Kahalu'u Gold on Kathy's Last Day. Hawaii Snorkeling at its best!

      Earlier this week we bid a fond adieu to our friends from the PNW.  But before the goodbyes, there was one more morning to look at fish.

Diodon hystrix, Kahalu'u December 2025

  For her aloha snorkel, our friend Kathy chose a morning swim at Kahalu'u.  The snorkeling conditions had been great all week; despite it being high tide, with the Menehune Breakwater all but submerged. there was little wave action in the bay.  Things were looking good. 

     The day before, Wendy had decided that she had had enough of hanging around picnic tables waiting for her man to return from the sea.  She never would have made it as the wife of a Nantucket whaling captain  (I'm sure there's a good limerick in there somewhere.)  So, it was going to be up to Sandra and Vernon to hold down the fort while Kathy and I explored for fish.

   Before that could happen, there was business ashore.  First, we gave Yasuko her Christmas present, a Pink tail Triggerfish ornament for her tree.  Domo arigato Mr. Fish-mato.  

Another look at the Barred Spiny Puffer

   And then I spied these two young ladies freshly emerged from the early morning sea.  I asked them about the conditions (always a good ice breaker) and they replied that it was too bumpy.  Then I asked where they were from.  "Saskatchewan." they replied.  

    "Saskatoon?" I asked.  "Regina." they replied.  It was all I could do to keep from referencing one of Jerry Seinfeld's best episodes.  the one where he can't remember his new love interest's name, but it rhymes with a lady's body part.  Heard to believe I have that much discretion...right?  

     Following this I had an interesting conversation with their dad, who appeared much younger that I expected.  Which caused me to suspect that the young lovelies, despite plenty of well-proportioned avoir du pois, were younger, as well.  Anyway, I recalled every Canadian who I had ever encountered in Hawaii, and he told me they were going back in two days.   Apparently, you don't fly direct to Regina (or any other city in Cananda that rhymes with a female body part).  So he had arranged to fly direct back to Calgary (which rhymes with that organization that got George Custer, et al. in a bit of trouble) and from there the foursome was going to drive back to Regina.  And that night it was going to snow 20 cm in Calgary.  Don't you love the metric system?  That's nuef pouces de neige if you live in Montral and don't like the metric system.  Apparently if you reside in the frozen north, you think nothing of driving nine hours in the dark, in the snow, if it is part of the going to Hawaii deal.  Aloha snowy loa!

Ringtail Wrasse dead ahead,  Kahalu'u 12/24

    Well, about that time our friends arrived and soon Ekaterina and yours truly were sliding over the rocks into the bay.  Almost immediately we saw a great fish.  Attempting to hide in the lee of a chunk of deceased coral was a chunky puffer fish.  Diodon hysrix, the barred spiny puffer.  It has been a while since I have seen this fish in these Very Sandwich Islands, but I did see it Bali within recent memory. Memory in this instance is aided by my voluminous lists and so I can tell you for certain that we saw D. hystrix in Pemuteran in December of 2009.  Just looking at those Bali lists, which run for six pages is enough to get the old fishwatchin' blood running.  

    This guy was only about four feet down.  In addition to the spines, he had a number of small white stringy things connected to his skin round his head.  These show up in my unfortunately less than perfect pictures.  John Hoover tells us these are short barbels, sensory organs.  Pretty cool, if I do say so myself.

Intermediate YTC Kahalu'u 12/24

    A bit further on we chased a blue stripe snapper, and I tried to coax a Cone shell Hermit Crab from his shell (with no success) and we were beginning to wonder if the puffer was going to be it for the day.  But as we headed up the gut all hell broke loose.  First we saw a Ringtail Wrasse.  He stayed about ten feet ahead of us affording some photographic attempts.   

