Capturing the Moment

  As I looked at the waves crashing along the scenic coastline of Lana'i, I hoped that my guests this week would be up for a bit of an extreme kayak. They bucked up to the challenge and we got some great pictures because of it. We dropped off our kayak group at a place called Armchair, right where the cliffs of the south side of Lana'i start to get very vertical and high. At some time prehistory a large part of the island landslided off into the deep channel leaving behind these awe-inspiring sea cliffs.    Waves would crash over rocks as we weaved in and around. The conditions were just right for the blowhole to fire off once every few minutes. It even casts a rainbow over the kayaks several times. One team paddled so close to it I thought their stern was going to actually go inside the lava tube...luckily they didn't and they just got splashed instead of flipped.   In the end it was a wonderful kayak on a beautiful day alongside an island that not many peop...

Sunrise and surf at Eternity Beach Halona Blowhole   I have been working on learning my new island home here in Oahu since the start of the new year. My plan is to add island photography tours to the agenda so I want to find the best places for differing light throughout the day. For sunrise the East coast of the island is the obvious choice but there are lots of potentially great spots for sunrise photos from Hanauma Bay to Lanikai. I stopped at a few of these today and had a wonderful time. The woman on the cliff adds some perspective to the blast   The first stop on the tour was the Halona blowhole. There is a popular scenic overlook here but I am always looking for new and different angles. Heidi and I found out about a secret beach down under the scenic overlook called Eternity Beach that is a great scuba dive spot so I headed down to the beach. The sun came up right in the middle of the channel heading out between the cliffs. That was what I was hoping for. ...

  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 Blow...

Early morning look at Haleakala volcano's South side  Road 'round the West Maui Mtns, NW Maui Plumeria  One of the big adventures not often attempted here on Maui is the drive around the West Maui mountains. The road here can be driven by any type of car, however you need to be a confident driver as some of the turns are little more than one lane and on the precipice of a huge cliff. But like the more popular 'road to Hana' the sights along this drive are incredible. Huge canyons, distant waterfalls, tropical flowers, and ocean vistas try and pull your eyes off the road. One of my favorite scenes, Big Beach  My mom and I tackled this windy road after starting off the morning at the very end of the road, La Perouse Bay . Tucked back in the newest lava flows on Maui the road dead ends into a very beautiful but rugged bay where Admiral La Perouse landed his ship. Beautiful sandy beaches like Big Beach await travelers down in the Makena area with a few se...