I just returned from a vacation / dive trip, and I ma so excited about it that I wanted to share it / brag about it with all of you folks!
We were in Maui for a week, and I managed to do 11 dives in 5 days, including completing the advanced open water diver certification.
I dived with Maui Dreams Dive Company (www.mauidreamsdiveco.com) and I was very impressed with them. They are located on the south side of Maui, in Kihei. They specialize in shore dives, but do work with some of the local boat companies to arrange boat dives. I would strongly recommend them. Rachel, the owner of the company worked with my husband and he was able to complete his open water diver certification. He found her to be extremely helpful and supportive.
I trained with one of their staff, Brian Kerley. I also participated in dives lead by two others of their staff, Terry and Tom. they were all great. Very enthusiastic, helpful, easy going -- they really helped to make my trip spectacular.
OK -- on to the dives: Water temperature was pretty consistant, around 74 degrees.
Two dives -- (on two separate days) were at a site called Five Graves. This is also sometimes known as Five Caves. They entry is a little tricky, with about a 100 foot walk from the parking spot and the last 10 feet are along a fairly narrow path. It is a few steps down some rock toe holds and then you are in about 3 feet of water in a protected channel -- easy to float and put on your fins. Exiting is a bit trickier, because the first step is pretty steep -- I needed to shed my gear and climb out.
A short swim out of the channel and you are ready to see the sights. Visibility was about 60 feet on both days. The sights include lots of fish and invertebrates, some small caves, and arches. Our views included: a three foot white tipped reef shark, prowling in a small cave, trumpet fish, peacock grouper, several large turtles, many eels -- one striped one that was quite fully exposed moving across the sand. Most of the eels that I saw that this location were approximately 18" - 24". There was a small school of blue striped snappers. Many hawkfish in the coral. Lots of urchins -- collectors, spiny, and pencil. My favorite animal was a gold lace sea slug. After two dives at this site, I was still ready to go back for more! One disappointing factor, is that there is a lot of development going on in this area -- including a new golf course -- and it seems that the run off --(probably especially rich in fertilizers) seems to be choking the coral.
Slightly south of Five Graves is a place called Makena Landing. You can either drive just over a hill and park there, or you can enter at Five Graves and swim to the south, exiting at Makena Landing. Makena Landing has a gradually sloping, sandy beach making for very easy entry and exit. There is also a fresh water shower and rest room facilities available. The visibility at the beach is poor. We did our navigation class here in about 10 feet visibility. However, further out from the beach, the visibility improves to about 50 feet. I did two training dives here. The first was navigation. We primarily focused on compass reading, measuring kick cycle, and following a course, but I did see a Snowflake Eel which helped to make the experience more pleasant!
The second dive from Makena Landing was a scooter dive. We used Apollo Scooters. These have three speed settings and seem very powerful. I had used Torpedo Scooters before, and frankly, at this point, I prefer the Torpedos. In my opinion,. Torpedos seem a bit lighter, more streamlined, and offer the ability to hold them in a couple of different positions which helps to reduce fatigue. On the other hand, my sense is that the Apollo's have more power and may be better for some applications. Anyway, using the scooters, we cruised out to better visibility. We practiced using the scooters and riding tandom. We also parked the scooters from time to time to explore some areas more thoroughly. Sights on this dive included lots of turtles, one of which had some kind of eye disease or injury. He appeared to be blind, with large growths on each eye. This was a sad thing to see, but he seems to be managing -- the local dive community has been monitoring him for quite some time, and he seems to be maintaining his health. We also saw tons of Millet Seed Butterfly fish -- they swarmed around my dive buddy so they looked like a giant gold halo spinning around her head. We also saw a Cushion Sea Star -- and I saw asecond Cushion Sea Star that was indigo in color. We found a small patch of Halimeda (sp?). Also saw Moorish Idols, Trumpet fish, Auger snails, Sea cucumbers, Collector Urchins, Pencil Urchins, Spiny Urchins, Coronet fish, and a baby reef shark (about 18").
