It's always a blast traveling with my dad and I am already looking forward to the next round of adventures...wherever they may be.
Saturday, December 29, 2012
Dad's Visit to Maui, Dec '12
It's always a blast traveling with my dad and I am already looking forward to the next round of adventures...wherever they may be.
Tuesday, December 25, 2012
Frigid Beautiful Haleakala Sunrise
Monday, December 24, 2012
Tide Pools: The Hidden Nursery
There are many amazing sights in nature that people walk by every day. And while people do tend to take an extra minute to notice sunsets, coral reefs, and breaching whales here in Maui there is still a hidden world just beneath their feet. Many people walk right over tide pools without ever stopping to glance down into one. The amount of life that a four inch deep tidepool can contain is astounding.
When the low tide and the sun setting coincide Heidi and I go with flashlights to our favorite tide pool locations. I look at it as a snorkel without getting wet. Last night we found hunting moray eels, camouflaged octopus, and vibrantly colored nudibranchs. All three of these creatures were juveniles. Tidepools can act as a protected nursery for reef creatures. Protected until you stray too close to the moray eel! I was just about to take a picture of the eel last night when a fish swam in my way. As I hesitated for him to keep swimming all the sudden the eel snapped the fish up and it was gone!
My favorite of Heidi's finds was this juvenile red margin spanish dancer nudibranch. Its colors were so bright and contrasted the surrounding anemones. How many people would never think to look...
When the low tide and the sun setting coincide Heidi and I go with flashlights to our favorite tide pool locations. I look at it as a snorkel without getting wet. Last night we found hunting moray eels, camouflaged octopus, and vibrantly colored nudibranchs. All three of these creatures were juveniles. Tidepools can act as a protected nursery for reef creatures. Protected until you stray too close to the moray eel! I was just about to take a picture of the eel last night when a fish swam in my way. As I hesitated for him to keep swimming all the sudden the eel snapped the fish up and it was gone!
My favorite of Heidi's finds was this juvenile red margin spanish dancer nudibranch. Its colors were so bright and contrasted the surrounding anemones. How many people would never think to look...
Saturday, December 15, 2012
Five Caves Magic in Makena, Maui
Red Spotted Nudibranch |
Dwarf Moray Eel |
Mating Tom Smith Nudibranchs! |
The tiniest frogfish |
Grumpy little frogfish |
Wire coral goby |
Gold Lace Nudibranch |
White Spotted Nudibranch |
Coral Banded Cleaner Shrimp |
Tuesday, December 11, 2012
-100 to +14000ft on the Big Island, Hawaii
Our dive site was one of my all time favorites. It is a place locally known as two-step, or O'Hanaunau. We were very lucky this day because a small pod of Hawaiian spinner dolphins were cruising back and forth out in the bay. So we snorkeled out closer to them and let them swim to and fro sometimes coming quite close. We didn't chase them or make them change their behavior. I was able to snap a couple of pictures as they swam past me. Even as we descended we could still see the dolphins gliding up near the surface.
Friday, December 7, 2012
Lava Flowing into the Ocean, Big Island, Hawaii
With the help of my friends Erica and Brent we worked our way out past the county guards with their walkie-talkies and out onto the flow. It is something that you just have to add to your list of must sees. An endless sea of pahoehoe lava rocks that have cooled into amazing formations. Some still look viscous while others bunched up into wire rope forms. As sunset got closer and as we got farther into the flow we started to see glowing red from up ahead. After an hour of rock hopping across the flow we slowly crept up to the active surface flow. We got close enough to feel not just the heat on our faces but up through our shoes as well. It was a little unnerving as I noticed red glowing lava through the cracks and fissures all around me. In the picture above Heidi and I are about ten feet in front of the lava. Luckily this lava flow moves very slowly. Although as I hiked out past the remnants of a burned homestead and a VW van that was just left for a couple of hours I figured I would keep one eye on the flow just in case.
I couldn't believe we were getting such a good show! Little explosions, new fissures, and a constant flow of lava marching over the edge of the 40ft cliff. There was a little black sand beach at the base and whenever the waves came in they would sizzle up in poisonous smoke. I could have sat there all night. Every time I put away my camera some new fissure would open up and the flow would change again.
This lava is coming from a crack in the Earth's crust that the North Pacific plate has been slowly sliding over for millions of years. Geologists have traced the track of the plate by following all the islands this hot spot (which doesn't move) has created. The visible islands number 132 while the oldest islands have sunk back beneath the ocean becoming sea mounts. Scientist are debating when the next Hawaiian island will emerge with its own fiery lava birth.
**Update: 7/29/16- Lava just reentered the ocean. See it while you can. It can be a long wait in between these events!
**Update: 11/3/16- Visited Lava Ocean Entry. It is now easier than ever to see. There is a road and you can bicycle in.
Prints of the lava for sale here: DaiMarsPhotos
Labels:
big island,
flow,
glowing,
hawaii,
hike,
hike to lava,
lava,
magma,
ocean entry
Location:
Kalapana, HI 96778, USA
Wednesday, December 5, 2012
Manta Ray Dive, Kona, HI
Adventure dive with Jack's |
Heidi and the Manta |
Bowriding dolphins on the way to the Manta spot |
like a scene from Star Wars |
Underwater photo shoot |
Looking into the maw of the huge ray |
For prints for sale from this dive visit www.daimarsphotos.com
Labels:
big island,
dive,
dolphins,
hawaii,
jack's diving locker,
kona,
manta,
night,
ray
Location:
Kailua-Kona, HI, USA
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