Yesterday we had a five hour snorkel trip booked with SeaQuest. We were fortunate to have a great Captain, and while the boat was on the small side the experience on the whole was exceptional. There were three snorkel stops, the first at "Place of Refuge", which to me seemed a lot like "Coral Gardens", a popular snorkel stop by boat in the Caymans. At this location we were lucky enough to see some moray eels, a bonefish, a small sea turtle (who after I followed him for a few minutes decided it was time for a nap and dove into some coral, wedging the front half of his body underneath), as well as a wide variety of the colourful fish we'd already seen around the island. The second location was the Captain's choice, and he took us to a sea cave which provided a unique experience, though the wildlife did not compare to the other two stops on the trip. Our final stop was at the Captain Cook Monument, which is apparently regarded as the best snorkelling amongst all the Hawaiian Islands. The fish density was exceptional and visibility was great, though we didn't see anything particularly out of the ordinary. One thing of interest at the location was that once you get more than maybe fifty yards from shore (where the water is between very shallow and moderately shallow for snorkelling) there is an immediate drop-off to an abyssal depth far beyond any hope of visibility. A shot of the monument itself above water is below. As before, we took some underwater pictures but as we were using a disposable film based camera there's nothing to show as of yet - hopefully they turn out.
Aside from the snorkelling, the trip had a bunch of other highlights. We ran into pods of spinner dolphins three times, the first of which was as we were pulling out of the harbour. They were fairly playful, and watching them jump and spin was entertaining. Later, we were shown several lava caves and educated as to how the island was formed with the visual aid of layers of volcanic rock as evidence. We were also fortunate enough to run into a rare fish-eating avian called a "Tropicbird" which was very impressive looking; it had long twin tail feathers which would drag behind it as it flew. There's a picture of one below:
In all, I thoroughly enjoyed the trip. We have a wedding to attend tomorrow (which is why we're here in the first place), and then have a couple more days to enjoy before we head back. Along with the rescheduled bus tour we're going to take a tour of a seahorse farm which should be interesting.
No comments:
Post a Comment