We drove south down the highway for a cluster of Kona attractions: snorkeling and spinner dolphins in Kealakekua Bay, and down farther, the historic Hawaiian religious site and royal grounds of Pu'uhona o Honaunau.
Kealakekua Bay is a sheltered bay formed when a huge chunk of Mauna Loa fractured off of the mountain and slumped into the ocean. It is now a shallow (40'?) bay, flanked by the huge landslide scarp (cliff), a safe place for spinner dolphins to rest, and a sheltered place with a great snorkeling reef. It is also where the infamous Captain Cook first landed on Hawaii, putting it on European maps. He also died here, not long after his first landing. It's a pretty interesting story. Here is, once again, a Wikipedia link. Man, they sure do a good job. A monument across the bay from the access marks the place of his death and also the best snorkeling spot.
Beth and I rented a kayak and made the 30 minute paddle across, stopping to find the local dolphins on the way. I jumped in with my fins and snorkel, and watched them swimming around, but they weren't interested in me. Still cool to see them underwater. I suppose I saw 15-20 of them, the closest about 30' away. The guy we rented the kayak from said it was like swimming in an aquarium. True. This is where my novice blogger status really comes through, though; I haven't trained myself to take enough pictures to make a truly lively blog. You'll have to use your imagination (or come see for yourself).
The snorkeling was great, but we (that's us on the right) had to get out after only about 40 minutes, because the water was so cold! Most locals here wear thin wetsuits while diving to stay warm. We don't have an underwater camera, but this was another aquarium scene: lots of lobate and finger coral, lots of jackfish, parrotfish, eels, sergeant fish, pipefish, groupers, and fish I don't know the names of.
Well I've got to head out to do some moving-related work for our New Apartment! More about that, and Pu'uhona o Honaunau later.
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