Oside Jimc
Contributor
Well, this has been an amazing year. Not only did I get to spend a week in Playa Del Carmen and 10 days on Maui I was privileged to win an annual promotion at work for the 4th year in a row. This gave me a free pass to Kauai for more diving (and a little work of course). So the wife and I quickly formed a plan, burn all my Hilton points and add 6 days onto the trip to supplement our 5 free days at the Grand Hyatt so we would be on the island from 9/29 to 10/10. Plan A was to spend 3 days to backpack the Kalalau trail on the Napali coast, but sadly my wife hurt her knee training for the Maui Marathon so we had to change plans (Jim gets to dive more!! hehe).
So plan B was to dive with Aquatic Adventures for shore dives at Tunnels on Thursday then Koloa landing on Monday, then I had a few folks from work that would only consider a boat dive so a 3rd dive day was planned for a 3 tank trip through Fathom 5 on Wednesday.
Well nature could really give a hoot about Jims plans so when we got to the island a cold front was joining us with heavy surf all around the island. Shawn at Aquatic Adventures had contacted me before we left home to let me know the forecast and once we arrived he stayed in constant contact letting me know the score, and it was looking like nature 1, Jim 0, well on to plan C. Wednesday the 1st was selected for the shorter hike on the start of the Kalalau trail, then up to Hanakapi'ai falls. What an @$$ kicking, 7 hours to hike 8 miles, rocks, mud, cliffs, but the reward of awesome views and a fantastic waterfall. However when we got to Hanakapi'ai beach it was obvious why there was no diving on the north side, impressive 5-7 surf pounding the beach (and this can be mild for winter!!). The next day I called Shawn and we decided that Saturday was looking adequate (but not ideal) for Koloa landing. So Finally on Saturday it was time to dive!! We did 2 tanks there and I was really impressed! Conditions were not the best, there had been strong surf and rain so vis was an unimpressive 20-30, but OH THE CRITTERS! Shawn is an excellent DM, he knows the reef like the back of his hand so his tour and critter finding skills were surperb. 500psi into the dive I was face to face with my first Dragon Moray, cool stuff! While Koloa does not excel with impressive coral it is one of the most critter rich sites I have ever dove, we found Morays, fish, crabs, and nudis. In abundance! A total of 3 different Dragons just made my day!
Heres some shots, sorry that my meager photographic skill cant do the site justice.
After chatting with Shawn we decided that wed wait for Monday for the next dive and wed try PKs. When Monday arrived the surf was still up but we went for it anyway. PKs has a tricky entry over some rocks and with 1-2 waves breaking on them it was just like home (Well, home with 78 degree water instead of 60 degree water). Once we got out it was a pretty cool dive, kind of the opposite of Koloa, LOTS of lovely coral, but not a lot of fish. We found a cool octo, I found a razor fish, but we also found a lot of surge so I blew through my air pretty fast (51 min @ 19 average).
Here are some pics from PKs:
This guy was about 1" long, a bit of a challenge with a 28mm wide angle lens
Our plan was to swim out and dive the outside for the 2nd tank but that was obviously not going to be pleasant so it was back to Koloa for the 2nd tank, again a VERY nice dive. The viz was better and virtually no surge so we had a long leisurely dive, tons of fish, more dragons, and we could hear dolphins, but didnt see any.
Back at the shop we took a look at the surf forecast and whatta do you know? The North side was showing promise. So after bribing my wife with a spa day at the Grand Hyatt (probably my most expensive day of diving EVER! LOL) it was decided to give it a shot and meet at Tunnels at 7:00 the next morning. So up at 5:30 and drive from Poipu to Tunnels, Shawn was waiting and after looking it over he turned to me and pronounced me the luckiest diver ever, we were good to go!
How to describe Tunnels? Imagine an ancient underwater cliff going from 20 down to 65 that has been carved by a mad modern artist (OK, in reality carved by the relentless winter swell coming in unabated from the Bering Sea). Sheer cracks, swim throughs, lava rock carved into the most bizarre shapes you can imagine, here my photographic skills really got depressing, nothing I could shoot with my 20 year old Nikonos could convey the majesty of the site, I guess the best way to describe it is to take all the nooks, crannys and swim throughs from a week in Cozumel, and that is a day at Tunnels. One of my best ever dives. Oh, did I mention the Sharks? We saw at least 10 on the first dive, along with lobster (a few were HUGE), the biggest moray Ive ever seen (diameter of my thigh) and a few other cool fish. Not a fishy site, but the WOW factor was incredible. On our 2nd tank Shawn took me on a different tour, going from the top, inside the reef, through the tunnels, back up top to the turtle cleaning station, amazing contrast from the reef top into the tunnels. Another 6 sharks rounded out a day of diving that will be hard to match!
