{"id":8181,"date":"2015-02-15T10:59:22","date_gmt":"2015-02-15T18:59:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mixhart.ca\/blog\/?p=8181"},"modified":"2015-02-15T11:16:02","modified_gmt":"2015-02-15T19:16:02","slug":"snorkelling-big-island-hawaii","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.mixhart.ca\/index.php\/snorkelling-big-island-hawaii\/","title":{"rendered":"Snorkelling On The Big Island Of Hawaii"},"content":{"rendered":"

Snorkelling on The Big Island Hawaii<\/h4>\n
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Peter and I at Two Step, my favourite spot to snorkel. The corral is in great shape and there are so many beautiful fish!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Yellow Tang<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Snorkelling on The Big Island is the reason I choose to visit Hawaii over all the other islands. The reefs are still in fairly good shape despite tourism and global ocean pollution. I share with you pictures from my three top snorkelling sites this trip: Makaiwa Bay, Two Step<\/strong> (near City of Refuge) and at Kahaluu Beach<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

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Ornate Butterflyfish<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Redlip Parrot fish at top of pic.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Two Step corral.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Life Below at Two Step.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

February is one of the roughest for the ocean on the Big Island. The calmest months are June\/July but I found March even much calmer than February. Some great snorkelling spots are out of the question in February due to continual massive ocean breaks. However, some of the more sheltered bays proved to still be in good shape for snorkelling. Below is my technique for entering the water at Makaiwa Bay<\/strong>. A recent storm pushed some huge rocks very near shore so I have to dunk right away to avoid tripping over them. Getting thrown into them as one exits the ocean is no picnic either (just saying)…<\/p>\n

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Step one: put on my flippers.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Step two: back into water avoiding large rocks to trip on.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Ready to explore Makaiwa bay.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Great snorkelling at Makaiwa Bay when the water is calm and the sea clear.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Turtles appreciate the calmer shores to take a nap. We managed to find a total of six sea turtles on shore this trip. A few are pictured resting below:<\/p>\n

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Hanu in the sand on West Coast of Hawaii near Four Seasons Resort.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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3 hanu near Orchid Fairmont Beach, Hawaii.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Moorish Idol at Kahaluu Beach<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Yellow Tang with sea urchins.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Butterflyfish and Wrasse.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Snorkelling with Pippi is challenging because although she is a swimmer, the ocean currents are super strong, even in shallow waters in February, so I have a hard time fighting the currents and getting her back to the shore with me (holding onto her life jacket). The current at Kahaluu Beach<\/strong> is super strong and as soon as the water is over her head, she has difficulty fighting her way to shore. Exiting can also be challenging as the waves throw one against lava rock shores. Therefor, Pippi didn’t snorkel with us at spots like Two Step<\/strong> because you enter and exit very deep water at a small area with two natural lava steps and the break tosses you around as you attempt to heave your butt onto the step.<\/p>\n

I hope you enjoy a few more Hawaiian tropical fish pictures below. I’ve tried several guides to help me identify the fish but so many are not in my guides! The ocean was quite choppy so the water isn’t as clear as I’d have liked for the pictures. However, I love having an underwater camera and any pictures are golden to me!\"P2130076\"<\/a> \"P2130074\"<\/a> \"P2130056\"<\/a> \"P2130058\"<\/a> \"P2130047\"<\/a> \"P2130052\"<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Snorkelling on The Big Island Hawaii Snorkelling on The Big Island is the reason I choose to visit Hawaii over all the other islands. The reefs are still in fairly good shape despite tourism and global ocean pollution. I share … Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":8216,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"kt_blocks_editor_width":"","_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[104,1805,2209],"tags":[1917,2728,2727,2726,1044,2729],"class_list":["post-8181","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-fitness","category-travelandadventure","category-usa-travelandadventure","tag-hawaii","tag-kahaluu-beach-hawaii","tag-makaiwa-bay-hawaii","tag-snorkelling-in-hawaii","tag-the-big-island","tag-two-step-hawaii"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t