Family Trip to Waimea

I'll let the pictures do most of the talking. It was a beautiful Sunday to go to Waimea. The colors of the hillsides are striking and brilliant. I love to take pictures of this area and the cute shops and interesting landmarks that surround the area. I also tend to take pictures from the car window while driving up and down the highway, another photography at 50 mph episode. At least we weren't going faster! I actually captured some interesting scenes along the way. We then made it back to our villa and took family pictures and some silly photos of us all as well. We had a great day!

Code Names

Darby and Austin decided unexpectedly one afternoon to create code names for each other. This occured right before we left on vacation. Her code name was Clark, for Austin's they picked out Bob, Dad became Moose, and during the drive to the airport, Cara was given her code name of Boomer. They were having a hard time picking out a good code name for me. So, innocently and because it was a nickname my best friends in highschool sometimes used, I offered Fred. The reason why I bring this up is because we have another tradition to write names on the sea cucumbers from time to time while we are diving. The kids think it's fantastic and it doesn't hurt the animals that are covered in sand. While we were diving we tried to find everyone a sea cucumber from time to time and photo it with our code names written on them. I think we were able to remember to photo, Fred, Bob, Clark and Boom (because we couldn't find a cucumber large enough to add -er for Boomer). 

We also named a cucumber Cara because we couldn't leave out her real name either!

Cave Diving with White Tip Reef Sharks

I never thought I'd like to be near a shark in open water. There are so many stories that have been glamorized by the press about shark attacks and quite frankly those stories made me a bit paranoid. My intent to become a scuba diver, despite my reservations about these animals, however was stronger and I willingly and curiously began my training to Scuba dive. 

Being a scuba diver, at some point you most likely will encounter some species of shark during any one of a number of dives. My first dive ever to Skull Cave, or Suck 'em Up as the locals call it, I saw my first "real" shark in the ocean and it was... sleeping. After diving a number of times since I have come to love, as Mike calls them "the Labrador retrievers of the sea." I also find myself on dives seeking them out. Our trip in April we encountered nearly ten sharks as I now find myself entranced by their size, beauty and grace as they swim swiftly by you. Like one did on the dive filmed below. This graceful white tip reef shark, as (of course) I'm looking down at my camera to switch modes from photography to video, ventured not three feet away from my face as it made it's way by my left shoulder to settle in the sandy bottom of the cave we were diving.

I'm also disturbed by the fact that so many misconceptions about their species exist and perpetuate the fear to kill and destroy them. So out of my new found admiration for the shark, here is my video of our experiences observing them.

The Elusive Dragon Moray Eel

During our drift dive along what Captain Russ called Thurston's wall I was behind the rest of our small group of about five divers when I noticed something in the coral about eight feet away from me. I knew it was an eel that I had never seen before so I took a closer look as most eels are not extremely frightened by the presence of divers. I couldn't believe my luck. I had spied and found all on my own a Dragon Moray Eel or in Hawaiian puhi ao. It is one of the most rare to find and is also one of the smaller species but it's distinct colors and markings make it one of the most striking of the eel family in Hawaii.
This photo I took right when I thought what I believed to be a Dragon Moray Eel. Unfortunately, my camera was on the fritz everyday during our stay and I couldn't really rely on it to focus properly. Needless to say this was so frustrating since fish and such don't necessarily stay in one place for very long or sit still to have their portrait taken.
In any case I kept getting closer and closer all the while attempting to make my camera work and trying to let my diving companions know what luck I had in finding this amazing animal. Too bad no one was paying attention to my banging on my tank...
I spent a lovely five minutes admiring the coolest eel I've ever encountered. Finally got some in focus pictures that I think turned out splendidly considering my out of whack camera.

I think I finally got just a little too close and the moray backed into its cozy cavern.
Once aboard the boat I explained to Mike that I had found a dragon moray when I finally he looked back after I'd gotten his attention underwater. Signaling for him to come closer and see I tried to sign something but he unfortunately thought I was telling him something vastly different than my hand sign for dragon moray. He thought I was saying lobster and eel of which he had no interest in coming over to see, so without further delay I posed the question what is your hand sign for dragon moray, which he then showed me and from this day forward I promise Mike, if I ever have the chance to see one again, I'll know the correct hand sign! :) Since he then declared that had he known it was a dragon moray he would have payed more attention! :) At least I had the pictures to prove me right...

AND IT'S A BEAUTY

Keauhou Dive and Thurstons Wall Drift Dive

After mooring near the Sheraton in Keauhou (also where the southern manta ray night dive takes place) Dennis and I followed Mike, our dive master around this new site. We had never dove here during the day. On the fourth of July we dove the manta dive with Austin, who being recently certified was overcome with enthusiasm at the thought of his first night dive. Unfortunately we didn't take the camera with us during that dive. Dennis and I were more concerned with Austin's safety during the night dive to bother with getting a photo of him in the deep dark sea. In any event, we enjoyed this site during the day. The photo above is of a picture of what is known as a "bait ball" these are usually Mackerel Scad called opelu, or Bigeye Scad called akule. Diving as much as Dennis and I have been we've been present with many schools of fish however, this was the first time we had witnessed anything of this magnitude. The fish were so thick they drowned out the sunlight underneath. 

