OCEAN – BIG ISLAND
KONA SIDE
We flew in for the for Queen Lilio canoe race (see
separate entry.) I went directly north
to do a little research for my book and then while Gil and the boys rigged the
canoes, I went for a five hour boat snorkel trip – one daylight and one night
time to be with Manta Rays. Kona Diving
Company is a really fun outfit with a nice boat out of Honokohou Harbor
Dive Boat - Kona Diving Company
Katie (Octopus head) - leader of scuba!
Manta Heaven - cove just north of the airport
Hualalai - older volcano than either Mauna Kea or Mauna Loa - 8300'
The day dive was not so hot as it was pretty cloudy and late, 5:30pm but I did get to see a large porcupine fish. I had trouble with my snorkel and was happy to get it resolved before the night adventure. Back on board we had soup
and wraps and silliness while the sun went down gifting us with a green flash
on the horizon. Minutes later, the full
moon came up and as a blue moon it was pretty exciting. Katie led the divers, David the snorkelers.
Blue Moon 8/31/12
Fun to watch it come up over the old volcano (see above)
Other boats drifted in, form a circle and started setting the shared stage for the mantas. Flood lights are placed on the sea floor about 35 feet down so that they project up. These lights draw plankton and as it thickens (like snow), the mantas come to feed. There is no other feeding done and no touching; it is harmful to them to lose the gel-like protective coating on their skin.
Setting the stage for the mantas
The lights attract plankton (microscopic shrimp), the plankton attracts fish & manta rays
The mantas are
keenly aware of the divers who sit on the bottom and the snorkelers who float
on top. Each top group has a board or
light ring with lights projecting down; the divers on the bottom have lights
that shine upward. We were the last
group in and the last to leave, alone with 31 mantas up to 16 feet across. At one point, David got excited and talked
about a young male that was somersaulting like the adults because just the week
before he was afraid of everyone – now he was cavorting with the rhythm of the others. They warned us about getting excited but my
heart rate slowed and I felt in sync with the creatures whose method was to
come near the top (us) and roll their whole body so that we were belly to
belly. With the water column lit up for 35
feet, we could see layers of turning.
Their slow and deliberate motion is hypnotic
Manta Magic
Manta freckles
They are all named and are listed in a national data base.
White undersides with black freckles are as distinctive as fingerprints.
I forget the lower one’s name but we noticed the shaka near the upper one's vents!
Next day, 9/1, was Gil's race (see separate post). Once that was completed we were on vacation again.
On the 2nd we headed back to Honaunau Bay and snorkeled at Two-Step, right here where the guys’ race started the day before, gorgeous.
Two Step - at Honaunau Bay
We hit a low tide and couldn’t cross some of the reef we had swam over last year. Stunning sights, some fishes we don’t see on Kauai . Typically the Kona waters are extremely clear since the young island doesn’t have streams bringing silt out of the old mountains, but since there is fresh water mixing with the salt water, I had lots of blur at the top in places. Gil free-dives better than I do and he said about three feet down it was crystal clear.
Yellow Tangs, a Goldring surgeonfish, a Whiteband surgeonfish,
three Orangeband surgeonfish, and a supermale Bullethead parrotfish, far right
Gil's initial phase Bullethead Parrotfish
(see supermale phase above that has turned to blues/yellows/greens)
Gil's Spotted Pufferfish - about 12" long
At home we have the Hawaiian Toby in this family that gets to 31/2 inches!
Gil's Pinktail Durgon or Triggerfish
He is dark brown with almost lingerie looking white fins trimmed in black ribbon
& a delicate pink tail!
& a delicate pink tail!
