Enjoy your visit! If I had a second to spare Id be happy to show you what I know. If your plans fall through this weekend, give me a yell. Im still trying to figure out what Im doing this weekend but it will involve being underwater. Aloha!
Oahu in August
- Thread starter mccabejc
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jwlast
Guest
North Shore has some good snorkeling. Little used spot is between Three Tables and Sharks Cove right behind the fire station. Entry is a bit rock so good reef shoes or booties are a must. Very nice uncrowded spot for diving or snorkeling. Park in the Sharks Cove parking lot all the way at the end (toward Foodland) and you shouldn't have any trouble finding it.
jwlast
Guest
Little used spot is right between Three Tables and Sharks Cove, directly behind the fire station. Very good snorkeling.
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.
chepar
Contributor
jwlast:
That spot is known as Firehouse - you can park in the parking lot adjacent to the fire station - no need to park at Shark's Cove. The site is not as well known as Shark's Cove or Three Tables, but the parking lot does get full on weekends by 9 am.
The nice thing about Three Tables, Firehouse and Shark's Cove is that they are all adjacent to each other and it's relatively easy to park at one and walk to the rest, if you're so inclined.
Hey, McCabeJC. On 8/11 Thurs morn, was that you padding around the Shark's Cove Lagoon, wrapped in the Coast Guard-approved neon beach blanket and hat? Without my glasses or mask on, the blur looked similar to your avatar pic. I was the guy at the break in the lagoon (a spot we call the "Chute" because of the inrushing funnel of water when the surf's up) making deep dives into shallow water with my wife and dog (they were just watching, waiting to see if my carcass would surface again).
OP
mccabejc
Contributor
bluemagoo:
Yeah, that was probably me. As a matter of fact, we JUST got back from a second snorkeling trip to Shark's Cove this morning. That place is incredible. Until around 10am, that is, when the place gets so packed you can barely move. We got there at 6:30 this morning and it was wonderful. We almost had the place to ourselves.
We're leaving tomorrow PM to head back to LA. Sorry I didn't get a chance to meet any of you folks. I didn't get a chance to scuba dive, but I did a lot of skindiving to practice for the advanced scuba class I'm taking.
By the way, in case anyone is heading to Oaha, here's some free recommendations:
You MUST do the helicopter ride
You MUST go up to Shark's Cove for snorkeling/diving
You MUST NOT bother with the Paradise Cove luau.
While you're up at Shark's Cove, you might want to drive over to the Turtle Bay Resort. We swam with turtles there and had a great lunch at the restaurant.
Snorkeling along Kapiolani Park in Waikiki is fun, but nowhere near as good as Shark's Cove. We did see some turtles off of Sans Souci beach which was pretty cool. Have a picnic and watch the sunset.
Manoa Falls is pretty cool. Mosquitoes are pretty nasty, so bring repellent.
Go surfing off Waikiki Beach. Get there at sunrise before the swarms of tourists arrive.
Get up real (I mean REAL) early (say 4:30am) and walk around Waikiki. It's gorgeous, the early morning weather is perfect, and it's so quiet.
Kailua Beach (on the windward side) is gorgeous, and a great place for a picnic. Also Lanikai (?) Beach, which is south of Kailua, is gorgeous.
Anyway, I think I'm the only one who loves Oahu and Waikiki far more than any of the other islands. It's possibly my favorite vacation spot. Just incredible.
mccabejc:
Sorry for not introducing myself. Although myopic, I should've listened to The Force anyway. I hesitated because it was strange that you weren't walking about with a least a mask and snorkel in hand; your wife and daughter looked good to go. On the other hand, it IS strange that you actually like it in Wakiwaki!?
Well at least Kailua Beach also got the thumbs-up and I'm glad you enjoyed your stay. Come back soon...you haven't seen it all... (e.g. now that you've seen Shark's Cove as a pond, next you've got to see it when winter surf thunders 10+ft higher than the highest rocks and with whitewater surging up to the driveway wall in the area between the restrooms and volleyball court :icon10: )
OP
mccabejc
Contributor
bluemagoo, I finally remembered...were you the folks who were swimming with your dog in that big shallow swimming pool area on the left (east) side of Sharks Cove when we were coming back from exploring that cool reef area? I had forgotten you were going to be walking your dog there. Anyway, we had just been watching the swells surge up over the edge of the flat reef. Very cool. We had arrived there real early Thurs morning (before 7am), and I had already spent a lot of time skindving. I just can't get over Shark's Cove. The underwater structure is just incredible, and it really is like swimming in an aquarium. And that cave on the left side is cool.
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