DennisW
Contributor
Donna and I left on Friday, June 11, 2004. We arrived that afternoon in Honolulu, Oahu. Nice flights, no problems, thats the way I like em. We stayed in Waikiki for 3 days just sightseeing and enjoying ourselves. We got to see the parades for the King Kamehameha festival that was going on while we were there. We also were able to see part of the Womens surfing contest that was going on off Waikiki Beach. Not being a surfer, it was interesting. We took a day trip to the Polynesian Cultural Center on the North side of the island. Very interesting. There were exhibits from all of the Polynesian cultures. It was interesting how similar, yet different they are. We also went snorkeling in Hanauma Bay. We saw plenty of Pacific fish and a small Hawksbill turtle. Fun. On Monday morning, we met up with Justleesa for breakfast at Dukes. It was really nice to meet Lisa and find a new friend.
http://www.scubaboard.com/gallery/data/500/673Lisa_DWW_2_sm.jpg
Monday afternoon, we flew to Kona. We stayed at Maras Dive B&B. Maras is a nice place just the other side of the town of Captain Cook. Unfortunately for travelers, Mara is getting out of the B&B business and is going to concentrate on Scuba instruction and dive tours of Puuhonau o Honaunau (City of Refuge). Thats where we did our shore dives on June 15, and it was wonderful. I got quite a few pictures some good, some not. Hopefully the posts will work. We dove twice at the City of Refuge, the first was a guided tour by Mara and the second was on our own. By the way, Mara was a lifesaver. I broke a pin on the buckle of my Jet Fins at Hanauma Bay and she had a spare. Sea life I can remember, Green Turtles (5), Ornate Butterflyfish, Lined Butterflyfish, Longnose Butterflyfish, Blackside Hawkfish, Archeye Hawkfish, Fourspot Butterflyfish, Raccoon Butterflyfish, Whitemouth Moray, Yellow Margin Moray, Yellow Tang, Orange Shoulder Surgeon Fish, Goat Fish, Crown of Thorns Sea Star, Cornetfish hanging in the open water (unusual?), lots of Urchins and many more fish I did not try to identify. Dive #1, Max Depth 40 fsw, 45 min, Water Temp 79º F. Dive #2, Max Depth 30 fsw, 40 min.
http://www.scubaboard.com/gallery/data/500/673Lined_Butterfly_1_sm.jpg
On June 16 (our 25th anniversary), we dove with Dive Makai charters. Wonderful people and they know how to make you feel at home. They also know the dive sites and give the best briefing I have ever had. I highly recommend them if you dive out of Kona. Matthew, Kendra, and Kay were great. We dove Big Arch first. My only request was that I wanted to see some Nudibranchs. Boy, did Kendra pull that one off. We werent in the water for 5 minutes and she was signaling me to come see. I saw 3 different kinds of Nudis on this dive, 2 Varicose Nudis and two others I dont remember what kind. One was a pinkish color, about an inch long. The other was a tan or flesh color. The surge was fair and I never got a picture of them, but I did get pictures of the 2 Varicose Nudibranchs. I also saw a Tiger Flatworm. Very cool. We saw a Peacock Flounder (actually Donna saw it and took the camera away from me to take the picture, I never saw it until she pointed the camera at it). We also saw some Moorish Idols, several Whitemouth Morays, a Zebra Moray, and a lot more pacific fish. Matthew led the second dive at Manta Bay. We saw a Grand Trevaly. It was a very big one. After Donna and I got back on the boat, the second group up saw a Manta Ray. Donna and I both jumped in with our masks, but the Manta was gone. Dive #1, Max Depth 86 fsw, 49 min, Water Temp 79º F. Dive #2, Max Depth 63 fsw, 54 min.
http://www.scubaboard.com/gallery/data/500/673Varicose_Nudibranch_1_sm.jpg
I wont bore you with the rest of our trip, but we drove to Hilo via Volcanoes National Park, flew over the active Kilauea vent with Blue Helicopters and saw the lava flow into the sea. We then flew to Maui where we took a bike ride down the side of the Volcano. We also got to meet Jim Spears (Gilligan). Another new friend and wonderful guy. He gave us a great tour of the Kihei side of Maui.
