Kahalu'u in the New Year

     After Christmas the surf came up, making snorkeling difficult.  Finally today we had relatively calm seas and the tide was right for Kahalu'u.  The weather was cold and clear.  Cold in Kona is under 70

A pictus moray for the new year

degrees.  I dressed warmly for the water, which was a good thing because the winter swell had washed out the relatively warm water and the bay was about the same temperature as the air.  And 75 degree water is chilly for Hawaii.

    Luckily, the water was fairly clear in spots and we saw a few good fish and one nice critter.  

   Early on I saw a pictus moray, which is larger than many eels at Kahalu'u.  Big enough to give one pause , but not notorious for biting, I still chose to give him some respect.

In a nice patch of clear water there were a pair of lined butterflies and some handsome threadfins.  Threadfins remain common, but this is the only Lined Butterfliyfish that I have seen this season.

Lined Butterfly, Kahalu'u January 2024

    On my way across, I ran into this Gosline's Fanged Blenny.  Tiny wiggly and often approachable,  they are the small and more common cousin of the Ewa Fanged Blenny, which I have only seen twice.  These little guys make a living cleaning other fish.  In fact, in almost the same spot i saw a juvenile cleaner warasse.  black with an electric blue line, they do the same job. Both, on occasion, will take a nibble of the fish as opposed to a parasite.  This is more likely iwth the fanged blenny than the cleaner wrasse.  Lucky for me, one of these little devis has not attempted to nip my skinny you know what.

Gosline's Fanged Blenny  January 2024

    In almost the very center of the bay I encountered this fine Humpback Cowry.  although he was sitting in the sand, he was so nice and clean that I can reasonably hope there was a snail inside.  I t was early, still before 9 AM, so hopefully he was on his way to a good hiding spot as opposed to a drawer in someone's cabinet collection..  There are three similar cowries, dark chocolate brown, but this one has the the roundest profile.

Humpback Cowry, January 2024 Kahalu'u

      I saw some more fish, usual suspects as it were, and I was lucky enough to complete my swim with a female Pearl Wrasse fairly close to the entry.  She swam with me long enough for this nice New Year's photo.  We made it through 2023 and look forward to some fine adventures in 2024.  I hope you all have some fine adventures, as well. 

Have a pearl of a new year!

jeff