September 5th, 2001

Oahu, Hawaii - Day 3

Some High Resolution Pictures Now Available for the Island of Oahu!!!!

Tour Operator: Waikiki Diving (http://www.waikikidiving.com/)

Boat Harbor: Kuliouou Beach Park, Oahu, Hawaii.

Captain: ????

Boat: "Submariner"

Checkin 6:15 AM, Departure 7:15AM

Dive Sites: Turtle Canyon and Koko Crater

Today we got up bright and early to go to SCUBA dive.  We went with Waikiki Divers in Honolulu to the Maunalua Bay Beach Park to meet their dive boat.  After boarding the boat, we headed off into the bay for a dive site know as Turtle Canyon with a maximum depth of 35 feet.  Bottom time of 34 minutes.  Even though it was called Turtle canyon, we only saw one upon descent, none others seemed to be around!!!

The Big event here is Laura's first open water, in the ocean, boat SCUBA Dive.

The first neat thing that we saw, was an octopus that the dive master had found.

Here he goes......

I went swimming around a bit only to find a Moray Eel poking out from the coral...  It is the first time that I ever saw one of these and I thought it was very neat!!

The dive master on another dive was feeding the fish... not really recommended in Hawaii, but it provided a nice picture!!!

The next dive site was only a few hundred yards away called Koko Crater.  We got back on the boat, and I got a little seasick....  Laura and I were stuck in Honolulu Rush hour traffic and didn't have time to grab a bite to eat.  STUPID MISTAKE.  The waves made us feel REAL good!!!!!  On this dive, the Max Depth was 40 feet, Bottom time was 32 minutes.

Our Dive master found some natural food in a dead piece of coral, he broke it open and the fish started swarming.

Some close-ups of the fish feeding.

Alas!!!  A giant sea turtle...  Hmmmm... This one didn't swim away, he must be sleeping!!

DISTINCTIVE FEATURES: 1. One pair of plates between eyes.  2. Olive to dark brown shell with plates that do not overlap.
DESCRIPTION:  Known as honu in Hawaiian.  Green sea turtles are the only commonly sighted turtle in Hawaiian waters.  Many populations have been inflicted with fibropapillomatosis (FP) tumors. 

Hey... Here is another turtle.  He is very happily swimming...  but he doesn't want to pose for a photo... he just keeps on going!!!

Laura and I were both pretty exhausted after this dive, and we decided to get some lunch, but we were only 1 mile away from one of Oahu's prime snorkeling spots... Hanauma Bay. So we drove over to the park and got out our snorkeling gear...  

Beautiful Hanauma Bay... note the light colored water and dark water... The light colored water where the bottom is sand, the dark areas are coral.  Most of the water that is close to shore that is above the coral is only about 1 1/2 feet deep... Just enough to float over if you are very careful.

Here we saw a beautiful Parrotfish and some other species.

DISTINCTIVE FEATURES: 1. Symmetrical bullet-shaped head.
DESCRIPTION:  Terminal is variable in color, but generally blue/green with orange wash on sides.  Initial phase is dark brown with red around head, double row of white spots, large dark spot on tail.

DISTINCTIVE FEATURES: 1. Six black bands.
DESCRIPTION: Yellowish cream to white or silvery. Single retractile spine at base of tale.

DISTINCTIVE FEATURES:  1. Broad orange saddle behind head.
DESCRIPTION:  Green body with blue/purple head, separated by bright orange saddle.  Initial phase have a black stripe that runs the length of the body and a white belly.  Endemic to Hawaii.

Next I saw my first Red Pencil Urchin.  It was pretty neat.  I had to swim almost 15 feet down to get a close-up of this thing... It was tough to do with the currents that were going on.   Not a tough feat with SCUBA, but I only had a snorkel!!!! 

Ahhhh.. Another turtle... he didn't want to stick around either!!

A nice piece of coral, note all the tiny sea urchins living in the holes of the coral.

As we came back in, the tide was coming in too, and the fish were in a feeding frenzy!!!

DISTINCTIVE FEATURES: 1. Six black bands.
DESCRIPTION: Yellowish cream to white or silvery. Single retractile spine at base of tale.

DISTINCTIVE FEATURES: 1. Narrow bands of small brown spots. 2. Black band at base of tail.
DESCRIPTION:  Pale body with several brown bars that are widely spaced.  Black band at base of tail.  Endemic to Hawaii.

A neat shot of Koko Head as we exited the Hanauma Bay park....

After diving we went to a BIG mall in Hololulu called the Ala Moana Shopping Mall.  It was big, so we didn't stay too long.

Well, with 2 dives, 2-1/2 hours of snorkeling, and some shopping, we were beat!!!!  Goodnight!!!!