Related to the Black Durgon (with blue piping) I showed in Kauai - Ocean post recently
I've only seen one of these at home
Nearly three dozen Racoon Butterflyfish
I hit a big patch of fresh water mixing with the salt water,
it is like looking through very wavy glass, even more-so in back
Clear again, I got this rare Big Longnose Butterflyfish
What a privilege to swim with the fishes at Kona
I had seen a White-tip Reef Shark here last year, not today
I had seen a White-tip Reef Shark here last year, not today
BIG ISLAND
– PUNA SIDE
We got out of the Bay and dumped a little fresh warm water over our
heads and headed up to Volcano. With
four days there we took one out (Tues 9/4) to re-visit the tide pools at Kapoho in the Puna
district. Having snorkeled there during
the March 2011 tsunami (while the water was wreaking havoc on the Kona side),
we wanted to visit it again. We both had
problems with the disks in our camera masks so there were very few pics of our
stunning experience. They are all in our
head. The shallow tidepools serve as a nursery and nearly all the fish are in miniature.
Kapoho tidepools
Domino Damselfish or Hawaiian Dascyllus
The one on left is the size of a quarter and the little one here is like my thumnail
These are real charmers, the little one has been instructed to hide (there is an even smaller one in the coral) and the bigger one (also a juvenile) is chasing me away
Orangespine Unicornfish and a Hawaiian Cleaner Wrasse
bottom right: a Blue-eye Damselfish
bottom right: a Blue-eye Damselfish
This deeper tidepool also serves as a cleaning station. Several Racoon butterflyfish were waiting under a rock shelf for their turn. During the cleaning and waiting, the fish seem to be in an altered state of suspended animation - like at the spa!
Saddle Wrasse on left about 5", Gosline's Fangblenny on right, 2.5" max
The saddle wrasse is easily the most common fish anywhere I snorkel. I really don't even notice them most of the time. The nasty little endemic Fangblenny (on right) is also called a scale-eating blenny but he takes chunks!
Ironically, when I started identifying fish I had a hard time telling the difference between a juvenile Saddle Wrass and the Fangblenny because the size and coloration are really close. Now I know the shape and wonder at how I could have been confused. I think it took getting bit on the leg to drive it home!
A few seconds later I saw a really pissed off Lavendar tang, fins flared, chasing this guy. Very unlike the calm cleaning station!
We finally drug ourselves out of the water, away from the drama, and drove another mile up the road to the volcanically heated man-made pond called
Ahalanui. It was built as a sort of
plunge in a park with rock walls and sand bottom but some geothermal phenomenon
came along and it is now heated! This is
in the vicinity of the plant that harnesses volcanic steam for energy. A living volcanic island is really exciting. After our relaxing swim and picnic we headed
back up to Volcano
Village
Ahalanui Beach Park
The plunge was cold water when built and underground eruptions in 1955 and 1960 accessed a geothermal heating system;
now the water temperature is usually in the low 90s.
now the water temperature is usually in the low 90s.
Fresh sea water comes in the channel and vents out along the sides,
otherwise it may be too hot!
Many of the visitors here were Europeans who are used to outdoor spas.
Many of the visitors here were Europeans who are used to outdoor spas.
A really sweet spot, we enjoyed the shady picnic tables and shower
the graffiti here is nice too - the only Blue-lined butterflyfish I saw!
Kapoho Tidepools – again!
After
another day of forest, visiting the conservation birds, and Volcano glow after dark on Wed, we headed for Hilo on Thursday 9/6
Gil in the bottom of the largest tidepool, clicking his camera mask,
this time with new batts and the disk
Gil's Ornate Butterflyfish - about like an 8" dinner plate
These guys usually travel in pairs
We see them regularly on Kauai, they are so incredible, it is always a special experience
I
was so thrilled here about the coral – just a fantasy land. The film clip gives a hint, but not the true
color palette. This is the largest of the tidepools we swam in.
There
are relatively few species of fish here, again the tidepools act as a nursery for
little guys, and a cleaning station for small fish. the outer reef has the bigger guys, we can sort of peek at them but no access without climbing over the lava barriers in between. The butterflyfish really stand out,
especially when this shallow.
Threadfin butterflyfish - also about 8"
Time
to say goodbye to the tidepools. The sky
wept for us, giving us both a rainbow and slippery lava to work our way back
across.
Aloha Kapoho - thank you for sharing the treasures you hold
We did return to Ahalanui Park just to warm up in the thermal pool before the cold shower clean-up to fly home.
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