OP
Links fixed!
Kona, Hawaii Trip Report - Jan 19-Feb 2, 2006
- Thread starter mer
- Start date
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ch0ppersrule
Contributor
your Another Cute One (surgeonfish) looks so adorable. Looks like he is blowing you a kiss. Thanks for sharing your pictures.
Melissa
Melissa
cuddlefish
Contributor
Humuhumunukunukuapua'a:Is that one of the shore-diveable Airport spots? Thanks!
It's the same general area...but it would be nearly impossible to find from shore. From the mooring it's just a one or two minute swim. Too bad the moorings don't have surface floats...you could swim out to them from shore and know exactly where the dive site is located.
Humuhumunukunukuapua'a
Contributor
cuddlefish:
My thoughts exactly. Or I guess if a boat was on it, I could find it that way. Wish there was underwater GPS
Mer, great pics! The vis looks really nice right now, and you sure are getting some good finds. Thanks again for all the reports and pictures
OP
Day 8
Day 8 was a cloudy and occasionally drizzly day (but who’s complaining when is 75 degrees). Seas were glassy and the staff was talking about these overcast days producing out-of the-ordinary sightings.
Right outside the month of the harbor is Nai’a, otherwise known as Rip-off Reef or Manta Ray Bay. Despite it is proximity to the marina, this site is nearly a sure bet for Spotted Eagle Rays and tons of Hawaiian Spinner Dolphins. We were stood up by neither… no pictures of the dolphins sadly, but as you are diving underneath the main Channel it is a neat site to see the dolphins frolicking and playing in the wakes of coming and going boats. Another highlight of this dive was an 8 to 10 inch Commerson’s Frogfish, by far the biggest one I’ve seen. From reports of staff out diving later, he was moving around and even free swimming!
Dive 2 we slid north to Suck ‘Em Up and got in a very long leisurely dive checking out Suck ‘Em Up cave and the nearby Skull Cave. Spent a good 10 minutes upside-down in Skull Cave checking out all the cool growth on the ceiling. Highlights of the dive were interesting nudibranchs courtesy of DM Bob, and Suck’ Em Up’s resident White Tip Shark.
We then discovered the Kona Brewing Company for a lunch of awesome, reasonably priced food, great beer, and unfortunately take-home growlers of beer.
Day 8 Pictures
Giant? Moray Eel
Spotted Eagle Ray being cleaned by a cleaner Wrasse
Spotted Eagle Ray in “flight”
food morning squirrelly Squirrelfish!
Big! Frogfish
Tuberculous Nudibranch
White Tip Reef Shark
Neat sponge and other growth in side mini-caves and arches.
Day 9
Day off, caught up on work, dive gear repair and general vacation lounging.
Day 8 was a cloudy and occasionally drizzly day (but who’s complaining when is 75 degrees). Seas were glassy and the staff was talking about these overcast days producing out-of the-ordinary sightings.
Right outside the month of the harbor is Nai’a, otherwise known as Rip-off Reef or Manta Ray Bay. Despite it is proximity to the marina, this site is nearly a sure bet for Spotted Eagle Rays and tons of Hawaiian Spinner Dolphins. We were stood up by neither… no pictures of the dolphins sadly, but as you are diving underneath the main Channel it is a neat site to see the dolphins frolicking and playing in the wakes of coming and going boats. Another highlight of this dive was an 8 to 10 inch Commerson’s Frogfish, by far the biggest one I’ve seen. From reports of staff out diving later, he was moving around and even free swimming!
Dive 2 we slid north to Suck ‘Em Up and got in a very long leisurely dive checking out Suck ‘Em Up cave and the nearby Skull Cave. Spent a good 10 minutes upside-down in Skull Cave checking out all the cool growth on the ceiling. Highlights of the dive were interesting nudibranchs courtesy of DM Bob, and Suck’ Em Up’s resident White Tip Shark.
We then discovered the Kona Brewing Company for a lunch of awesome, reasonably priced food, great beer, and unfortunately take-home growlers of beer.
Day 8 Pictures
Giant? Moray Eel
Spotted Eagle Ray being cleaned by a cleaner Wrasse
Spotted Eagle Ray in “flight”
food morning squirrelly Squirrelfish!
Big! Frogfish
Tuberculous Nudibranch
White Tip Reef Shark
Neat sponge and other growth in side mini-caves and arches.
