Hawaii – Honaunau Bay Snorkeling
The rain had stopped by the time we woke up. All the leaves were still dripping though.
We are going to take it easy again today but first of all there was breakfast. Today it was Baked Oatmeal. Now you know how much I like oatmeal but this is the first time I have ever had it baked and it was scrumptious. Must ask Johnsie for the recipe.
By 9 a.m. we were at the small cove next to the City of Refuge for another snorkeling expedition. We had stopped at the little market near the farm to buy something for lunch but the choice was extremely limited. There was dried and flaked cuttle fish but we decided not to be too adventurous. In the end we bought string cheese and Wheat Thins plus a couple of cans of drink. We still have some banana bread left over from Monday.
Not many people were at the rocks so we found a reasonably flat piece of lava rock to spread our mat and towels out on. This is considered one of the best snorkeling locations on the island, mainly because it is so accessible and also as it is easy to get into the water. It’s called a two step entry. Finding where the exact spot is can be difficult but Johnsie gave us good directions. Face the porta potties at the top of the beach and line up with the one at the far left. Turn 180 degrees and that is where the entry is. Or you watch where all the the regulars get into the water. If you enter from any other spot you are in danger of stepping onto sea urchins.
Tom didn’t go into the water straight away. We just sat on the rocks enjoying the atmosphere. It was so peaceful. We watched couples and groups of people arrive, stake out their patch of rock and walk down to the waters edge. There were no signs of dolphins or turtles today. A boat arrived around the headland and several of the passengers donned their masked and fins and entered the water.
Tom ventured into the water and paddled off. I read a bit and got acquainted with a small dog called Annie. Her owners had gone snorkeling and she obviously liked human company. As soon as she saw her owners climb out of the water she was off to greet them and I never saw her again.
Al and Cindy, another couple staying at the farm, arrived and sat near us. We chatted for a bit and they both then ventured into the water. When Tom return he said the fish were amazing. He also saw sea urchins but he stayed well clear of them. After a short rest, while I explored a few tide pools, he went for another swim.
It became really hot sitting out there in the sun. Of course I had slathered sun block all over every exposed part of my body and wore my new straw hat – complete with a flower I found on the ground, but still I caught the sun. At least I will be going home with a bit of a tan.
At 12 p.m. we drove the car into the City of Refuge car park and walked to the picnic area, carrying the cool box. It was lovely there. Lots of picnic table and coconut palms giving convenient shade. It was not very busy to begin with but by the time we left there was nobody else around.
After our spartan lunch of Wheat Thins and string cheese we took turns to walk down to the waters edge. Tom brought me back a small piece of coral. That, along with the piece of black lava from the vicinity of the volcano, will join my collection back home.
There were some lovely deep tide pools to investigate. I saw some reasonable sized black crabs scuttling around, some sea slugs and sea anemones. Lots of small fish were darting around in the pools as well. It’s mesmerizing gazing into the pools. Stand still for long enough and all manner of creatures come out of hiding. I also spent a long time just looking out to the ocean and watching the incoming tide.
We drove back to the farm at 2 p.m. for a shower and change of clothes. Then we sat out on our veranda reading and writing. The usual afternoon rain started at about 4 p.m.
At 4.30 we drove into Captain Cook for our evening meal. Tonight we ate at Pepperoni’s, an Italian restaurant next door to and run by the banana bread shop. The special was Baby Back Ribs. We had brochette to start with followed by half a rack each of the ribs. On the side were black beans, coleslaw and garlic bread. We would have liked a glass of wine to go with it but at the moment they didn’t have a liquor license. The person whose name was on the license had died and they had to reapply. We could have brought our own but as we didn’t know in advance we had to go without. Ice tea was our substitute. The ribs were quite good and there certainly were a lot of them.
It had just about stopped raining when we came out of the restarunat and we were back at the farm by 6.30.
October 26 2008 | Further Afield | No Comments »