Here we are during our descent. I don't know why but we seem to take more pictures during this time more than during the dive, probably because we are looking for so many different things while actually diving.


"I'm OKAY!"

Mike found a hairy hermit crab to show us. It had a beautiful shell and it was another first that we had seen during this trip.

I love this kind of coral, so do white mouthed moray eels, sometimes they are quite small and you can hardly make them out amongst the similar structures of coral.

When they get larger though they become quite easy to spot. The white mouthed morays are probably the most common to see and during our first few dives in Kona we were excited to see them. After diving here so many times we now love to hunt for more varied species to photo. 
Here is another white mouthed moray allowing a cleaner wrasse to pluck algae or other parasites or dead tissue from the moray's mouth.






About sixty feet or so coral stops growing and sand begins the drop off into the deep ocean. We looked out all the time to see anything interesting, and by interesting I mean something very large like sharks, rays, turtles, or during the right season even whales. Alas, nothing to that size graced our presence, but we found some other interesting things to take photos of.

Just a pic of the ocean coral bottom at about 50 feet.
This trip I had given myself a few "must get" pictures before we left. The elusive, at least to me, potter's angel fish was one of those fish. Whenever I would spy one I'd ready my camera, aim in the direction of the fish only to find that it had scurried under or behind coral. This time I was able to capture a few pictures of what I consider a very pretty fish, even though it is relatively common.
Try #1 Swimming away (it's the orange and blue fish)
Try #2 At least he's swimming my direction this time...
Try #3 Beginning it's hide and seek with me... under a spiny sea urchin. But one of the better photos maybe I'll actually get a better one while we are here. 
Last time I found genre of critters to capture my interest. These are the nudibranchs of the ocean. They are usually smaller sea slugs, flatworms and just odd looking creatures that are usually so few and far between I wonder how they even survive to create others.

I've often said that many of my favorite fish are in the wrasse family. This was the first time I had seen a juvenile Psychedelic Wrasse. It is probably less than an inch long and seemed to flutter like a butterfly back and forth in the waves as we watched it. Obviously it was hard to get my camera to focus on such a tiny and continuously moving object, but here is what I came up with.
This picture is a cropped and larger version of the one below. 

In an Octopus's Garden: Kona, Hawaii

When we first started scuba diving in Kona I found particular interest in the octopus. They are very shy creatures and very difficult to find unless you know where to look for them. Our first few trips to various dive sites we would hope to see one with the help of our very talented dive masters who knew what to look for. When they spied one they then would signal to all the divers with a hand sign and for us to approach cautiously so as not to intimidate the creature deeper into the rocks and crevices in which they found shelter. After forty or so dives along the Kona coastline I, too, have developed a sense of where to find these eight tentacled blobs that squirt water and ink at you from time to time. However, while they are such interesting and sometimes comedic animals to observe, we sometimes interact with them very gently so as not to entice them to use their ink as it is their main defense to their predators. I again made use of my iMovie program to put together this video for my friends the octopus.

I had so many wonderful photos of them I included them within the video as opposed to listing them in the blog here because there were so many great pictures with wonderful color and quality. The video unfortunately is not as colorful and is, in actuality, more close to what is actually seen while diving as red, the octopus's color, is absent below depths of thirty or so feet. I tried to use my new Intova light to illuminate with my left hand as I steadied my video camera in my right and it worked somewhat. Enjoy my fascination with these amazing and curious beings!

Music Video Montage of Manta Ray Dives

It took most of yesterday to use iMovie and put together some of the video we took while diving with the manta rays. I've only used this program one other time so I'm still learning how to make the most of the many options it has to offer. Dennis and I have already decided to purchase a new HD camera because our little Cannon Power Shot really doesn't show the great dive as well as it could. I hope you enjoy it! I especially had fun working with all of the texting and photo imaging and panning that was available on the application and used it for the end of the video a lot.

This is still rated one of the top ten dives in the world to do by many dive resources. With ten to twelve mantas showing up to feed this night it was serene and graceful to watch the mantas dance. One of my favorite parts is the lights that illuminate all of the plankton! As crazy as this sounds when you dive you can feel these tiny creatures like fizz touching your lips and cheeks while they hover in the water. During this dive we explored around the rocks and found a zebra moray eel which was incredible and I'll post some amazing photos we got of him later. It is a little long for a video but I hope you enjoy what I put together!

After this dive we took the snorkelers back to port and then made our way three miles off shore to do a black water dive. We were able to see some amazing creatures from the deep make their way to around thirty feet and float past us. While we didn't get any great pictures of this dive, because I need a much better camera and strobes and lighting, it was an amazing experience to be in the open ocean in pitch black water drifting with the boat. I was even the first one to jump in... and no there were no sharks. :) Towards the end of that forty-five minute adventure we even heard the clicks and squeaks of dolphins out hunting somewhere near our dive, too bad they didn't swim closer. Although something that big might have scared me!