Page 233 - Hawaii: Diving, Surfing, Pearl Harbor, Volcanoes and More

The North Shore has several dive sites and kayaking descriptions. CANNON’S REEF 5’ - 70’ Beg. - Int. Shore dive at East end of Ha’ena
Hanalei and the Bali Hai area are so-o-o-o beautiful. What words can Beach via V-shaped slit in reef. Good snorkeling. Lots of juvenile fish.
describe it? None, I guess. It is just so magnificent. Kee Beach, at the
very end of the road is another favorite snorkel spot. However, I’m TUNNELS REEF 15’ - 65’ Beg. - Int. Beginners dive site. Excellent
dubious about scuba diving at Kee Beach. For one thing, huge 50’ surf snorkeling. Dive in summer, surf in winter. Lava tubes, tunnels.
came in around 1998 or 1999 and changed things a lot. Much sand White-tip reef sharks, turtles.
and silt filled in on top of the reef and the lagoon became much more
shallow. It left the shallows good for snorkeling, but kind of ruined ‘ANINI BEACH 0’ - 15’ Beg. Beginner shore dive. Excellent snorke-
the former glorious scuba diving. Second, the currents outside the ling. Large reef. Fish nursery. Turtles. Park facilities. Lots of sea cu-
reef are so strong they can be treacherous. A diver could find himself cumbers. Excellent windsurfing. Caution: Not advisable to dive or
drifting for miles and would never be able to get back. I’d hate to go snorkel during Winter surf.
for a delightful shore dive and simply disappear!
As for the Poipu-to-Port Allen area, or the South Shore on Franko’s
In the winter months this area is prone to some extremely powerful Dive Map of Kauai, this map zooms in on Kauai’s most-dived areas,
surf. The same waves that make the Oahu North Shore the most fa- including its favorite shore dive at Koloa Landing, and favorite boat
mous surfing area in the world also crash into the Kauai North Shore dive at Sheraton Caverns, plus my favorite, first snorkeling spot at
and the Na Pali Coast. I was there for one of these biggest-waves-of- Prince Kuhio Park. The captions describing these spots are as follows:
the-year events one January. The faces on the waves and the sounds
of it were so scary that you would be crazy to even stand on the sand, Favorite South Shore Area Diving:
anywhere on the beach. I hiked the famous Kalalau trail for a few
miles that day. From my vantage I could see that the waves were im- SALT POND 0’ - 6’ Beg Shore dive. Excellent easy snorkeling. Coral
mense and the crashes into rocks were making geyser splashes 100 reef to West. Lots of fish, moray eels, octopi, turtles.
feet high. It was awesome and very scary. I could see that the current
was sweeping along the coast at about jogging speed. Obviously, no CAMP ONE 15’ - 52’ Int. – Adv. Boat dive to ledges, overhangs, two
one was snorkelling there that day. But it was on that same day that I pinnacles, and an archway.
went around the island of Kauai, about 60 miles away, and I enjoyed
calm and beautiful snorkeling in Poipu. The descriptions that are on GENERAL STORE 45’ - 90’ (13 - 37m) Beg – Adv. Boat dive to drop-o
the map in the Hanalei area are as follows: with three caverns. 1892 boat ”Pele” anchors & coral at 84’. Whitetip
reef sharks in lava tube, octopi, butterflyfish, lobsters, snowflake mo-
KE’E BEACH. LAGOON 5 - 40’ Beg. - Adv. Great place for snorkeling rays, turtles, black tree coral. Caution: Currents & rough seas.
and hanging out on the beach. Winter waves make good surfing but
poor diving. Caution: Dangerous currents outside.