A few inadequate shots from Tunnels:
The smallest Turtle I've ever seen, shell about 10"-12"
My last day of diving was the 3 tank boat dive with Fathom 5. Took my co-workers down, checked in then went to the harbor to meet the boat. Luck was with us and the 4 of us had the boat to our selves. We decided on Brenekess ledge and Sheraton Caverns to start. The ledge was IMO the best dive. I had by far the best viz I found on Kauai (50+), cool marine life (including the biggest Hawaiian Lion fish Ive seen), a very fun dive, our DM was Holley and she was capable and good with my rather rusty co-workers. The 2nd dive at Sheraton Caverns was also nice, decent viz, the swim throughs seemed like the Kindergarten version of Tunnels, perfect for my fellow divers, turtles and good fish life. High point of these dives was multiple Bandit Angels (at least 6 different ones). Sadly one of my co-workers started chumming as soon as the 2nd dive was over so after lunch in the harbor we made a short run to 3 fingers just off the spouting horn. An OK dive, nothing spectacular but Holly tried (without luck) to find a resident dragon, but did find a really cool frog fish and just generally worked her butt off to make it the best dive possible..
So in the end a lot of fun, 9 dives over 4 different days, I cant wait to go back in the summer to dive Nihiau. I cant say enough good things about Aquatic Adventures, they were personable, professional, Shawn is an excellent DM and critter finder extraordinaire. For anybody visiting you HAVE to dive Koloa with them, and if you visit in the summer be sure to dive Tunnels with them, it IS the bomb! And its the kind of site that requires an expert guide to get the most from it due to the intricate maze of the site.
Fathom 5 also impressed me, they run small boats which I like, and Holly was a quite capable DM, very good with the folks in my group that needed a LOT of personal attention.
To compare and contrast Maui and Kauai heres my $0.02:
Maui has better, more swimmer friendly beaches, more nightlife, is relatively touristy, but has less to do for those of us that love the outdoors (Hiking, camping, kayaking, etc ) I think the dive biz there is better developed and with the year around availability of Molokini is a very attractive dive destination.
Kauai is an outdoorsmans dream; wild country, waterfalls galore, splendid hikes and breathtaking scenery make it a fantastic experience, for someone like me. Want to sit on a swimmer friendly beach and hang? Options are limited, it is a wild place, with an exposed coastline so much of the coast is unsuitable (depending on the season of course) or downright dangerous for swimmers. Access to Nihiau is limited to the summer months, but if you can make it the remoteness means youll never experience the Molokini mob scene.
There are more accessible shore dive spots on Maui, but the ones on Kauai are top notch so dont confuse quantity with quality, but I get the feeling that the more exposed coast and much greater number of rivers makes Kauai a little more subject to the whims of nature so for some peoples needs that could be a factor.
Which is better? Maui or Kauai? No way Ill touch that one, I love them both, just like I love both Chocolate and Vanilla. The real question is which one is best, FOR YOU!
Aloha, Im off to start planning my Winter trip to Playa Del Carmen & Cozumel.
So plan B was to dive with Aquatic Adventures for shore dives at Tunnels on Thursday then Koloa landing on Monday, then I had a few folks from work that would only consider a boat dive so a 3rd dive day was planned for a 3 tank trip through Fathom 5 on Wednesday.
Well nature could really give a hoot about Jims plans so when we got to the island a cold front was joining us with heavy surf all around the island. Shawn at Aquatic Adventures had contacted me before we left home to let me know the forecast and once we arrived he stayed in constant contact letting me know the score, and it was looking like nature 1, Jim 0, well on to plan C. Wednesday the 1st was selected for the shorter hike on the start of the Kalalau trail, then up to Hanakapi'ai falls. What an @$$ kicking, 7 hours to hike 8 miles, rocks, mud, cliffs, but the reward of awesome views and a fantastic waterfall. However when we got to Hanakapi'ai beach it was obvious why there was no diving on the north side, impressive 5-7 surf pounding the beach (and this can be mild for winter!!). The next day I called Shawn and we decided that Saturday was looking adequate (but not ideal) for Koloa landing. So Finally on Saturday it was time to dive!! We did 2 tanks there and I was really impressed! Conditions were not the best, there had been strong surf and rain so vis was an unimpressive 20-30, but OH THE CRITTERS! Shawn is an excellent DM, he knows the reef like the back of his hand so his tour and critter finding skills were surperb. 500psi into the dive I was face to face with my first Dragon Moray, cool stuff! While Koloa does not excel with impressive coral it is one of the most critter rich sites I have ever dove, we found Morays, fish, crabs, and nudis. In abundance! A total of 3 different Dragons just made my day!
Heres some shots, sorry that my meager photographic skill cant do the site justice.
After chatting with Shawn we decided that wed wait for Monday for the next dive and wed try PKs. When Monday arrived the surf was still up but we went for it anyway. PKs has a tricky entry over some rocks and with 1-2 waves breaking on them it was just like home (Well, home with 78 degree water instead of 60 degree water). Once we got out it was a pretty cool dive, kind of the opposite of Koloa, LOTS of lovely coral, but not a lot of fish. We found a cool octo, I found a razor fish, but we also found a lot of surge so I blew through my air pretty fast (51 min @ 19 average).