We did two night dives from Ulua Beach. Good access - a concrete walkway to the sandy beach which has a gradual slope. Fresh water showers available. Restrooms available -- though sometimes locked. The most amazing thing about both of these dives was the Whale Songs. While I had heard the Whales during the day, nothing could compare to the sound at night. They were so LOUD you could feel the sound vibrating in your body. Also, during the day, I noticed that I would hear one end of the Whale Song at a time -- either the high end or the low end.... At night, I could hear both together. I wouldn't have cared if I hadn't seen anything -- it was priceless just to hear the song. We proceeded out from the beach, with a short swim, and descended to about 15 feet -- the deepest part of the dive was about 25 feet. There is a long reef that goes out from the right side of the beach, so after descending, we simply followed the reef out and turned around for the return. This was the first night dive for me; at first, I had a lot of anxiety, but by the second night, I was quiet comfortable. We saw crabs, lots of banded coral shrimp, a slipper lobster, several large sleeping turtles and there was a lot of bio-luminesence.
I did two dives at a Ahihi Cove which is part of La Perouse Bay. They entry here is a short rocky beach into a rocky cove. Maintaining balance and center of gravity is the key here -- it can be a bit 'surgy' and it is easy to stumble over the rocks. But, once in, a short swim and you are ready to descend. Visibility was more than 100 feet. The most spectacular thing is this area is something called the "Fish Ball" It is a school of Yellow Striped Snappers -- probably close to 2000 fish. If you stay quiet and approach them gradually, they will school around you, enveloping you. They also respond really well to gentle 'herding' -- by carefully moving your arms, the school may change shape -- going from long and horizontal, to more vertical. It's this great patch of color and motion. In this same area there were three large turtles. One of the seemed to be pretty 'new in town' -- he (or she) still had a thick carpet of algea on his/her shell. There was about 8 fish lined up, cleaning of the algea. The other two turtles would swim about abit, and then return to a small patch of rocks to rest, semmingly together. This was just a wonderful experience. Of course, we also saw the usual assortment of urchins, some Peacock Groupers, some Trigger Fish - including humuhumunookanookaapuaa.
A boat dive was part of the advanced certification. (We met the boat at 5:45 am -- this is vacation???) Somewhat bleary eyed, we went to Molokini and entered at a spot near the edge of the crater called Reef's End. This was both a deep dive and a drift dive. We descended to 99 feet. One portion of the bottom was very sandy and seemed to be just covered with Sea Cucumbers. We watched a large patch of Garden Eels. I had seen them once before, and had been really creeped out by what I thought of as their snake like appearance, but this time, I was able to see a very subtle beauty to them. We also found a patch of Spanish Dancer eggs -- way cool! Saw lots of hawkfish in the coral, some tangs, butterflys, and an Ulua. We rounded the end of the reef and rode the current checking out the sites as long as air would permit, and surfaced to be picked up by the boat.
The second dive from the boat was at Puualai (also known as Red Hill). This was a drift dive and an underwater naturalist dive. The current was KICKIN'! When I entered the water, I paused to adjust my mask, and noticed the boat moving away from me -- I put my head down and hauled a** over to the bow line. We descended and literally "flew" on the current. We were also madly spotting wildlife and trying to write it down. The highlight for me was seeinf a Devil Scorpionfish. Also spotted: Peacock groupers (one of my favorite fish), hawkfish, goat fish, Parrot fish, Moorish Idols, Trumpet fish, Millet seed Butterflys, Crab, Eels, Pin Cushion Star, Cleaner Wrasses. As the current carried us, we were able to duck between a couple of fingers of coral, regroup and make our ascent and we were retreived by the boat.
OK... my last report is a dive at White Rock. During this dive, I could really see that my abilities to notice the "critters" was improving. The entry for this dive was easy, about 150 foot walk down a flat path to a sandy beach. I saw many box fish, lots of Humu's (humuhumunookanookaapuaa), a really big puffer (probably qbout two feet long), a tiny baby eel -- it was yellow and just a few inches long. an Octopus, a scrambled egg nudibranch, a spiny sea star, banded coral shrimp, a crab, more Peacock Groupers, and some kind of a spiny worm.
It was a great vacation, I really didn't want to come home... and I feel like my dive skills have really improved. I'm getting better at buoyancy control. I'm more confident in my abilities, and just more comfortable in the environment. I really feel terrific when I'm diving. I'm hoping to return to Hawaii (probably the Big Island) in early July. If I can answer any questions, please feel free to e-mail me at theratech@home.com. When you get to Maui, be sure to check out Maui Dreams Dive Company -- tell Rachel, Brian, Tom and Terry that I said "Hello".