http://www.scubaboard.com/gallery/data/500/673Dennis_Jim_3_sm.jpg
A wonderful trip and we met two great people from Scubaboard. I missed meeting John Collins (konajc), maybe next time. Or maybe he will visit Virginia
I've posted some pictures in the Gallery, I really like the one of the Green Turtle.
http://www.scubaboard.com/gallery/data/500/673Lisa_DWW_2_sm.jpg
Monday afternoon, we flew to Kona. We stayed at Maras Dive B&B. Maras is a nice place just the other side of the town of Captain Cook. Unfortunately for travelers, Mara is getting out of the B&B business and is going to concentrate on Scuba instruction and dive tours of Puuhonau o Honaunau (City of Refuge). Thats where we did our shore dives on June 15, and it was wonderful. I got quite a few pictures some good, some not. Hopefully the posts will work. We dove twice at the City of Refuge, the first was a guided tour by Mara and the second was on our own. By the way, Mara was a lifesaver. I broke a pin on the buckle of my Jet Fins at Hanauma Bay and she had a spare. Sea life I can remember, Green Turtles (5), Ornate Butterflyfish, Lined Butterflyfish, Longnose Butterflyfish, Blackside Hawkfish, Archeye Hawkfish, Fourspot Butterflyfish, Raccoon Butterflyfish, Whitemouth Moray, Yellow Margin Moray, Yellow Tang, Orange Shoulder Surgeon Fish, Goat Fish, Crown of Thorns Sea Star, Cornetfish hanging in the open water (unusual?), lots of Urchins and many more fish I did not try to identify. Dive #1, Max Depth 40 fsw, 45 min, Water Temp 79º F. Dive #2, Max Depth 30 fsw, 40 min.
http://www.scubaboard.com/gallery/data/500/673Lined_Butterfly_1_sm.jpg
On June 16 (our 25th anniversary), we dove with Dive Makai charters. Wonderful people and they know how to make you feel at home. They also know the dive sites and give the best briefing I have ever had. I highly recommend them if you dive out of Kona. Matthew, Kendra, and Kay were great. We dove Big Arch first. My only request was that I wanted to see some Nudibranchs. Boy, did Kendra pull that one off. We werent in the water for 5 minutes and she was signaling me to come see. I saw 3 different kinds of Nudis on this dive, 2 Varicose Nudis and two others I dont remember what kind. One was a pinkish color, about an inch long. The other was a tan or flesh color. The surge was fair and I never got a picture of them, but I did get pictures of the 2 Varicose Nudibranchs. I also saw a Tiger Flatworm. Very cool. We saw a Peacock Flounder (actually Donna saw it and took the camera away from me to take the picture, I never saw it until she pointed the camera at it). We also saw some Moorish Idols, several Whitemouth Morays, a Zebra Moray, and a lot more pacific fish. Matthew led the second dive at Manta Bay. We saw a Grand Trevaly. It was a very big one. After Donna and I got back on the boat, the second group up saw a Manta Ray. Donna and I both jumped in with our masks, but the Manta was gone. Dive #1, Max Depth 86 fsw, 49 min, Water Temp 79º F. Dive #2, Max Depth 63 fsw, 54 min.
http://www.scubaboard.com/gallery/data/500/673Varicose_Nudibranch_1_sm.jpg
I wont bore you with the rest of our trip, but we drove to Hilo via Volcanoes National Park, flew over the active Kilauea vent with Blue Helicopters and saw the lava flow into the sea. We then flew to Maui where we took a bike ride down the side of the Volcano. We also got to meet Jim Spears (Gilligan). Another new friend and wonderful guy. He gave us a great tour of the Kihei side of Maui.
http://www.scubaboard.com/gallery/data/500/673Dennis_Jim_3_sm.jpg
A wonderful trip and we met two great people from Scubaboard. I missed meeting John Collins (konajc), maybe next time. Or maybe he will visit Virginia
I've posted some pictures in the Gallery, I really like the one of the Green Turtle.
