Hanauma

The most popular snorkel spot on O'ahu is Hanauma Bay, a Nature Preserve near the southeastern tip of the island. The bay gets its approximately 3/4 circle shape from its history as a volcanic crater, and it boasts an extensive reef with easy access. I'd gone there a couple times before, but I don't think it was any time within the past 10 years. The first time I went was almost 20 years ago (I'm so old!), back when they still let people feed the fish. On this first trip to Hanauma, I remember that with just one step into the ocean, there would be tons of fish swirling around my ankles. That's not the case anymore, likely because people can't feed the fish. And it's just as well; the other thing I remember from my first visit to Hanauma was getting bitten by a largish fish (it made me bleed and we had to go to a lifeguard for a band-aid), probably because my little fingertips dangling in the water looked a lot like the pellets that people were feeding to the fish.

Anyway, this morning the Housemate and I went to Hanauma Bay. These days, they make you watch a video about not touching the reef or harassing any of the animals before letting you walk down to the bay. I was pleased to receive free admission to the park, now that I'm kama'aina.

Here's a photo overlooking the bay. The panoramic stitch isn't perfect, but it's not bad.


We spent most of our morning at Hanauma snorkeling. The great thing was that the Housemate has a waterproof camera. I've never done any underwater photography before, but I got a couple cool shots of the fish and honu. We were actually trading the camera back and forth, so for the most part I'm not sure which of us took which photos. But here are some of the underwater photos from our snorkeling adventure. Enjoy!


humuhumunukunukuapua'a


No clue what kind of fish this is, but it's got some cool spots.


uhu (parrotfish)


Looks kind of goby-ish, but I'm no ichthyologist. Nice camouflage.


Looks like a tang, I think.


Graceful honu


Me, hangin' with the fishies