Hanauma Bay~swimming with the fishes
Written: Jun 15 '03 (Updated Jun 16 '03)
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Pros: I managed to snorkel...
Cons: not so many fish
The Bottom Line: Fun in the sun.
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| hollynz's Full Review: Hanauma Bay State Underwater Park |
It was mid afternoon on a Wednesday in May when we pulled in to Hanauma Bay State Park in Oahu.
I wasn’t sure what to expect after reading about the crowds that pour to this attraction everyday but it wasn’t too crowded on this early May afternoon.
We paid our entry fee ($7 for 2 + car) and found a park handy to the walkway.
It was quite hot when we left the car so I was looking forward to getting into the water and start snorkeling.
We had to stop for the obligatory photos at the lookout, some people only make it this far and even though the scene is lovely, it’s not much of an attraction unless you get into the water.
From the lookout at the top it is quite easy to see that this bay is actually the collapsed crater of an ancient volcano. The shallow water was full of snorkelers and the water was a lovely light blue. The shallows were inside a protective reef and the open sea on the other side looked a bit deeper. Quite a few people were on the other side of the reef but as a learner snorkeler I wasn’t even going to consider this.
We headed through the gates at the visitor centre and shop, here we were told we had to view a safety video before we were allowed to go down to the beach so we spent about 30 minutes checking out the displays, reading all about the different fish, history and safety instructions before finally being invited in to view the film.
It was a welcome relief from the hot weather anyway, we watched the safety film and at last we were free to make our way down to the beach below.
There is a cheap trolley that does the run up and down the steepish road to the beach; it costs 50c to go down but $1 to ride up. I would rate the walk down as easy and the walk up was what I would class as good exercise. I don’t think I would bother walking up on a really hot day though; I would happily part with $1 for the comfort of the trolley. Once down we headed to the restrooms to get changed into our swimsuits and then we went to the kiosk that was renting snorkeling gear.
They had everything there that you might require and you could rent separately or take a full set option..
We rented two full sets (snorkel, fins and mask) and a locker to store our valuables. To rent the stuff you had to hand over some sort of collateral so they held onto our car keys for the duration. We only paid $16 for the pleasure which I thought was reasonable, they gave us the locker key on a wristband which was safe while swimming and snorkeling.
We headed off to the water and plonked our towels and things on the sand and into the warm water, I had trouble managing my fins but once I got going it was great.
This is the 2nd time I have tried snorkeling and I am pleased to say that I did a lot better at it this time.
The first time was in Vanuatu and I was a spluttering mess. I’m sure I found it easier this time due to the fact that this was shallow water and whenever I got a bit uncomfortable I could stand up and sort myself out, in Vanuatu we were in the open sea swimming over a reef in deep water and I lost confidence pretty fast,
It took me a little while to get the hang of the snorkel but after a few false starts, I was going along nicely. Now, where are all the fish?
When we were playing around in the shallows I saw a few grand displays of fish, two big mothers swam right by me chasing dinner towards the shore and a whole school leapt out of the water a few feet away so the excitement was mounting.
Off I went breathing nicely and scanning from side to side expecting to be surrounded by colourful fish and gorgeous coral.
Well, talk about a let down.
For the first 15 minutes all I could see was the sandy bottom but wait, there is a stripy fish and there’s another one over there ... I must be getting close to the pack by now.
Well, I went on like this for about half an hour and sorry folks, but it just didn’t happen.
No coral garden with a gazillion pretty fish to look at, just a murky bottom of sand with a hunk of dead white coral here and there with a solitary fish pecking away from time to time.
Talk about a let down.
Now, there could have been a few contributing factors to this.
~ The tide was coming in so maybe it was stirring up the sand a bit.
~ Maybe the time of day was wrong.
~ Maybe it was the wrong time of year.
~ We could have been in the wrong part of the beach, we went out in the middle and with the pull of the rip, we were drifting to the right hand side of the bay , maybe all the fish were on the left that Wednesday afternoon.
Controversial bit~
I heard that once upon a time you could buy food to feed the fish but they have stopped this. Maybe the poor fish are so hungry that the lack of food and all the noisy, swimming humans isn’t conducive to good feeding grounds and have just packed up and moved on.
As I recall, in Vanuatu we were given bread to feed the fish and they just appeared from out of nowhere for their tidbits. I know this is frowned upon but really, I can’t see the harm in feeding the fish, especially as it is such a huge tourist attraction and the fish are free to head off to a quieter area if they want to be alone. If wild creatures are prepared to be brave enough to eat food offered by a human, all power to them I say.
Safety
The beach is patrolled by life guards and while I was out someone banged into me, I looked up and saw a lifeguard coming towards us on a board. Apparently the person panicked when their mask filled with water and got into a bit of trouble. The lifeguard calmed the person down, sorted out the problem with the mask and it wasn't long before the person was off snorkrling again.
Facts
Opening hours .
~ 6am - 6pm
~ 6am - 7pm from Memorial Day to Labour Day.
*Closed Everey Tuesday*
Fees.
$3 per person for non-residents.
Parking fee - $1
Recommended?
Yes, definitely.
Even though I was a bit let down I still had a ball and the scenery itself is worth going there for alone. Hopefully you will time it right or pick the right the side of the bay and be bedazzled by what you see.
I certainly hope so.
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Recommended:
Yes
Best time to go: Anytime
Recommended for: Anybody
Review Topic: Wildlife
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Epinions.com ID:
hollynz
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Member: Christine
Location: New Zealand
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