Kona Makai at 69

    It was 1992, in the aftermath of Hurricane Iniki, when I first came to the Big Island.  Iniki had devastated our intended destination of Kauai and our travel agent, aware that I liked to snorkel, suggested Hawaii Island.  At the same time, she set us up to stay at Kona Makai.

The author by the fishpond preparing to launch. Photo SKG

    It was a stormy winter's day when my young family arrived at Kona Makai.  Dark clouds scudded over the ocean and wild surf crashed against the rocks.  I was standing on the deck, looking out over the billowing sea when a resident walked up beside me.  "So where do people go snorkeling around here?" I asked my new acquaintance.  "Right down there." he said, pointing at the tiny inlet we call the fish pond.  On that day it looked less like a pond and more like the business end of an electric mixer on steroids. 

   That night I had nightmares about swimming off Kona Makai.

   Since that surrealistic beginning almost thirty years ago we have done a lot of swimming at Kona Makai and seen some remarkable fish there. In recent years, as we have discovered new spots with more and better reef fish, swimming at Kona Makai has become less frequent.  However, I like to swim there at least once a year just to prove to myself that I can still do it, that I am still a member of the tribe, justified in dipping my hand into the communal bento box.

    I had been watching the tides and the surf and decided that yesterday would be a great day to log my Kona Makai snorkel for my 69th year on the planet.  Sandra and I were down there early.  We had

Achilles Tang    Kona Makai   May 2020

expected no wave action , but there was enough small surf for her to warn me several times not to take any chances.  I left her to read, sitting pretty in the shade on the Alii Villas pediment, while I walked carefully across the rolling pahoehoe to the time trusted entry.  While I was fumbling to get my gear together, without falling on the lava in the process, a man perhaps ten years younger than myself walked down, put on his fins and jumped in.  Show off.  At about this time Sandra took a picture which I have titled Unsteady Jeff. 

   Eventually, I was all set and slid into the fish pond.   Right away I saw a couple Achilles tangs.  With his bright orange caudal peduncle, precisely the shape of Achilles heel, this is one of our favorite fish. Back in 1992 when I was teaching my boys the fish, James called this fish 'chilles tang.  He also said pisghetti.  Isn't that precious?  The Achilles tang used to be fairly common everywhere.  Either fishing pressure or environmental change has reduced its numbers.  Here at Kona Makai it is still common.

Yellow Margin Moray Eel Kona Makai 2020

   Its hard to go home and its difficult for me to swim at Kona Makai.  Virtually all the coral is gone, along with the animals that rely upon it.  Surgeonfish and triggerfish, which are primarily vegetarians, are still present.  And we saw a few of the more common butterflyfish, but all those little blennies and hawkfish were not to be found.  Towards the end of my swim I saw the juvenile of the blackside (freckled) hawkfish perched on a rare piece of coral.  My effort at taking his picture only served to chase him away.  In 40 minutes, that may have been the only hawkfish I saw. 

    Just as I was ready to head back into the fishpond, a reticulated butterflyfish swam by.  This handsome fish with his houndstooth coat is a favorite.

Reticulated Butterflyfish  Kona Makai  May 2020

   Getting out was no problem, even in my aged and decrepit state.  A Japanese lady with her lap dog was sitting in the sun near the exit.  I had the sense that she was wondering if she would be responsible for calling 911 when I fell.  

    Kona Makai condominiums still has a hose by the pool that is available for snorkelers to use for a shower and gear wash.

 Thus refreshed, I met up with Sandra.  Mission accomplished.  Now I can look forward to turning 70 with a clean conscience.

   While the lack of fish at Kona Makai bordered on the horrifying, the underwater topography, with large boulders and lava tubes makes for an interesting snorkel.  And as we saw with the reticulated butterfly, if you are in the water, you never know what might swim by.

jeff

 

Locust Lobster, Picture courtesy of Wikipedia

The best sighting of the day was made by Sandra.  While I was swimming in the ocean, she was checking out the tidepools where a dozen years ago we found rare hermit crabs.  While she was stepping carefully from one slick stone to the other, a small brown crustacean leaped from the shallow water. And then it leaped again before scuttling under a rock.  After looking over John Hoover's critter book, she is convinced that she saw a Hawaiian Locust Lobster.  Here we are showing a picture of a locust lobster borrowed from Wikipedia.  Note the blunt face.  If you happen to have a copy of Hoover's book, the picture there is much better.