Liz
We were in Maui for a week, and I managed to do 11 dives in 5 days, including completing the advanced open water diver certification.
I dived with Maui Dreams Dive Company (www.mauidreamsdiveco.com) and I was very impressed with them. They are located on the south side of Maui, in Kihei. They specialize in shore dives, but do work with some of the local boat companies to arrange boat dives. I would strongly recommend them. Rachel, the owner of the company worked with my husband and he was able to complete his open water diver certification. He found her to be extremely helpful and supportive.
I trained with one of their staff, Brian Kerley. I also participated in dives lead by two others of their staff, Terry and Tom. they were all great. Very enthusiastic, helpful, easy going -- they really helped to make my trip spectacular.
OK -- on to the dives: Water temperature was pretty consistant, around 74 degrees.
Two dives -- (on two separate days) were at a site called Five Graves. This is also sometimes known as Five Caves. They entry is a little tricky, with about a 100 foot walk from the parking spot and the last 10 feet are along a fairly narrow path. It is a few steps down some rock toe holds and then you are in about 3 feet of water in a protected channel -- easy to float and put on your fins. Exiting is a bit trickier, because the first step is pretty steep -- I needed to shed my gear and climb out.
A short swim out of the channel and you are ready to see the sights. Visibility was about 60 feet on both days. The sights include lots of fish and invertebrates, some small caves, and arches. Our views included: a three foot white tipped reef shark, prowling in a small cave, trumpet fish, peacock grouper, several large turtles, many eels -- one striped one that was quite fully exposed moving across the sand. Most of the eels that I saw that this location were approximately 18" - 24". There was a small school of blue striped snappers. Many hawkfish in the coral. Lots of urchins -- collectors, spiny, and pencil. My favorite animal was a gold lace sea slug. After two dives at this site, I was still ready to go back for more! One disappointing factor, is that there is a lot of development going on in this area -- including a new golf course -- and it seems that the run off --(probably especially rich in fertilizers) seems to be choking the coral.
Slightly south of Five Graves is a place called Makena Landing. You can either drive just over a hill and park there, or you can enter at Five Graves and swim to the south, exiting at Makena Landing. Makena Landing has a gradually sloping, sandy beach making for very easy entry and exit. There is also a fresh water shower and rest room facilities available. The visibility at the beach is poor. We did our navigation class here in about 10 feet visibility. However, further out from the beach, the visibility improves to about 50 feet. I did two training dives here. The first was navigation. We primarily focused on compass reading, measuring kick cycle, and following a course, but I did see a Snowflake Eel which helped to make the experience more pleasant!
The second dive from Makena Landing was a scooter dive. We used Apollo Scooters. These have three speed settings and seem very powerful. I had used Torpedo Scooters before, and frankly, at this point, I prefer the Torpedos. In my opinion,. Torpedos seem a bit lighter, more streamlined, and offer the ability to hold them in a couple of different positions which helps to reduce fatigue. On the other hand, my sense is that the Apollo's have more power and may be better for some applications. Anyway, using the scooters, we cruised out to better visibility. We practiced using the scooters and riding tandom. We also parked the scooters from time to time to explore some areas more thoroughly. Sights on this dive included lots of turtles, one of which had some kind of eye disease or injury. He appeared to be blind, with large growths on each eye. This was a sad thing to see, but he seems to be managing -- the local dive community has been monitoring him for quite some time, and he seems to be maintaining his health. We also saw tons of Millet Seed Butterfly fish -- they swarmed around my dive buddy so they looked like a giant gold halo spinning around her head. We also saw a Cushion Sea Star -- and I saw asecond Cushion Sea Star that was indigo in color. We found a small patch of Halimeda (sp?). Also saw Moorish Idols, Trumpet fish, Auger snails, Sea cucumbers, Collector Urchins, Pencil Urchins, Spiny Urchins, Coronet fish, and a baby reef shark (about 18").
