Suggestions for Kona in a few weeks?

[tarponchik]

Thanks for the info! What didn't you like about Kona shore dives?

Just not enough fish over there. The reefs look kinda empty.

 

[spoolin01]

I dive those sites a lot. Other than typically not having quite the visibility of sites farther north or south - which also (Puako and Ke'ei to name just two) can have crummy viz - there are some good dives there. Try Casa de Emdeko.

 

[tarponchik]

I dive those sites a lot. Other than typically not having quite the visibility of sites farther north or south - which also (Puako and Ke'ei to name just two) can have crummy viz - there are some good dives there. Try Casa de Emdeko.

Are they open to public? Also, satellite image shows me some kind of barrier along the lava shore, blocking the shore from the apartment complex. Where do you enter?

 

[spoolin01]

I've swum there from an adjacent property. There are access spots along there that range from clearly public to "get in quick". The Casa property itself is probably one of the latter though when I've looked it over it looked doable, just never had to. I don't recall exactly where I thought the best entry would be. There is something of a sea wall that I recall. Just closer to town are some public access corridors, and an open lot across from WorldMark (may have seen a fence there last time, can't recall for sure), as well as properties where more stealth is probably prudent.

 

[tarponchik]

I've swum there from an adjacent property. There are access spots along there that range from clearly public to "get in quick". The Casa property itself is probably one of the latter though when I've looked it over it looked doable, just never had to. I don't recall exactly where I thought the best entry would be. There is something of a sea wall that I recall. Just closer to town are some public access corridors, and an open lot across from WorldMark (may have seen a fence there last time, can't recall for sure), as well as properties where more stealth is probably prudent.

Google satellite image shows a lava road just 100 ft to the north of CdE complex but I can't see if it is gated or not. To the south, there is some kind of yacht club.

OK, I'll try next time we visit the Big Island, though I'm skeptical when it comes to anything Alii-Drive related. However, you never really know. One of the best dives I had was when I hiked over lava about half mile north from Honaunau, found a reasonable entrance/exit point, and jumped into huge school of Pyramid and Thompson's butterflyfishes. The visibility was remarkable, only South Point could beat that.

 

[spoolin01]

How far was that hike? I see the paths through the thickets but haven't followed one. Up that road at Ke'ei I've had some nice dives but also several with pretty mediocre viz.

Along Ali'i, I thought outside the breakwater at Kahalu'u and down to in front of the Beach and Tennis Club were decent, but access anywhere except through Kahalu'u is no longer possible, unless you're staying at one of the resorts. Out to the north from Kahalu'u, up to 4 Mile and one spot in between, I thought was kind of featureless and less interesting. I've never tried between there and Casa de Emdeko (Magic Sands, the beach park starting with "P", and a couple of other public access spots). I've done a couple dozen dives between Casa Caves (offshore CdE) on the south and that lot across from WorldMark on the north, and aside from the big sandy patch just outside that lot, there is a lot of structure and some great coral fields, and it's a favorite area. I usually go Nov-April and viz is sometimes not quite as good as other spots, though if you get out to 40ft+ depths, it's usually better. I also haven't tried between there and Kailua Bay.

I've always checked out CdeE from their side road, but can't recall exactly how I would enter from there. Have you tried Keahole Pt (Energy Lab road), from the first big pipe? You have to watch the currents when you get out over the slope, but that place is fishy as heck.

 

[tarponchik]

How far was that hike? I see the paths through the thickets but haven't followed one. Up that road at Ke'ei I've had some nice dives but also several with pretty mediocre viz.

Along Ali'i, I thought outside the breakwater at Kahalu'u and down to in front of the Beach and Tennis Club were decent, but access anywhere except through Kahalu'u is no longer possible, unless you're staying at one of the resorts. Out to the north from Kahalu'u, up to 4 Mile and one spot in between, I thought was kind of featureless and less interesting. I've never tried between there and Casa de Emdeko (Magic Sands, the beach park starting with "P", and a couple of other public access spots). I've done a couple dozen dives between Casa Caves (offshore CdE) on the south and that lot across from WorldMark on the north, and aside from the big sandy patch just outside that lot, there is a lot of structure and some great coral fields, and it's a favorite area. I usually go Nov-April and viz is sometimes not quite as good as other spots, though if you get out to 40ft+ depths, it's usually better. I also haven't tried between there and Kailua Bay.

