Matt wanted to get as many dives into this trip as possible, so he went on another trip this morning. The group went out to 92' depth and swam through some reef caverns. Matt said there was all sorts of marine life down there that we hadn't seen before when we went snorkeling.
The divemaster was very excited to see this sea slug (or nudibranch?), as he said it's not a very common one for that area.
Matt in his dive gear. So handsome, isn't he?
The lovely eel that wouldn't have minded biting a hand if given the chance. They have lockjaws, so if bitten, the only way to escape is to cut off their head and then remove it later on. Yikes.
After the 92' dive, they surfaced and boated over to another area for a shallower 45' depth dive. Matt had a total blast. I was kind of bummed to see all his pics and videos that night. I really wish that I could go diving too...
But instead, I went kayaking. My group drove over to Kapohe (?) beach and set out from there. It is considered one of the top ten beaches in the world. I could see why. Perfect white sand with an intense green and blue ocean. We left the beach around 9:30 am and set out to Mokulele Island, just under 2 miles away. I and another gal had single kayaks, the others in the group went tandem since they were all couples.
Mokulele Island is a bird sanctuary for a particular Hawaiian species. Our guide taught us about it's habitat and lifestyle. There were little potholes of sorts covering the entire hill on the side we shored on. Each hole had a bird inside, preparing it's nest for mating. It was pretty crazy looking.
On the other side of the island lies Shark's Cavern. The surf was calm enough that our guide was able to take us out there. It was a hike! We had to climb up and over boulder after boulder of sharp lava rock to get there. Once we did, we were able to jump in and snorkel in the pool. The only bad part about getting in and out was that the tide would slam us against the rock edge in the process. My knee got bumped and evidently, my derriere as well (that particular area hurt that night, but didn't show a bruise until the next day. The size of a grapefruit.). There are also multiple rock diving spots off the cliff. I jumped twice from the 15 ft ledge. That was fun. Except for the uber strong saline rinse up the nose both times. Yuck.
The trip back was just as great as going to the island, although I was definitely more tired at the end. We did see a couple of sea turtles as we returned. I'm really glad I went. Just a small bit of red around my shoulders where my lifejacket had rubbed off my (4x!) applied sunscreen.
Sorry to disappoint with no pics of my jaunt. I did purchase an el cheapo waterproof camera, but I actually have to take it in to get the film developed!
Dinner at the oldest hotel in Waikiki, owned by Westin Hotels. The tables were set out on the courtyard next to the beach and a local Hawaiian band played music all evening. Someone commented on Matt's nice shirt-"Armanai, Manhattan?" Nope. Costco, Montana. LOL.
No comments:
Post a Comment