Big Island, Kohala coast area: airfills?

[chris_b]

Aloha folks, I need a little help/advice for an upcoming trip. Heading to the Big Island in January for a week and hoping to do quite a bit of shore diving. We're staying a few miles north of Kawaihae just off of Hwy. 270, and I'm wondering where the most convenient place will be to rent tanks and get air/gas-fills.

I've been perusing the shorediving.com site and it looks like we have some dive sites within a few minutes (the 4.9 and 6.3 mile markers) with the Puako area being the closest popular shore dive spot, maybe 20 minutes or less drive for us. However, most of the shops I've seen mentioned here and elsewhere are concentrated in the Kona area. I'm hoping to save the one-hour drive down to get tanks filled if there's a place more convenient to us. Is there?

Thanks!

Chris

Edit: I did a little more searching around and came up with: Kohala Divers, Mauna Kea Divers, and Red Sail Sports. Kohala Divers is really close to us, and are the only ones who post rates for tank/fill-only rental ($9/day). Does anyone have preferences for one of these over others? Thanks again.

 

[Kini]

I use Mauna Kea for tank fills if I'm up that way. I do believe thay are cheaper to rent tanks. You may want to check out some of the shore dives Kona way while you are here. They are awesome and easy entry/exit. 2-step /place of refuge is great with occasional dolphins and turtles. Puako has several public access areas so you may want to plan a couple days just there. Check out www.ilhawaii.net (Lets go shore diving). Aloha, Kini

 

[bluemagoo]

Kohala Divers was founded (1988?), owned, and operated by Turner Lett who, not long ago, has sold the shop and moved to Florida (for health reasons). He still keeps in contact. I forgot who the new owner is but as of March this year, they seem to run the shop as Turner did. He was super. The shop is located in the little marketplace fronting Kawaihae Harbor.

South Kohala/Kawaihae diving can get tricky because of currents and the offshore wind that funnels through the Waimea/Kamuela down from Mauna Kea and the Kohala range, unlike South Kona which is in the wind shadow of Hualalai. If the winds are strong, use caution; a few years ago, an experienced kayaker got blown miles out and was saved by a miracle. Accessability to the coast up above Kawaihae is not easy; much of the land below 270 is privately owned and requires premissions and gate keys. Also, just as a point of interest, Kawaihae has a historical reputation for being "sharky" and I mean the big-boy tigers; there was one in particular that was known to cruise between Upolu Point and Kawaihae. The reputation came from the old days when the cattle from nearby ranches were swum (swam, swimmed??) from the docks to the ships.