We did two night dives from Ulua Beach. Good access - a concrete walkway to the sandy beach which has a gradual slope. Fresh water showers available. Restrooms available -- though sometimes locked. The most amazing thing about both of these dives was the Whale Songs. While I had heard the Whales during the day, nothing could compare to the sound at night. They were so LOUD you could feel the sound vibrating in your body. Also, during the day, I noticed that I would hear one end of the Whale Song at a time -- either the high end or the low end.... At night, I could hear both together. I wouldn't have cared if I hadn't seen anything -- it was priceless just to hear the song. We proceeded out from the beach, with a short swim, and descended to about 15 feet -- the deepest part of the dive was about 25 feet. There is a long reef that goes out from the right side of the beach, so after descending, we simply followed the reef out and turned around for the return. This was the first night dive for me; at first, I had a lot of anxiety, but by the second night, I was quiet comfortable. We saw crabs, lots of banded coral shrimp, a slipper lobster, several large sleeping turtles and there was a lot of bio-luminesence.
I did two dives at a Ahihi Cove which is part of La Perouse Bay. They entry here is a short rocky beach into a rocky cove. Maintaining balance and center of gravity is the key here -- it can be a bit 'surgy' and it is easy to stumble over the rocks. But, once in, a short swim and you are ready to descend. Visibility was more than 100 feet. The most spectacular thing is this area is something called the "Fish Ball" It is a school of Yellow Striped Snappers -- probably close to 2000 fish. If you stay quiet and approach them gradually, they will school around you, enveloping you. They also respond really well to gentle 'herding' -- by carefully moving your arms, the school may change shape -- going from long and horizontal, to more vertical. It's this great patch of color and motion. In this same area there were three large turtles. One of the seemed to be pretty 'new in town' -- he (or she) still had a thick carpet of algea on his/her shell. There was about 8 fish lined up, cleaning of the algea. The other two turtles would swim about abit, and then return to a small patch of rocks to rest, semmingly together. This was just a wonderful experience. Of course, we also saw the usual assortment of urchins, some Peacock Groupers, some Trigger Fish - including humuhumunookanookaapuaa.
A boat dive was part of the advanced certification. (We met the boat at 5:45 am -- this is vacation???) Somewhat bleary eyed, we went to Molokini and entered at a spot near the edge of the crater called Reef's End. This was both a deep dive and a drift dive. We descended to 99 feet. One portion of the bottom was very sandy and seemed to be just covered with Sea Cucumbers. We watched a large patch of Garden Eels. I had seen them once before, and had been really creeped out by what I thought of as their snake like appearance, but this time, I was able to see a very subtle beauty to them. We also found a patch of Spanish Dancer eggs -- way cool! Saw lots of hawkfish in the coral, some tangs, butterflys, and an Ulua. We rounded the end of the reef and rode the current checking out the sites as long as air would permit, and surfaced to be picked up by the boat.
The second dive from the boat was at Puualai (also known as Red Hill). This was a drift dive and an underwater naturalist dive. The current was KICKIN'! When I entered the water, I paused to adjust my mask, and noticed the boat moving away from me -- I put my head down and hauled a** over to the bow line. We descended and literally "flew" on the current. We were also madly spotting wildlife and trying to write it down. The highlight for me was seeinf a Devil Scorpionfish. Also spotted: Peacock groupers (one of my favorite fish), hawkfish, goat fish, Parrot fish, Moorish Idols, Trumpet fish, Millet seed Butterflys, Crab, Eels, Pin Cushion Star, Cleaner Wrasses. As the current carried us, we were able to duck between a couple of fingers of coral, regroup and make our ascent and we were retreived by the boat.
OK... my last report is a dive at White Rock. During this dive, I could really see that my abilities to notice the "critters" was improving. The entry for this dive was easy, about 150 foot walk down a flat path to a sandy beach. I saw many box fish, lots of Humu's (humuhumunookanookaapuaa), a really big puffer (probably qbout two feet long), a tiny baby eel -- it was yellow and just a few inches long. an Octopus, a scrambled egg nudibranch, a spiny sea star, banded coral shrimp, a crab, more Peacock Groupers, and some kind of a spiny worm.
It was a great vacation, I really didn't want to come home... and I feel like my dive skills have really improved. I'm getting better at buoyancy control. I'm more confident in my abilities, and just more comfortable in the environment. I really feel terrific when I'm diving. I'm hoping to return to Hawaii (probably the Big Island) in early July. If I can answer any questions, please feel free to e-mail me at theratech@home.com. When you get to Maui, be sure to check out Maui Dreams Dive Company -- tell Rachel, Brian, Tom and Terry that I said "Hello".
Liz