Day 9
Day off, caught up on work, dive gear repair and general vacation lounging.
OP
Day 10 Highlights
Man, gotta love arriving and gear’s all set up, boat's in the water, just step on and go. All I gotta do is turn my head and look as the crew analyzes my tanks… yup, 32% nitrox, lock and load!
Not quite a “long-range” day going South, but mid-range (past Keauhou). Planning to do long range Day 12.
First dive was Driftwood which features a 40’ lava tube swim through in which Slipper Lobsters often hide. Also saw tons of Cowries, especially a large Tiger Cowry and a large Sponge Crab hidden very thoroughly, spotted by the Colin, the “nook and crannie” master of the day. The Sponge Crab will carve a piece of sponge and carry it around on its back… when it outgrows that piece it will go cut a new one. There was a bit of surge, which made picture taking tough, but it was a fun ride!
Then we jumped over to Kealakekua Bay to see if we go “sneak” lunch off the Fairwinds (a popular snorkeling boat), but instead deciding to go diving instead. Capt Chuck dropped us in at the Captain Cook Monument, and we swam south around the bay, underneath the Fairwinds, to the delight of many a snorkeler. K-Bay is very much a pretty fishie dive, but lots of rarer fish tend to be found there and are often more friendly due to “training” by the snorkelers (or maybe it's the fish that have trained the snorkelers?). Chuck then picked us up as different dive teams finished their dive 60 to 80 minutes later.
Day 10 Pictures
Surface Pic… still very little development down south
Tiger Cowry… bout 4 inches long, inside the lava tube
Sponge Crab… yes, he was very well hidden
Day 10 Kealakekua Bay Pictures
Postcard-Perfect Hawaiian Underwaterscape
DM Colin
Very Different Bottom Contour and Growth Here
A Closeup of Above… bonus points if you can find Colin in this pic
Bandit Anglefish, rare… 50ish feet
Crown-of-Thorns Sea Star… tons of them here
Different Varieties of Pencil Slate Urchins… again tons of these here
Reticulated Butterflyfish, rare, 7 feet, under the Fairwinds and very territorial
Spotted Pufferfish, 8-10 inches long, 10 feet, under Fairwinds
School of Chub(?)
Tons of Triggerfish
Pair of Ornate Butterflyfish
Pair of Oval Butterflyfish, rare, shallow… and the ever-present Yellow Tangs in background
Man, gotta love arriving and gear’s all set up, boat's in the water, just step on and go. All I gotta do is turn my head and look as the crew analyzes my tanks… yup, 32% nitrox, lock and load!
Not quite a “long-range” day going South, but mid-range (past Keauhou). Planning to do long range Day 12.
First dive was Driftwood which features a 40’ lava tube swim through in which Slipper Lobsters often hide. Also saw tons of Cowries, especially a large Tiger Cowry and a large Sponge Crab hidden very thoroughly, spotted by the Colin, the “nook and crannie” master of the day. The Sponge Crab will carve a piece of sponge and carry it around on its back… when it outgrows that piece it will go cut a new one. There was a bit of surge, which made picture taking tough, but it was a fun ride!
Then we jumped over to Kealakekua Bay to see if we go “sneak” lunch off the Fairwinds (a popular snorkeling boat), but instead deciding to go diving instead. Capt Chuck dropped us in at the Captain Cook Monument, and we swam south around the bay, underneath the Fairwinds, to the delight of many a snorkeler. K-Bay is very much a pretty fishie dive, but lots of rarer fish tend to be found there and are often more friendly due to “training” by the snorkelers (or maybe it's the fish that have trained the snorkelers?). Chuck then picked us up as different dive teams finished their dive 60 to 80 minutes later.
Day 10 Pictures
Surface Pic… still very little development down south
Tiger Cowry… bout 4 inches long, inside the lava tube
Sponge Crab… yes, he was very well hidden
Day 10 Kealakekua Bay Pictures
Postcard-Perfect Hawaiian Underwaterscape
DM Colin
Very Different Bottom Contour and Growth Here
A Closeup of Above… bonus points if you can find Colin in this pic
Bandit Anglefish, rare… 50ish feet
Crown-of-Thorns Sea Star… tons of them here
Different Varieties of Pencil Slate Urchins… again tons of these here
Reticulated Butterflyfish, rare, 7 feet, under the Fairwinds and very territorial
Spotted Pufferfish, 8-10 inches long, 10 feet, under Fairwinds
School of Chub(?)
