It's that time of year and I usually drop a post offering to help divers coming to Kauai as it pertains to Niihau. It's truly some of the very best diving in the islands and if you are an advanced diver in my humble opinion it is a must see. Niihau is an advanced 3 tank trip that includes encounters with the critically endangered Hawaiian Monk Seal, several potential species of sharks, commonly seen rays, large game fish like the Giant Trevally (Ulua), Hawaiian Spinner dolphins, incredible nudibranchs ( tiny is amazing too! ), and soooo much more. The trip is an all day adventure leaving in the early morning hours and returning late afternoon. The channel crossing can be "memorable" (specifically the return) so excellent sea legs are suggested. To really experience the best day possible the trip should be for divers with excellent buoyancy control, air consumption, and the ability to closely monitor nitrogen levels and depth obviously. The topography at Niihau and Lehua rock is amazing and includes wall dives, pinnacles, large lava tubes, caverns and swim throughs of varied size. Currents "can" be quite strong and divers should be comfortable drifting. Ascent and descent lines are not available on all dives - so it's important to know exactly how much weight you need to do free ascents and descents in current. Many divers wisely choose to do a check out or warm up dive prior to the Niihau run. These again are just the best suggestions I can offer to have a perfect experience out at the magical island of Niihau. There are several companies offering this trip with varied group and boat sizes so that is an important consideration. Some companies also fish during the trip which can be exciting for many guests - but some prefer fishing not be done - so it's good to know your companies activities. Nitrox is (again in my humble opinion) a must for at least 2 of the three tanks especially if you are good on air. Divers with good air consumption can get 3 hours of bottom time. Niihau is multi-level and doesn't necessarily need to be deep diving. The majority of seal and shark encounters ( sand bar specifically )happen 60ft and above. For divers wishing to go deeper - some of the wall dives certainly allow for it. Photographers interested in seeing deep water anthias or Tinkers Butterflyfish will sometimes be guided down briefly to the 100-120 depth for example by some of the experienced dive guides. I just offer that as an example - and those are air dives when appropriate for obvious reasons. Anyway .... It's an exciting time of year for all of us as Niihau crew / guides as our season opens. If life is bringing you to the island this summer please feel free to reach out if I can help with your above or below planning. Lots of Aloha and nitrogen from Kauai !
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