Saturday, September 5, 2009

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

8 comments:

Unknown said...

Oooh that looks wonderful!

Eleni said...

Hanauma Bay is such a popular spot that it can get pretty crowded at times, but it does mean that the fish are really used to people. They won't exactly let you pet them (not that that would be allowed anyway), but they do allow for some pretty good photos :)

Sebastian Anthony said...

Awesome! A humuhumunukunukuapua'a! (Would be cool if that was a palindrome...)

Your cheeks look kinda fat.

*disillusioned*

Eleni said...

Are you being ironic? Don't.

*Retreats to go sob in the corner*

Seriously, though, now I'm looking at that picture again and deciding that I look a little bulgy at the waist and wondering if I can Photoshop it...

Sebastian Anthony said...

You look just fine, dear. A little hamstery, but fine.

Eleni said...

Because of the snorkel in my mouth? Or...is there blubber? I'm very self-conscious about the shape of my cheeks.

Sebastian Anthony said...

I did hesitate for a good few seconds before pressing enter on that cheek comment... I know how... random... girls can be about their body.

Apologies. I just meant the snorkel. Everything else looks just fine.

Eleni said...

I'm kind of giving you a hard time; I was mostly not offended by your comment. Apology accepted :P