Shore diving is not the usual method of diving here on Oahu. Most of the nearshore reefs are very shallow and not very colorful. It is almost certainly related to the amount of people visiting, building, and living here. However once you get off the beaten path there may be a few surprises in store for the Oahu shore diver. One such place I have been hearing a lot about is a dive called the Halona Blowhole.
The blowhole is a popular tourist stop right along the highway a few miles past Hanauma Bay. Being on the southeast corner of the island it is a great spot for sunrises as well as the most popular whale watching spot on the island. Winds and waves have created layered rock formations along the cliffs. These cliffs also make it a risky spot to scuba dive. If the conditions are bad or if there is a strong current, finding a different spot to get out can be very hard.
A steep rock path winds its way down to a secret beach just next to the Halona Blowhole overlook parking lot. A small beach call Eternity Beach is a beautiful departure point for the dive. There is a narrow strip of shallow water that leads from the beach out past the cliffs. This area can be very wavy and surgy. If there are waves crashing here then it will be a very advanced dive. Luckily on this day it was flat calm with great visibility.
Even on a calm day such as this you still have to be wary of the currents. Of all the dangers of diving this area a strong current could be the biggest risk. If the current is heading north the next swim out is the back breaking shore break at Sandy beach. If the current takes you south then the helicopter or whale watching boat might pick you up before you reach the protection of Hanauma Bay. Knowing the dangers of the swift moving current at this spot we made sure to dive right at low tide when the current should be slack.
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| Heidi's Black Frogfish with white speckles |
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| See it? |
Once we were down the trail and in the water we put our trained eyes to use. Wild rock formations continued under the water and we soon found one rock with multiple spirals of nudibranch eggs on it. Turns out these were the eggs of white margin nudibranchs, although we also found imperial, snow goddess, and blue dragon nudibranchs. Different butterflyfish, surgeonfish, and schools of goatfish cruised the cliff faces. A couple of turtles swam around the entry/exit channel, but the big find of the dive was a black frogfish. I still don't know how Heidi saw it. Frogfish have an amazing ability to camouflage in with the reef. They have modified fins that they use to wedge themselves into the reef, remaining motionless until ambushing their prey. These same fins were used by this black frogfish to grab onto Heidi's finger. On the way back 'hawk eyes' Heidi found another tiny, bright yellow frogfish. All in all a pretty fun dive in perfect conditions. Just like surfing a new spot, diving a new spot always gives me a great feeling of accomplishment.
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