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Welcome to my tropical pages SNORKELING ADVENTURES ON THE BIG ISLAND
One thing I was really looking forward to during this trip was snorkeling. I had heard the fish and corals were gorgeous in the Pacific Ocean so I couldn't wait to jump in and see them. We found a place called Honaunau Bay which was about a 30 minute drive from our hotel on the Kona Coast. The beach, if you could call it that, was mostly black lava which we stepped out onto to enter the water, using the steps formed by the lava.
I wish I could describe how beautiful it was under the water. A disposable camera just doesn't do it justice. We were so impressed with this bay that we snorkled there twice. Besides the tropical fish and the corals there was also a sea turtle who cruised by us as we swam. I tried to keep up with it to get pictures but only managed to get shots as it swam away.
At one spot underwater someone had spelled the word "Aloha" with white rocks. One thing I especially remember was snorkeling along with the floor about 20 feet below me then, suddenly, I swam out over a huge drop-off and the view below me was spectacular. It went on forever it seemed and was so colorful. Here are a few shots that will show just a sampling of what we saw, although on film it's not nearly as colorful as it was in person.
Snorkeling in that particular area was free, just a small parking fee if you couldn't find a spot along the road. Our other snorkeling adventure cost a little more but was also worth it. We booked a rafting and snorkeling trip with a company called Sea Quest out of Keauhou Bay on the afternoon of 8/9. We were fitted with masks and fins then off we went to the raft to meet the guide and the two other passengers who went with us. The ride was a little bumpy but lots of fun and we arrived at Kealakekua Bay in about 40 minutes. This is the bay where the Captain Cook Monument stands on the shore.
We had about an hour to snorkel among the colorful fish in this bay. The corals were not as interesting as the other spot but there were so many fish to see we hardly noticed. We have a yellow tang in our aquarium at home so those caught my eye, and there were a million of them to see. Below are pictures of the tangs and of a parrot fish which were also abundant in these waters.
At the end of the hour we were called back to the raft and our guide had fruit and taro chips for us to eat, plus juice to drink. Then we headed back up the coast, a little slower in spots so she could point out the interesting areas and tell us some of the history of the cliffs along the way. Seems that ancient Hawaiians were afraid of evil spirits and of the color red. These cliffs had a reddish color in them due to iron deposits and, at one point, a face appears in the side of one cliff (pic on left). The eyes were actually old lava tubes (close-up of the tube is on the right) but the ancients thought this was an evil spirit with a red face so they stayed away from that area.
 
The guide also showed us caves cut into the cliffs from the wave action and areas where the locals go cliff diving. Not sure I'd want to try it but there were a few hardy souls diving at one point. She got us back to the dock safe and sound in about an hour and we all agreed it was a great trip. Snorkeling is only one thing that is easy to do in Hawaii, and fishing is another. The fishing in Hawaii is different than in our home state of Florida. The best fishing in Florida is miles offshore but, in Hawaii, it's just off the coast. We had gone on a half day fishing excursion right before this raft ride so we got to experience both adventures all in one day.
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