Tons of Triggerfish
Pair of Ornate Butterflyfish
Pair of Oval Butterflyfish, rare, shallow… and the ever-present Yellow Tangs in background
Awesome shots of Kealakekua Bay. My fiancé and I did Snuba there (off the Fairwinds) in '04, and that's all she wrote... after that awesome experience, we decided we had to get SCUBA certified. Thanks for bringing back the memories. We are headed back there in May '06, and we are counting the days!
OP
Day 11 Highlights
Two words…. whale shark.
Four words rather… swimming with whale shark!... and pictures to prove it.
Whale shark 1
Whale shark 2
Words just cannot describe it… but Kaiwi is quickly becoming a favorite site of mine. Sorry the pictures aren’t the best, but it’s all we could get before he slinked off into the deep.
A little bit of swell and current picked today, so we did both dives at Kaiwi. Another light day on the boat with Colin Dive Mastering for us and DM Tim coming along on his day off with his sister. Only one other pair and DM on board!
The first dive was a hardcore nudibranch dive; we spent a large chunk of it in a small cavern carefully turning over every rock in the place and found some cool stuff. Almost every nudibranch imaginable: common sea hare, orange gumdrops, gold-lace, fellow’s slug, other flatworms, reticulated cowries, and other fun stuff, including a rather friendly turtle. I’m bummed none of the sea hare pictures came out in focus.
Second dive we had so much fun playing around in semi-dark places in 15’ of water, we did a little more. Brittle stars, crabs, and slipper lobsters.
Day 11 Pictures
Hermit crab
Great turtle close up
Rush hour traffic… of sorts
Colin and Tim rearranging the furniture
Light plays through one of the openings to this cavern
Orange Gumdrop
The underside of a Reticulated Cowry
Large Spiny Brittle Star
A flatworm I forgot the name of
(Keferstein’s?) Sea Cucumber
Fellows Slug Nudibranch
Pair of Gold-Lace Nudibranchs
Itty Bitty Spiny Brittle Star
Banded Coral Shrimp
Flowery Flounder
Very Colorful Slipper Lobster
Tim gets a little crabby (Red Liomera?)
Two words…. whale shark.
Four words rather… swimming with whale shark!... and pictures to prove it.
Whale shark 1
Whale shark 2
Words just cannot describe it… but Kaiwi is quickly becoming a favorite site of mine. Sorry the pictures aren’t the best, but it’s all we could get before he slinked off into the deep.
A little bit of swell and current picked today, so we did both dives at Kaiwi. Another light day on the boat with Colin Dive Mastering for us and DM Tim coming along on his day off with his sister. Only one other pair and DM on board!
The first dive was a hardcore nudibranch dive; we spent a large chunk of it in a small cavern carefully turning over every rock in the place and found some cool stuff. Almost every nudibranch imaginable: common sea hare, orange gumdrops, gold-lace, fellow’s slug, other flatworms, reticulated cowries, and other fun stuff, including a rather friendly turtle. I’m bummed none of the sea hare pictures came out in focus.
Second dive we had so much fun playing around in semi-dark places in 15’ of water, we did a little more. Brittle stars, crabs, and slipper lobsters.
Day 11 Pictures
Hermit crab
Great turtle close up
Rush hour traffic… of sorts
Colin and Tim rearranging the furniture
Light plays through one of the openings to this cavern
Orange Gumdrop
The underside of a Reticulated Cowry
Large Spiny Brittle Star
A flatworm I forgot the name of
(Keferstein’s?) Sea Cucumber
Fellows Slug Nudibranch
Pair of Gold-Lace Nudibranchs
Itty Bitty Spiny Brittle Star
Banded Coral Shrimp
Flowery Flounder
Very Colorful Slipper Lobster
Tim gets a little crabby (Red Liomera?)
Great reports. I'm going to be there the first week of October of this year. Can't wait. It wont be quite the season for whales, or whale sharks, but what the hell, maybe I will get lucky anyway.
Oh, your two links to the pictures of the whalesharks are not working at this time.
Oh, your two links to the pictures of the whalesharks are not working at this time.
OP
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