   Off to the left an intermediate Yellowtail Coris appeared.  I don't see one of these fascinating intermediates very often.  Heaven knows, the adult male and female are common almost everywhere and the babies, the Red Labrid Wrasse is common enough.  So, one must conclude that the red labrid passes through the intermediate form fairly quickly.  This fellow was about three and a half to four inches long (9 cm).  I saw a small YTC of the same size in completed adult coloration as I chased this guy around trying for a good shot.  I'm including my inadequate picture, and this is what you should look for:  He had a yellow tail.  He was basically red with white tapered bands, but the trailing third of the fish was blue with a constellation of white spots surrounding the last two tapered white bands.  All in all, a hell of a fish.

Kathy, Kent and your humble correspondent at Kahalu'u.

    Aas I was chasing him around I spied a tiny Dragon Wrasse.  He was light colored, brownish green with mottled off white.  He was about an inch in length.  As our hero, John Lennon, would put it, "Gotta be good lookin' cause he's so hard to see."  

    This was the super good stuff.  Out on the flats we got a very good look at a colorful adult Christmas Wrasse.   It was a great Aloha Snorkel for Kathy, and me, too.   We are rapidly approaching the day on which we will hunt for the Christmas Wrasse in all seriousness.  In the meantime, we can shop 'til we drop, concentrate on healing up our feet and whistle Mele Kailiki Maka as we recline in the shade with an ice tea.

Aloha, jeff

A Ho'okena Update

     A couple days ago we joined our friends at Ho'okena for some snorkeling.  Sandra and I arrived around 8 AM.   We nabbed a picnic table with a killer view of the bay.   Having arrived half an hour early (it took only 45 minutes to drive down from Kailua) we had a chance to talk with a pleasant fellow who seemed to get down to our favorite beach with some frequency.

Spinner Dolphin, Ho'okena 2018

    There were dolphins swimming in the bay, and I, of course, was curious to know if he knew what the new regulations were, vis a vis swimming with the dolphins, and how they were enforced.  He said that last June and July, so two months after the regulations went into effect, there were federal officers at Ho'okena giving people tickets.  That had not been the case recently, and he occasionally swam near the dolphins and let them swim to him.  If I was talking to a complete stranger, I suppose I would say something of the sort.

   Kathy and her group arrived at 8:30, securing the last spot in the parking lot.   Soon the four swimmers were headed down to the south end of the beach.  Before we could enter the water, Kent and I had to attend to our injured feet.  I applied a Band-Aid and he put on socks, then flipper walked into the remarkably clam bay. 

Dolphin Pair Ho'okena 2020

It was a five minute swim out to the dolphins.  We had seen other swimmers with them for half an hour and there were two paddle boarderss, as well.   

   We got within five yards of the dolphins.  This was clearly the tail end of their morning frolic at Ho'okena, so I guess we were lucky to catch the last of the act.  Kent was especially happy to have seen the dolphins in the wild.  Five feet is a better distance for superior dolphin pictures so I'm including one or two taken at Ho'okena in days past.

     We had seen some good coral growing 30 feet down as we swam out to the dolphin pond.  Now as we swam back across the bay, we saw lots of coral, but no unusual fish.   As we swam along my bandaid gave up the ghost.  Luckily Kent was trailing behind and he nabbed it as he swam.  

    We checked out the pier and then Sandra left us for the beach.  I ushered Kathy and Kent to the coral where we have seen angelfish in the past.  A bit of patience yielded a pair of Potter's angelfish, but no amount of waiting produced a flame.  Bummer.

Potter's Angelfish, Ho'okena, 2016

    On our first circuit we had not seen Gilded Triggerfish.  As I have done in the past, I swam just an additional ten yards seaward from the angelfish coral and we found several Gilded Triggerfish,..handsome yellow fin margins and blue faces.  Delightful.

    The really good news is that Sandra completed this swim without a jaw problem.  

