Oahu in August

[mccabejc]

Gonna be in Waikiki from August 9 - 17, and I want to take the non-diving family somewhere with great snorkeling, where I can also do some nice easy shore dives. I was initially thinking of going to Hanauma Bay, but I was there last year and was very disappointed about the sad state of the reef compared to my last trip back in the 1980's. Not much marine life, and too many maroons walking on the reef.

Anyway, sounds like my best bet is to go to the north shore and hit places like Shark's Cove and Three Tables, is that right? I'm sure the family would get a big thrill from snorkeling with turtles. Any other recommendations? Also, anyone wanna hook up and do some diving that week? Thanks much.

 

[Wildcard]

I can't tell you yet but by then I'll be able to. Headed back to the islands for a few months tomorrow. I'll be working on the north shore, prolly living there and for sure diving there every chance I get.

 

[chepar]

Gonna be in Waikiki from August 9 - 17, and I want to take the non-diving family somewhere with great snorkeling, where I can also do some nice easy shore dives. I was initially thinking of going to Hanauma Bay, but I was there last year and was very disappointed about the sad state of the reef compared to my last trip back in the 1980's. Not much marine life, and too many maroons walking on the reef.

Anyway, sounds like my best bet is to go to the north shore and hit places like Shark's Cove and Three Tables, is that right? I'm sure the family would get a big thrill from snorkeling with turtles. Any other recommendations? Also, anyone wanna hook up and do some diving that week? Thanks much.

To be perfectly honest, if you're looking for abundant sea life (like snorkeling in an aquarium), Hanauma Bay will probably beat any other snorkeling site on the island. I love diving up at the North Shore - but you're not going to see as much sea life like you would at Hanauma. Unless you're going to "power snorkel" and get out further than the average person paddling around, you'll see stuff, but not a huge amount. I've seen turtles come in relatively close, but it's seldom.

You might also want to try night snorkeling at Hanauma on Saturday. The park stays open until around 10:00, and it will be something different for people that typically only snorkel in the day.

Three Tables is my favorite shore diving site - it doesn't get much easier than at that beach. Shark's Cove is nice too, but there's this dirt hill that you have to hump your gear up/down each time - by mid morning the path is muddy from everyone walking back and forth on it and I'm always afraid that I'll go sliding down the hill with all my gear on. Parking is a lot better at Shark's Cove, though. Firehouse (between Shark's Cove and Three Tables) is a pretty good site, too.

Anyway, during the summer I dive at Three Tables as often as I can on Sunday mornings. If your schedule allows (and you don't mind getting up early) maybe we can meet up. Parking up on the north shore is tight and fills up quick on the weekends, so by necessity we meet by 8 a.m.

 

[bluemagoo]

Gonna be in Waikiki from August 9 - 17, and I want to take the non-diving family somewhere with great snorkeling, where I can also do some nice easy shore dives. I was initially thinking of going to Hanauma Bay, but I was there last year and was very disappointed about the sad state of the reef compared to my last trip back in the 1980's. Not much marine life, and too many maroons walking on the reef.

Anyway, sounds like my best bet is to go to the north shore and hit places like Shark's Cove and Three Tables, is that right? I'm sure the family would get a big thrill from snorkeling with turtles. Any other recommendations? Also, anyone wanna hook up and do some diving that week? Thanks much.

I was kind of thinkin' that Kahe Beach Park might be good. The area in front and to the right of the cooling pool is fairly shallow and not frequented by the diving classes -- or you could park at Electric Beach which is on the other side of the cooling pool and snorkel left. The more popular areas off to the left in front of the parking lot aren't bad either (it's one of two places I've ever seen a Hawaiian flame angel) and the warm water exhausting from the cooling tubes support prolific coral growth (just use great caution with the currents and eddies, even if you're a confident swimmer). Look for breaks in the bottom; peering into some of the larger holes may reveal resting whitetip sharks -- don't block the exit!! The huge downside to Kahe and Electric Beach are the car break-ins. Weekends are kind of ok because of the security of numbers; lots of divers. Pelagics occasionally come in close, including dolphins -- thrilling but unfortunately, this also includes large tigers and, having handled the shredded remnants of diving gear from a notorious incident in the late 80's, I'm extremely wary in the deeper ends of the reef.

Believe it or not, the man-made lagoons at the Ihilani/Ko Olina resort are also decent for fish spotting. They are also ideal for families with youngsters; clean restrooms, nicely raked sand with a fringing lawn that's actually well kept, private lifeguards. Lagoons 2 and 3 are the best; Lagoon 4 is pretty much just featureless sand; it's also fairly new and the fish haven't populated as much as the other two lagoons. Go early because parking is extremely limited, maybe 2 dozen stalls at each lagoon and you're not allowed to park anywhere else (but you can wait in the car while your family has a great time without you); weekdays are better bets since the locals will be dragging their butts at work. The best time to be there is with the dropping tide; otherwise, the surge through the breakwaters stir up the viz. Depth at most is maybe 10ft. Not exactly swarming with fish but there's enough to keep things interesting; goatfish (weke), various butterflys and tangs, baby trevallys (papio), treadfins (moi), and hard-to-spot peacock flounders (follow the weke or dive down and fan the sand until they flush).

Early to mid-August is also a good time to go tidepool exploring to look for juvenile reef fish. Convict tangs (manini), flagtails (a'holehole), racoon/milletseed/threadfin butterflys, various sergeant-majors (mamo and kupipi), bright-eye damsels, and jumping jacks are the most common. Small hermit crabs are everywhere.

 

[justleesa]

I don't do much shore diving ( ok, close to none), So I can't chime in on this. But it looks like you've gotten some good advice here...Looking forward to seeing you here soon!

 

[bluemagoo]

I don't do much shore diving ( ok, close to none), So I can't chime in on this. But it looks like you've gotten some good advice here...Looking forward to seeing you here soon!

...one of those lucky pups, huh? Twice, we were so far offshore that passing boats actually drifted by to see if we were in trouble -- all we had to say was "Thanks but it's just that we're too poor to ride". To show what buttheads we were, when those boats first waved at us, we were thinking *they* were having a problem and were flagging us down to help! Older'n wiser for that kind of adventure now....

 

[justleesa]

yup being married to the instructor has it's advantages

 

[bluemagoo]

yup being married to the instructor has it's advantages

...ahhh, but you're missing the spice of life: the sensation of gear increasing its tonnage while humping it over ankle-busting rocks and armor-piercing kiawe thorns, being skinned alive on surf exits over rock shelves, long tiring swims, getting face-planted by the shorebreak (a longtime Makapuu lifeguard told me that at Sandy Beach, people have been slammed so hard that sand got forced into their eye sockets, eee-yuck).... But I'll concede that in a good chop, a boat's no fun either; getting a facial from a heaving hull or ladder rung is not high on my "to do" list...

 

[justleesa]

Yeah, I have been black and blue in spots I didn't think I could get black and blue! One day it was sooo bad that I fell well getting ready to jump - right on my reg. Reg survived, but the B&B mark stayed with me for weeks! Ouch!

 

[bluemagoo]

Yeah, I have been black and blue in spots I didn't think I could get black and blue! One day it was sooo bad that I fell well getting ready to jump - right on my reg. Reg survived, but the B&B mark stayed with me for weeks! Ouch!

Sounds like one of those days -- squirming to get off the old vomit-comet and then scratching to get back aboard with nothing broken, especially yourself.... It's not so much the boat (or shore) as it is the bulky scuba gear... I'd like to try something smaller, like a 40, when the dive's 45ft or less.