In Kona in 1 week

[jdubdiver]

Hello to all, I will be on the Big Island starting a week from this friday. I posted a while back looking for some possible buddies, I have some boat dives lined up and am considering an operation for some guided shore dives since I am unfamiliar with the area. I would much rather just rent a tank or 2 and go with some local divers who wouldnt mind showing someone some good spots, or if there are any travelers looking at this forum who wouldnt mind some company the first week in August. A question for any one who knows: Have the Mantas been showing up lately? Also how is the Volcano doing, is it still really active?

 

[Jack'sDivingLocker]

Aloha jdubdiver,

The mantas have been a tad "light" lately...but we have been seeing them. I heard that there weren't any this past Tuesday (we weren't there that night). Then I believe there were four on Thursday. It's a great dive...you'll enjoy it. If the mantas don't show up, there are a lot of cool critters to see.

 

[redrover]

Hello to all, I will be on the Big Island starting a week from this friday. I posted a while back looking for some possible buddies, I have some boat dives lined up and am considering an operation for some guided shore dives since I am unfamiliar with the area. I would much rather just rent a tank or 2 and go with some local divers who wouldnt mind showing someone some good spots, or if there are any travelers looking at this forum who wouldnt mind some company the first week in August. A question for any one who knows: Have the Mantas been showing up lately? Also how is the Volcano doing, is it still really active?

Last Friday a visitor and I were out with Jacks. True, there were less Manta’s, Keller said there was little plankton. I thought it was just a good dive but my buddy said it was an extraordinary experience. Had Bottlenose and Spinner Dolphin jumping on the way. 1st tank had several Manta hanging around. Literally. Not flybys, just hanging out. Fascinating to get a long and completely different look than the night dive up close and personal experience.
Saturday I took my friend to Two Step and didn’t see (where I was looking anyway) many of my usual suspects for visitors but did find a lovely pair of Whitley’s Boxfish (the male is rare.)
My point is, no matter what; there is always something good to see.

Re: Volcano
The viewing area is a ways around and out of the park. The access in and around the park changes daily. Not sure what you mean by really active. It is really spewing vog, that’s fo sho.
Live Panorama of Halema`uma`u, Kilauea Volcano, Hawai`i
HVO Kilauea Status Page
Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park

I might be up for some shore dives on the weekends.

 

[dbittner]

On my only trip (so far) to Kailua-Kona (August 2007), the mantas did not show up the night I went out for the manta dive. However, I still feel I got my money's worth out of the two dives we did -- a twilight dive around the site, and then the night manta dive which turned into a really interesting night dive.

With respect to the volcano, there was a continual flow of lava when we were on the Big Island, but the lava flow was nowhere near any roads or other access. We did still very much enjoy driving around the caldera, seeing (and smelling) the gases, and hiking through a lava tube.

Have a fantastic trip!

Peace,
Dave

 

[DocHazmat]

An ash plume is continually rising from Halema'uma'u in the park, but it's just a big plume of white. There's no lava flowing in the park at the moment, but if you backtrack towards Hilo from the park and head down highway 130, there's quite a spectacular display that can be seen around dusk. The county runs this particular site; see Kilauea Eruption Update for more details.

We were out there last week. If you plan to be in Kalapana around 17:00 you should have enough time to have a nice picnic and then hike out towards the viewing site. (It's about a mile from the first parking area, on the old highway, and then another 1/3 mile over lava field.) The flow is coming down towards the ocean from the ridge, and you can see the smoke from the burning vegetation as you walk out. During the day it's just a big steam plume, but at night... well, wow. "Spectacular" is selling it short. I've attached a (bad) picture just to give you an idea.

Have a great trip!

 

[Diver Lori]

You might also check out ShoreDiving.com - Your Shore Diving and Snorkeling Web Community!

Two years ago we did 2 or 3 of these and found them very good. The two that stick in my mind are Puako Village End and Place of Refuge (aka Two Step).