Here are some pics from PKs:
This guy was about 1" long, a bit of a challenge with a 28mm wide angle lens
Our plan was to swim out and dive the outside for the 2nd tank but that was obviously not going to be pleasant so it was back to Koloa for the 2nd tank, again a VERY nice dive. The viz was better and virtually no surge so we had a long leisurely dive, tons of fish, more dragons, and we could hear dolphins, but didnt see any.
Back at the shop we took a look at the surf forecast and whatta do you know? The North side was showing promise. So after bribing my wife with a spa day at the Grand Hyatt (probably my most expensive day of diving EVER! LOL) it was decided to give it a shot and meet at Tunnels at 7:00 the next morning. So up at 5:30 and drive from Poipu to Tunnels, Shawn was waiting and after looking it over he turned to me and pronounced me the luckiest diver ever, we were good to go!
How to describe Tunnels? Imagine an ancient underwater cliff going from 20 down to 65 that has been carved by a mad modern artist (OK, in reality carved by the relentless winter swell coming in unabated from the Bering Sea). Sheer cracks, swim throughs, lava rock carved into the most bizarre shapes you can imagine, here my photographic skills really got depressing, nothing I could shoot with my 20 year old Nikonos could convey the majesty of the site, I guess the best way to describe it is to take all the nooks, crannys and swim throughs from a week in Cozumel, and that is a day at Tunnels. One of my best ever dives. Oh, did I mention the Sharks? We saw at least 10 on the first dive, along with lobster (a few were HUGE), the biggest moray Ive ever seen (diameter of my thigh) and a few other cool fish. Not a fishy site, but the WOW factor was incredible. On our 2nd tank Shawn took me on a different tour, going from the top, inside the reef, through the tunnels, back up top to the turtle cleaning station, amazing contrast from the reef top into the tunnels. Another 6 sharks rounded out a day of diving that will be hard to match!
A few inadequate shots from Tunnels:
The smallest Turtle I've ever seen, shell about 10"-12"
My last day of diving was the 3 tank boat dive with Fathom 5. Took my co-workers down, checked in then went to the harbor to meet the boat. Luck was with us and the 4 of us had the boat to our selves. We decided on Brenekess ledge and Sheraton Caverns to start. The ledge was IMO the best dive. I had by far the best viz I found on Kauai (50+), cool marine life (including the biggest Hawaiian Lion fish Ive seen), a very fun dive, our DM was Holley and she was capable and good with my rather rusty co-workers. The 2nd dive at Sheraton Caverns was also nice, decent viz, the swim throughs seemed like the Kindergarten version of Tunnels, perfect for my fellow divers, turtles and good fish life. High point of these dives was multiple Bandit Angels (at least 6 different ones). Sadly one of my co-workers started chumming as soon as the 2nd dive was over so after lunch in the harbor we made a short run to 3 fingers just off the spouting horn. An OK dive, nothing spectacular but Holly tried (without luck) to find a resident dragon, but did find a really cool frog fish and just generally worked her butt off to make it the best dive possible..
So in the end a lot of fun, 9 dives over 4 different days, I cant wait to go back in the summer to dive Nihiau. I cant say enough good things about Aquatic Adventures, they were personable, professional, Shawn is an excellent DM and critter finder extraordinaire. For anybody visiting you HAVE to dive Koloa with them, and if you visit in the summer be sure to dive Tunnels with them, it IS the bomb! And its the kind of site that requires an expert guide to get the most from it due to the intricate maze of the site.
Fathom 5 also impressed me, they run small boats which I like, and Holly was a quite capable DM, very good with the folks in my group that needed a LOT of personal attention.
To compare and contrast Maui and Kauai heres my $0.02:
Maui has better, more swimmer friendly beaches, more nightlife, is relatively touristy, but has less to do for those of us that love the outdoors (Hiking, camping, kayaking, etc ) I think the dive biz there is better developed and with the year around availability of Molokini is a very attractive dive destination.
Kauai is an outdoorsmans dream; wild country, waterfalls galore, splendid hikes and breathtaking scenery make it a fantastic experience, for someone like me. Want to sit on a swimmer friendly beach and hang? Options are limited, it is a wild place, with an exposed coastline so much of the coast is unsuitable (depending on the season of course) or downright dangerous for swimmers. Access to Nihiau is limited to the summer months, but if you can make it the remoteness means youll never experience the Molokini mob scene.
There are more accessible shore dive spots on Maui, but the ones on Kauai are top notch so dont confuse quantity with quality, but I get the feeling that the more exposed coast and much greater number of rivers makes Kauai a little more subject to the whims of nature so for some peoples needs that could be a factor.
Which is better? Maui or Kauai? No way Ill touch that one, I love them both, just like I love both Chocolate and Vanilla. The real question is which one is best, FOR YOU!
Aloha, Im off to start planning my Winter trip to Playa Del Carmen & Cozumel.