I've always checked out CdeE from their side road, but can't recall exactly how I would enter from there. Have you tried Keahole Pt (Energy Lab road), from the first big pipe? You have to watch the currents when you get out over the slope, but that place is fishy as heck.

The trail begins at the end of the one-way loop, close to where it returns to Hwy 160. You park there, go through the bush along some buildings to the left, then you end up on the lava shore. We did some snorkeling from this point when dolphins came to the bay but this time we hiked further north, around the cape. 0.5 miles is my rough estimate, maybe it took longer before we found a good spot but this was certainly before the arches . Only I had dive gear, so my wife snorkeled. We left a T-shirt on a stick to mark our entrance/exit point.

As for Keahole, we checked the area but did not dive there. We picked a bad day for our visit because the Air Force had some kind of drill. KC-135s and other transport jets were landing and taking off every 5 min or so, right above our heads; the noise was just unbelievable

 

[spoolin01]

Now I recall that trail. I've seen snorkelers going in there. Kind of a long trek with tanks for my taste!

Keahole is one of my favorites, esp for puka exploration, when conditions are right. Often lots of pyramid butterflies, sargent majors, and the like in big schools through the water column.

There are also decent dives all along the coast south of there for a couple of miles, many of which are named sites served by boat buoys, all the way to past Pine Trees and around that point in towards the popular boat spots like Suck 'Em Up, Freeze Face, and the rest. Because of the exposure and/or shallow spots, it takes some scouting and trial and error to find good entry and exit spots. I especially like back in that bay, but much of that has become a longish walk from the parking lot since they closed the unpaved road past the cultural hut.

 

[tarponchik]

Now I recall that trail. I've seen snorkelers going in there. Kind of a long trek with tanks for my taste!

Keahole is one of my favorites, esp for puka exploration, when conditions are right. Often lots of pyramid butterflies, sargent majors, and the like in big schools through the water column.

There are also decent dives all along the coast south of there for a couple of miles, many of which are named sites served by boat buoys, all the way to past Pine Trees and around that point in towards the popular boat spots like Suck 'Em Up, Freeze Face, and the rest. Because of the exposure and/or shallow spots, it takes some scouting and trial and error to find good entry and exit spots. I especially like back in that bay, but much of that has become a longish walk from the parking lot since they closed the unpaved road past the cultural hut.

Well, a man my age needs some exercise As for Keahole, thanks for encouraging me. I may give it a try. But it looks like I have to explore with snorkel first.

 

[grantwiscour]

How far was that hike? I see the paths through the thickets but haven't followed one. Up that road at Ke'ei I've had some nice dives but also several with pretty mediocre viz.

Along Ali'i, I thought outside the breakwater at Kahalu'u and down to in front of the Beach and Tennis Club were decent, but access anywhere except through Kahalu'u is no longer possible, unless you're staying at one of the resorts. Out to the north from Kahalu'u, up to 4 Mile and one spot in between, I thought was kind of featureless and less interesting. I've never tried between there and Casa de Emdeko (Magic Sands, the beach park starting with "P", and a couple of other public access spots). I've done a couple dozen dives between Casa Caves (offshore CdE) on the south and that lot across from WorldMark on the north, and aside from the big sandy patch just outside that lot, there is a lot of structure and some great coral fields, and it's a favorite area. I usually go Nov-April and viz is sometimes not quite as good as other spots, though if you get out to 40ft+ depths, it's usually better. I also haven't tried between there and Kailua Bay.

I've always checked out CdeE from their side road, but can't recall exactly how I would enter from there. Have you tried Keahole Pt (Energy Lab road), from the first big pipe? You have to watch the currents when you get out over the slope, but that place is fishy as heck.

We really like diving Kee'i but it is tough to get the right conditions during winter. We got a chance to hang out with a spotted eagle ray for about twenty minutes our last dive at Kee'i. Usually find lots of good critters...turtles, rays, sharks, eels and many fish. I filmed a pair of spotted morays doing what appeared to be a mating dance. Check out the video links below. With the shallow depths we usually get 1 1/2 to 2 hours of bottom time.