   We had one more adventure with Kathy which will appear in the next installment.

jeff

Snorkleling With Kathy Part Deux...The Amazing Octopus

         This week we are enjoying a visit with Kathy and her entourage from Oregon   They visited us five years ago and have come close to returning several times.  Covid and other factors always prevented their return.  But Hurray!  They finally made it.  And today we met at Kahalu'u for a reunion snorkel outing,

A sole milletseed hangs on at Kahalu'u

      Kathy and her entourage beat us to the Beach Park and by the time we arrived, she had already made friends with Yasuko.  Yasuko is an Osaka girl which just happens to be the village where Kathy's son lives, and is happily married, working a sensei teaching English.  Truly a small world experience, involving a monster of a metropolis (Kyoto-Osaka.)

     The spice (which the blog lexicographer assures me is the preferred plural for spouses) hung out in the shelter while Kathy, Kent and yours truly were swimming in the bay.  We had scored a day with extremely low surf; the bay was cool, clear and calm.  Immediately on entering, I was able to show Kathy our resident Pearl Wrasse.  Kent missed it because he was ogling a trio of smaller Green Sea Turtles.  He got some great pictures,  and we are hoping he figures out a way to get them out of Kathy's camera and into my computer.) 

The Day Octopus hangs above the coral

     We enjoyed a nice look at a Milletseed Butterfly, and a miter, which I delicately extricated from the sand without harming the snail living inside this long, tapered shell.  We then headed out, still pretty close to the entry.  Suddenly Kathy pointed ahead, where only twenty feet away a medium sized octopus was suspended above the coral.  His legs dangled down below his drooping proboscis.  It was a remarkable look, and as we kept our distance, he remained suspended in the water.  

    Usually, we see octopus sitting on the coral, or more likely, scooting under the coral.  Sometimes we see them scooting rapidly from one spot to another.  Rarely do we see them suspended in mid-water.  But this guy was suspended above the coral, much like that apparition that rises from the tub in the Wizard of Id.  I guess you have to be old enough to remember that wry comic ghost.  As it turns out, the octopus has a swim bladder, similar to that in fish.  Another instance where highly unrelated species, a bony vertebrate and a mollusk, have evolved essentially the same organ to conquer the same problem...buoyancy.  The swim bladder is filled with gas which allows the fish or octopus to adjust his level in the water.

If I wait long enough, I'm sure he'll go away.

     I got the picture you see here.  As is so often my experience, the octopus seems to have defeated the camera.  Looking back, I wonder just how clear a look I got at this amazing animal.  I swam around and got another picture after he receded into the coral, which is more defined.

    We swam the bay, enjoying the usual suspects which included a Stripe Belly Puffer. 

    And that was about it. Everyone survived and we were prepared for another adventure the next day.

    

     🐠🐠🐠🐠🐠🐠     🐠🐠🐠🐠🐠🐠      🐠🐠🐠🐠🐠🐠      🐠🐠🐠🐠🐠🐠

     

The next day involved some extra planning.  We had decided to go to the pier, where everyone, even the less enthusiastic and able swimmers, could have a safe experience.  With this in mind, and the shower facilities closed, Sandra and I arrived early with five gallons of water, so the multitude could wash off after the communal dip.

Spotted Linkia Starfish, Kailua Kona 12/24

   I parked the car and returned and soon Kathy, Vernon, and Kent arrived.  What? No Wendy?  Wendy had opted for a massage in lieu of an ablution.  Not only that, but it was now revealed that Vernon had decided that he was a non-swimmer and was going to hang out elsewhere while the snorkeling occurred.  So, we were down to four snorkelers and a remarkable excess of rinse water.

   As the ability level had risen, we decided to swim on the Paul Allen side.  The water in the Inner Harbour was chilly, but on the way out I saw a pretty Spotted Linkia Starfish clinging to a rock near King Kamehameha's heiau.  This would prove to be the outstanding species for this outing.

   We had a nice swim.  Kathy fell in love with the Four Spot Butterflyfish and Kent found a Crown of Thorns Starfish.  Best of all, Sandra completed her first snorkel in over a year with no jaw pain.  Hijinks will ensue!

