In all this time, we had never dived in relatively closeby Hawaii, so it was about to fix that :)
The Big Island
Since we were on the Big Island first, and we had planned to be on the Aggressor, we just didn't do any shore diving. The aggressor had a total of 27 dives available (I did 23 of them, Jennifer a few fewer to rest), so that was going to be more than enough for Kona diving.
see the fish?
(video, click me)
(video, click me)
cleaning shrimp
slipper lobster, so easy to catch and yummy :)
(video, click me)
plancton
my first hammerhead shark
nice turtle video
same turtle going to the surface to breathe
killing a crown of thorns, they are a pest that eat coral
nice octopus
little eel trying to swim away from us
nice scorpionfish flying
see the fish?
it was a scorpion fish
The diving was pretty good, but the two Manta Ray night dives were specifically impressive. Those do count as a "something you have to do in your life" if you are a diver or snorkler.
The bad news however is that on our second Manta Ray night dive, we had a some current and I got pushed from the rock I was landed on. End result, due to my boyancy being heavily set to make me sink so that I could stay at the bottom while both my hands were busy, I fell on a sea urchin and got about 20 spines in my right leg just 3mn into the dive (one hand was busy holding the diving light and the other hand was taking pictures, so it was hard to hang on). The short story is that it did hurt like a bitch during the entire dive, but the second night Manta Ray dive was still incredible. As for the sea urchin spines, they broke off and stayed in my leg, but after applying bleach on them I was better about 3-4 days later.
one of the mantas from mantaville
and back during the manta ray night dive
20 sea urchin spikes in my leg, that did hurt like a bitch
The Aggressor was a good boat, and their staff was fantastic. The only downside of course is that it's not cheap.
Patty gave us nicely folded fresh towels every day
cocktail party with our friendly staff
See all pictures from the Kona Aggressor
Maui
Maui was next. I organized dives with Ed Robinson for all days but one, and Pro Divers for the remaining dive. Pro Divers was good, but since they only have one boat with 6 divers, you do get stuck with the other divers on your boat, which could be a problem if there is a big difference in skill level (although they try to avoid that).
Ed Robinson however was even better. They knew their fish too, but they have 2 boats which can take 2 groups each, so you're more likely to end up in the level just for you (which also matters if you dive deep with nitrox since you can stay at the bottom longer). We also really enjoyed the 3 dive days and the special "dive with Ed" day. Ed is the owner for more than 20 years and knows everything that's in the water. It was well worth it.
nice cleaner shrimp (video, click me)
(video, click me)
Manta Ray with two remoras attached
(video, click me)
Very nice Eagle Ray
(video, click me)
Octopuses are fun to play with
birdies came after each dive for some snaky cakes
See all pictures from Maui
Kauai
Kauai was last (but not least). We went with Fathom Five for diving, as recomended by our book. They were quite good, the other thing I did not care for was the mandatory briefing at their shop and basically throwing an hour away on any subsequent day of diving instead of being able to meet them directly at the boat. For the rest, they were quite professional and knew their stuff.
We however did one other dive with Kauai Scuba aka Mana Divers, to try a DPV (underwater propulsion vehicle) and I cannot recommend them for their policies and front desk staff. See my More interested in your money than your safety review on google maps for details as to why I would avoid them.
During the dives, I found a place filled with lobsters, and waited patiently for our last day which was just when lobster season had opened. Unfortunately, the one I plucked was both a female and a tad too small, so we had to thrown it back in the water. Bummer :)
2 frogfish
dinner, although just 2 days before lobster season was opened
DPV dive
Monk seal
caught dinner :)
but had to put it back, it was a female and too small
trip to Niihau
Monk Seal in Niihau
See all pictures from Kawaii
Conclusion
Hawaii definitely has plenty to offer for diving. It might not be one of the 10 best spots in the world, but it's definitely not too shabby. Also, compared to many other dive spots, on the side of non diving activities you can do when you're above water, the Hawaii islands definitely have a lot to offer.
See all diving pictures |
