Moving to the Big Island

[MonkeyKnifeFight]

Hey folks I'm going to be moving to the Big Island in November and definitely plan on doing some diving. Initially I'm going to be working on a farm at the north end of the island near Honoka'a which is about as far from my familiar dive sites as possible. Do people do much diving in that neck of the woods or is it mostly going to be travelling over to the west side? Any dive groups or anything in that area? I'm used to California diving so I don't mind roughing it a bit but I also do photography so big swells don't make that any easier.

 

[Hank49]

You'll be living in what I consider to be one of the most beautiful places on the planet. However, that coastline is pretty rugged and hard to access. But you're not that far from the west side. You're lucky. The Big Island is unreal. Coming over the mountain from Hawi early morning and seeing Mauna Kea covered in snow....awesome.
What kind of farm are you working on, if you don't mind me asking. I had a job offer in Kona a few months ago. A shrimp breeding center.

 

[MonkeyKnifeFight]

Honestly I'm not too sure yet. I have a friend over there now working on getting a WWOOF program going so I'm gonna be her guinea pig. I'll probably do that for as long as it's working out for me and then figure things out from there. I'm fleeing Silicon Valley life to look for something that fits me better. I want to be diving a lot so I wouldn't be surprised if I end up drifting towards the west side. I'll have my camping gear and dive/camera gear so if I can score a beater vehicle I'll pretty much be set.

 

[diversteve]

I think it's mostly northwest diving from there. From Honoka'a take 19 thru Parker Ranch and it comes out near Mauna Kea (the golf course) I'm fairly sure there's some elevation on that road also which may affect your post-dive deco plans. From Waikoloa Coast Divers website:

All Scuba Dives must be completed at least 24 hours prior to flight time or ascent to Mauna Kea summit.

The closest sites once you get to the coast are probably around Puako. Shore Dive Site Listing for: The Big Island

There's about 4-5 dive operators in Waikoloa also. Waikoloa Coast Divers and Kohala Divers are two I'm familiar with. Kohala dives as far north as the Puako area. They also rent tanks, have a fill station on-site, etc. http://www.kohaladivers.com/divecenter.html