Kathy's new favorite: the Fourspot Butterfly

    So we all walked back to where the cars were parked.  I loaned our guests a couple field guides.  And Sandra and I headed back to the pier where we had left our gallons  of fresh water and much of our gear.  Sandra waited in the car while I went to the cubbies and loaded up with fins and bags of equipment.  Two steps later I tripped on a curb.  It a short curb and one might not even know it was there if they didn't trip over it.  People in every direction asked if I was all right.  And I lied, as us serial fall takers are wont to do, and said, sure, I'm fine.

   Of course, I wasn't fine.  Both feet were scuffed up and I had a divot in my right great toe as big as a peanut M&M.  And a bruise on my hip.  Not to mention severely wounded pride. 

   Oh well.  We took the next day off and the adventure will continue with two more exciting outings.

Jeff

Kahalu'u...the New Octopus Hotspot

    Two days ago the surf came down.  The Kona Coast had been the recipient of great surfing conditions for over a week.  I had tried snorkeling at the pier a couple days earlier and the visibility was two to four feet.  Sometimes it felt like I was snorkeling through a sandbox.

Cat Lady Minus Her Snorkel.

     So, when the breakers went away, we hopped in the car and got to Kahalu'u wiki wiki.  As I sat on a rock, I was joined in the shallows by a pleasant young lady wearing a white neoprene hat with little pointy ears.  Was she the cat snorkeler?  We discussed the water temperature, which was on the cool side, and wave conditions, which were acceptable.  I shoved off and I assumed she was right behind me.

     The water warmed as I made my way out of the shallow, rocky inlet that is our K Bay entrance.  The water was clear, but there was enough current to guarantee that I would keep swimming or head immediately in the wrong direction.  About five minutes into the swim I was tapped on the shoulder.  It was the Cat Lady and she said in a sweet voice, almost reverential, " Octopus".  She then proceeded to point.  It seems her octopus had sequestered himself under a rock and I didn't see him.  but I have no doubt that she did.  Coupled with the small octopus I saw a week or so ago, this boded well for the Day Octopus in Kahalu'u.

Day Octopus, Kahalu'u 12/24

    The Cat Lady and I snorkeled on towards the breakwater without seeing anything noteworthy and so I turned and headed out into the middle of the bay.  There, I encountered two older ladies, possible even older than myself.  (Is that possible?)  In spite of being of a certain age, neither was wearing fins.  So, despite everything, they must be much stronger swimmers than I am.  I was attempting to take a picture of a white mouth moray when one of the ladies tapped me on the shoulder.  And she said, "Octopus." 

   It took a moment for them to position me correctly...there was plenty of current and more than a touch of slosh.  But once I got around to the seaside of a large dying coral, I was treated to a fine large octopus.  This guy was changing colors and had thrown up a shaggy appearance, so he resembled a bear skin cap.  He was the size of the air bladder on a bagpipe, so I think we should call him Angus. 

   Regardless of the difficult conditions, I was able to get the picture you see here.  Not terrible, everything considered.

Devil Scorpionfish, Kahalu'u  12/24

    I was about to swim away when one of the ladies surfaced and said, "Is that a scorpionfish?"   Either these ladies were lucky, or they are very good, because they were easily able to direct me to a fine Devil Scorpionfish who had positioned himself on a rock.  I was able to dive down and get this mug shot.

   I left them to their treasures and head in.  Over by the rescue kiosk I found a baby Lagoon Triggerfish, perhaps three inches long.  Is there a Hawaiian word for toddler?  I chased him around for five minutes and never got a very good photo.  But it was a nice end to the snorkeling trip.  

  

    It appears this is a good time at Kahalu'u for octopuses and I hope you have a chance to get down there for a look before the surf comes up.  After all, it is winter in Hawaii.

jeff