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This morning I went surfing in Maui with my friends Jenny and Joey. Afterwards, Jenny stayed behind in Kihei to get a tattoo, while Joey and I headed off for my next planned adventure: snorkeling Molokini.
Before coming to Hawaii, I asked friends who’d cruised here before for their top recommendations. A friend who scuba dives said the best dive she’s ever done was in Maui, that I had to go there. I decided to spread out my money, not to dive, but to snorkel twice in different ports. I went the other day near Kona, off the Big Island. My second snorkel had to be in Maui. I did lots of reading about where would be the best place to snorkel in Maui and I decided that Molokini was the place for me.
Molokini is a crescent-shaped partially submerged volcanic crater off the coast of Maui. It’s been listed as one of the top 10 dive spots in the world. The ocean side of the crater drops hundreds of feet down into cold water with strong currents, sharks and all of the other extreme ocean stuff. The sheltered side, on the inside of the crescent, is protected from
the strong waves and currents. It is home to about 250 species of fish and has superb visibility. I was sold and eager to see it!
The tour I’d booked us on went out on a large double-decker catamaran. From what I’d read, their morning tours are very popular while the afternoon tour was more quiet. Due to scheduling with the ship, and the lower price, I’d selected the afternoon tour. There turned out to be only about 20 people on the tour with us - a very small number considering how much space there was on the boat!
When we first boarded the boat and were given our safety instructions, we were told there was a chance we wouldn’t be able to go to Molokini due to the direction of the wind; we may have to snorkel at a second location. This had me nervous - I really wanted to see Molokini! But I tried to think positively. I laid out in the sun and listened to music and soaked up the gorgeous view of Maui’s coast as we headed out.
It took about a half hour to get out to Molokini. Thankfully, the captain announced
that the conditions and wind was okay, we would be able to snorkel at our preferred spot! Then he pointed out how we were the only boat at the crater; he said that in seven years working on the boat, he could count on one hand the number of times they’d been the only boat at the crater! Then when you considered how few people were on our tour, it was almost like having the crater to ourselves!
Before we even got in the water, I was in awe. The photos don’t capture it (they never really do), but the water was just awesome. I’ve seen lots of beautiful water in my time working in the Caribbean, but at Molokini, it was a shade of blue I’d never seen water before.
Joey and I jumped in the water. I put my face down to look and immediately popped my head back up to yell to Joey “It really is incredible here!” Seriously. It was that good.
I have never seen water so clear. Anywhere else I’d been just didn’t compare. It’s like looking through a dusty piece of glass compared to nothing at all. It was just
The Water
The photo doesn't quite capture it, but I'd never seen water the shade it was there! so so clear.
We headed closer to the crater, where we could swim along it’s underwater slopes. Coral grew all along it. Everywhere there was fish.
I’ve been on tours where I’ve seen lots of fish, often because the guides put food in the water to attract the fish. At Molokini, it is illegal to feed the fish; it’s a sanctuary. But you don’t need food to bring the fish. They’re just everywhere I looked! I’d be swimming along and then suddenly would be in the middle of a school of dozens of fish, sometimes small, often large, always brightly coloured.
Joey and I spent some time playing with my camera, taking photos of us underwater and with the fish. I’ve been having camera drama over the last few days; currently my screen does not show anything on it, so we were shooting photos blind. But thankfully, many of them still turned out to share with you!
Then we went our own ways, exploring. Again, there were so few people! And it seemed that many of the people on our tour were beginners, so they didn’t venture very far from the boat to explore. It was
really like I was just on my own in the most incredible underwater world I’ve yet to see.
I just swam along, in awe of the colours (which just aren’t captured by the camera). I saw so many different fish! I’d read that 30% of the fish that are at Molokini are not found anywhere else in the world. There were incredible coral and a countless number of sea urchins. And the coolest thing I saw . . . I was swimming along and I spotted what I thought at first was a fish, near a rock and some coral. As I approached, I wondered what fish it could be, it seemed an unusual colour. Then when I got closer, it moved slightly and I realized it was actually an octopus! So cool to see that.
Towards the end of our time in the water (at which point most of the rest of the tour was already back on the boat), I was just floating above some interesting coral. Then I looked over in another direction and saw a fish swimming towards me. It was big, easily a foot long, silver with some yellow highlights. This may seem
odd when I describe it, but I swear it is true . . . it seemed like it was looking me straight in the eye. I just kept floating, looking at it, and it continued getting closer and closer, and again, looking straight at me. It continued coming straight towards me until it was only about arm’s length away, then it curved around to pass me, still looking at me. I felt like I was the animal being checked out; it seemed what it’s like for an animal in a zoo to be inspected by people. It was so odd and so wonderful at the same time.
The other day, when I was taking the helicopter ride over the island of Kauai, I felt so at peace and happy where I was. It felt like nothing else mattered. I felt the same way while at Molokini. The experience was so incredible, it was so all-consuming but completely positive. It just filled me with both joy and serenity.
By the time I got back on the boat, I was just exuberant. But also kind of speechless. It was like I couldn’t say enough, so I didn’t want to say
anything. I laid back in the sunshine, listened to my music and just savoured the moment.
Our tour also included a barbeque lunch, cooked right onboard. It was so good!!
Today’s tour was so great. Everything about it was perfect. I’m so happy that I did this today and Joey couldn’t stop thanking me for finding it and inviting him along. We also couldn’t stop saying what a shame it was for the other friends who had said they would go but then changed their minds. Shame. They truly missed out.
The other day when a group of us snorkeled near Kona, I’d said that the site was definitely in my top 3 places I’ve snorkeled/dived. After today though, a top 3 doesn’t exist. Molokini is just simply the best I’ve seen.
Joey and I picked up Jenny, then headed back to Kahului where our ship is docked. As we made our drive back, we fulfilled one of my Hawaii missions: I wanted fresh mango from a road side fruit stand. Road side fruit stands are everywhere in Hawaii. But our timing of being here is just off of mango season. I’ve made so many stops
at fruit stands over our two weeks here, but until today, had been unable to find mango. Joey wanted a pineapple, and we were able to find that too. Success! A perfect end to a great day.
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swills82
Sarah Willett
You're lucky to see the octopus, especially while snorkeling! They are usually only active at night. Love the shot of Joey with the trigger fish behind him. Awesome.