to me is I was the only one on about 4-5 dive boats that were at the site that night that had a nice big HID can light Camera is a Canon SD800is with the Canon housing.

Most people had small handheld lights.

 

[sea princess]

Their is a tour guide book that was totally on the money with recommendations and information even on hidden trails and little known places. it is called "Hawaii The Big Island Revealed. by Andrew Doughty and Harriett Friedman published by wizard publications. We read thru it before going and went to several places it talked about and were very pleased with our trip. The guys who put it together are locals and really are candid.

I know we did our air tour over the volcano with mokulele air tours, did a crazy dinner booze cruise at sunset with captin beans, went on sea quest to snorkel , waipio trail ride for horse back and went to a luau at royal kona resort.

I am sure we did more but mainly followed directions in the book to see the botanical gardens, various waterfalls and hiked along the lava flows. you could get pretty close to the lava when we went. it was hot like az in the summer near the lava except it rained while we were there and so it cooled down some. Hilo is lush and tropical and Kona is more desert like. Waikola was more windy. If I remember anything else i will share it was in 2003 so it has been awhile.

 

[AZdiver1279]

Sea Princess,

Thanks! I'll look for the book, sounds good since it is from the perspective of locals!

 

[AZdiver1279]

AZdiver I am headed there in about 2 weeks and would be happy to give you an update after I return. I was there last March and stayed in Kona proper. This time we are staying in Waikloa(sp), not what I would prefer. Last March, Hwy 19 was under construction and it was a pain to get to and from Waikloa and Kona. Two points, 1st we found it better to take the county roads to the lava flow (easy walk to within 200 yds of the lava flow into the ocean, great view at night) instead of driving into the National Park. 2nd, drive down to "Bay of Refuge" and dive or snorkel the area known as "Two Steps". That was my first encounter with wild Dolphins and we ended up spending two days with them. I was able to get some excellent video and still shots while I was less then 10 yards from them. One of the best experiences of my life! I am really looking forward to going back (won't be using Jacks Diving Locker this time though) and like I said before I would be happy to give you an update when I return.

Capt. Pete -

How did it go? I anxious to hear your report. We're soon hoping to book our dives and have narrowed it down to a couple of operators.

Hope you had a fantastic time!

 

[Capt. Pete]

AZdiver-

We had a great time diving in Kona this time! The night Manta dives are a must do and some in our group actually did three nights of Manta dives! This year we dove with Kona Honu and I will dive with them when we return in June of 2010. Great friendly crew with clean boats. I have not dove with everybody there however I would not hesitate to recommend them to anyone. They were willing to set your gear up or leave it to you, what ever you wanted. They also treated instructors like instructors and new divers with respect. I am not much of camera guy but I did get some good video of the Mantas, some Eagle Rays, turtles and octopus. We could not find any sharks though. Did not care for my stay at the Hilton ( Kings Land condos) in Waikloa, huge pain checking in. I have had much better service at Motel 6! Besides for eight days (except one morning) the wind blew which did not make it very fun to be out and about. It has to do with the location and the trade winds. I enjoyed my time in Kona much more, for me part of diving is meeting new people and seeing for my self what the area has to offer, not staying in a resort isolated. If I wanted that I could go to Paradise Valley and save my air fare. Let me know if I can answer any questions, I am sure you are going to have a great time!

PS.. the road construction is done north of Kona however it is still a 30 to 60 minute drive.
Pete

 

[AZdiver1279]

AZdiver-

We had a great time diving in Kona this time! The night Manta dives are a must do and some in our group actually did three nights of Manta dives! This year we dove with Kona Honu and I will dive with them when we return in June of 2010. Great friendly crew with clean boats. I have not dove with everybody there however I would not hesitate to recommend them to anyone. They were willing to set your gear up or leave it to you, what ever you wanted. They also treated instructors like instructors and new divers with respect. I am not much of camera guy but I did get some good video of the Mantas, some Eagle Rays, turtles and octopus. We could not find any sharks though. Did not care for my stay at the Hilton ( Kings Land condos) in Waikloa, huge pain checking in. I have had much better service at Motel 6! Besides for eight days (except one morning) the wind blew which did not make it very fun to be out and about. It has to do with the location and the trade winds. I enjoyed my time in Kona much more, for me part of diving is meeting new people and seeing for my self what the area has to offer, not staying in a resort isolated. If I wanted that I could go to Paradise Valley and save my air fare. Let me know if I can answer any questions, I am sure you are going to have a great time!

PS.. the road construction is done north of Kona however it is still a 30 to 60 minute drive.
Pete

Capt. Pete -

Thanks so much! Great info!

Kona Honu was who I was leaning towards with some consideration for Big Island Divers. I think we'll go with your reccomendation!

We're excited about the Manta night dives, I'll probably do the Manta dive more than once too. No sharks? How many days did you dive?

Thanks for the update about the highway construction, I was a little concerned about that. I would have preferred to just stay in Kona but Hali'i Kai is supposed to be nice. Was the drive like a 30 minute I-10 bumper to bumper commute or is the time element more attributed to the distance?

I would love to hear about any good places to eat if you found any. Also, we would love to see any photos!

Take care!

 

[Capt. Pete]

Traffic kind of depends on the time of day of course, it is not like I-10. The big problem is you have a huge mix of traffic on a two lane county road basically with few passing areas (large commercial trucks, tour buses, cars with an occasional bike on the shoulder). Not that bad unless you are trying to get somewhere (like the dive boat) and somebody ahead wants to site see. I was told by some locals that north of Waikoloa near the Mauna Kea hotel there is some good shore diving. The problem is you have to go to Kona to get air. If you use Kona Honu Divers tell Glenn, the owner, I said hi. As far as good places to eat: in the Waikaloa area try Macaroni Grille at the Queens Market Place, their prices seemed in line with the mainland and I thought the food was good. Also if you want some fast food in that area, there are some fast food places in the Queens Market Place (enter from the backside near the southeast corner, they are just inside the shop area). I would prefer to eat locally and there are a ton of places in Kona along Ali'i Drive that fit that bill! Try Quinns (sp) for some great burgers (they are near the Kona Seaside Hotel) parking is a pain but the food and the prices are worth it. There are several places in or near the Kona Marketplace, they have an Outback Steakhouse there if you want, that are also worthwhile. Most face the ocean with open air dining. Street level next to the Crocks shoe store is a good place (the owner used to run dinner cruise boats in Rocky Point) or you can try upstairs if you go to that area for dinner. I would not waste my time or money at the one across the street on the beach. I thought it was way over priced with marginal food and small portions. Sorry some of the names are lost right now to me.

Pete