Penders and I returned from our Big Island dive trip early on Thursday morning, we had a blast. I had been very sick leading up to the trip. In fact, I was in bed all day Wednesday and Thursday. I pounded my Vitamin ‘C’ and using my Neti Pot, so the “flu” wouldn’t move to my sinuses. I was still fairly sick on the way to The Big Island, but I wasn’t going to let that stop us ☺
We arrived late on the 17th and wanted to get in the water first thing on the 18th. Since I had dove with Jackson Seay previously, I thought it would be a good idea to bring him along on the initial dives, to help guide us. Our first dive of the trip was at Puako, House 56. The swell was little rough and it mucked up visibility to about 40-45’. Our swim back in was a little tough, I got caught in a small rip current that made the swim in strenuous. Once we relaxed for a while, I got my second wind and we decided to try Paniau (aka End-of-the-Road) in Puako.
The surf was really high on this dive, and after we made it home, we chuckled that that dive was a little risky/dicey. However, having Jackson with us helped immensely. The viz at Paniau was even worst, at about 30’. However, we still had a blast. We then decided that, given the high surf, Pu’uhonua O Honaunau (aka Two-Step) would be our best bet for a third dive.
The entry at Two-Step is very easy, a simple giant stride. Here we were greeted with a beautiful (for the conditions) 70’ of viz and life was popping. As we descended down the outer wall, I turned to see Mike with his GoPro running and I opened my arms to say “This is what Big Island diving is supposed to be like.” Mike gave me a Shaka and continued our dive.
Day 2 we woke up a noticed the surf was down. We decided to stay close to Puako and conducted 3 dives at House 56, including a night dive. We did run up north to Mahukona for a dive and the entry is extremely easy. However, viz at Mahukona was only about 30’, which is why we headed back to House 56 for our night dive.
Day 3 was our most ambitious and my sickness was just about gone at this point. We woke up early and hit Two-Step for an early morning dive. It was absolutely beautiful, I love Two-Step! Viz was in the 90-100’ range. We decided to head to Ho’okena (based on a recommendation from Fritz in my Kona thread). This site was amazing. We made it all the way out to the wall, there was a little current, but nothing major. I think Mike got some amazing footage at this site. Can’t wait to see it. From there we headed to the harbor to conduct the Manta and Black Water dive with Big Island Divers.
The Manta dive was a little surgey, but we were greeted by 18 Mantas. While we were swimming back to the boat a Manta met us mid-water to say good-bye. What a treat. The Black Water dive was amazing. Shooting photos is extremely tough on the dive, but I can’t even put into words the amazing critters we saw that night.
Day 4 we decided to hit Paniau, and nail this dive since it kicked our butts earlier. We had a great dive with 70’ viz. We then decided on a new site in Puako, House 40. The entry/exit was a little more difficult than House 56, but it was a great dive. We decided to end the trip at Two-Step in the evening. After a good 55 minutes we were headed in and I said a quick prayer to the dive Gods “Let me see something we haven’t seen.” Just then a Spotted Eagle Ray came over a coral head and swam with us for a few minutes. Just as we were leaving, some of the biggest swells in 10-15 years were supposed to hit the island. We made it right in the "dive window" between major swells.
Over the course of 4 days we got in 14 dives totaling 817 minutes (averaging 58.4 minutes) and 917 feet (averaging 65.5 feet). Our deepest dive was 118 feet at Two-Step and our longest dive was 70 minutes at House 56. Here are a few of my favorite shots ☺
Click on any photo to be taken to the entire gallery. Enjoy and Mahalo!
Sorry to hear you got skunked on the manta dive.
