As I mentioned in a previous post, there are so many beaches to visit... each will get you sun-drenched... and quite likely sun burnt... so we've opted to intersperse beaches among other activities.
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| 2-step's adjacent national park |
Snorkeling at 2-Step
This said, we hit the "2-step" snorkeling hot spot, right beside the Pu'Uhonua national historical site. It's been dubbed 2-step because there are, conveniently, 2 easy-to-descend natural rock steps that lead into the surf that make it easy to enter and exit the ocean with flippers on.
These rock steps are made of Pahoehoe lava flows (easy to walk on, smoothly caked lava). We arrived mid morning, so not empty, but the booze-n-party set were still sleeping off the previous night's marauding :)
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| Fellow Canadians took this shot - from Arnprior, Ontario! |
The coral in this inlet is very plentiful. The water is crystal clear and the fishes love it, so we did too! When looking at the bay from the shoreline, there is a big breakwater coral shelf to the left, with big trenches and some caves.
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| Deep trenches - d'em are fishes! |
Here's what a wave build looked like under water on top of shallow coral in the left bay... watch the fishes getting blown around - the video shows multiple incident waves.
The right side of the bay has a ton of coral, attracting huge schools of fish... and a ways out, the ocean floor depth drops rapidly, making for an exciting and beautiful ocean floor-scape, enhanced by its white washboard sandy bottom and the turquoise waters above.
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| massive schools of fish - these are the photogenic Yellow Tang |
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| Ornate |
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| Vivid colours |
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| Frolicking |
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| Gotta love fish pics :) |
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| Comedic relief |
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| The orange spots (4 of them) actually protrude from the side of the fish!? |
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| Rainbow beautiful! |
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| Formal wear! |
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| Ghostly white - I can see your insides - meh-he! |
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| Almost! |
OK - enough fish pics?
The guide books are right, 2-step is a great snorkeling spot!
If you go, do so in the early morning... the in-and-out is easier and much more pleasant without the masses.
We LOVED 2-step - another gem.
Pu'Uhonua National Historical Site
This national site is care-taken by the US national parks service. There is sometimes a parking lot attendant at the parking gate to charge you for parking/entry... but... if you happen to have a US National Parks Inter-Agency pass (like us), you get in "for free".
Sometimes, is the key word here - apparently sometimes is "rarely before 9am" and "not so much in October".
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| Parking Booth/Attendant (sometimes) |
We toured the fern-covered traditional shelter replicas and stone walled-in ocean-front - they were very respectfully and seemingly authentically done. The historical explanations were also very well done - this was, apparently, a sacred place.
There was a picnic area - access is adjacent to the main building - where you can snag some gob-smacking ocean views while you break bread. The picnic sites are equipped with charcoal grills for those who want to get their BBQ on.
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| roadway to picnic area (walk or drive from right beside the main building) |
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| Picnic bliss |
No better way to spend a birthday afternoon - thank you awesome family!
I love the fish pics. The movie of the mounting waves reminds me of your childhood visit to Hawaii. Swimming respectfully over the coral reef dad would yell out FISH whilst under water and with a snorkel in his mouth. You and your sister would dive and follow the schools of fish.
ReplyDeleteHmmm, is swimming with the fish in Hawaii what you call home SCHOOLING?
Guys, your pics and stories are such fun, leaving your readers coming back for more. It's wonderful of you to take the time to do this while you're on your personal family time.
OMG, I just realized that I have the aquarium channel on for the cat and it's made fun background when reading these posts. Take care guys. You look like you're having a real blast, especially on your boogie boards!
Stunning photos of the fish guys!
ReplyDeleteSorry for the late reply Casey - thanks for your comment! Now that we've snorkeled in a few different places, Hawaii definitely was superb. The waters were crystal clear and the fishes plentiful - I'd love to go back someday!
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