Sea life is one of Kona’s big attractions.
A Body Glove cruise even guarantees dolphin sightings! And after munching continental breakfasts, we encounter an entertaining pod of these friendly critters. Cruises like this also facilitate snorkeling. Anchoring in a peaceful cove, crewmen distribute snorkeling gear, including prescription-lensed masks. One fellow presents helpful instructions and safety tips.
Plunging into crystal waters, keeners like me start identifying the colourful fish. Descriptive names make it easy. Convict tangs wear black-and-white stripes. Sergeant fish have black-and-yellow bands. Yellow trumpet fish have long horn-like-snouts ready to slurp up prey. White goatfish scour bottom debris using beard-like barbules. Boxfish amble and bird wrasse dart above white coral. Amid this vivid swirl roams humu-humu-nuku-nuku-apu’a’a. Translated as ‘lei adorned pig,’ these are aptly Hawaii’s state fish.
Shapes determine coral species’ names. Finger, mushroom, cauliflower and brain corals carpet a black lava flow. Using beak-like mouths, multi-coloured parrotfish gnaw algae off these corals. Snarling moray eels sometimes hide among the corals. Purple, blue and orange sponges carpet several lobed corals. Schools of lemon-yellow tang nibble these sponges. Our trip ends with lunch featuring deluxe barbecued burgers and sweet purple poi chips.
Body Glove’s catamaran also provides dinner cruises teeming with merry-time pleasure. Along Kona’s shoreline an onboard historian recounts stories of kings’ royal compounds, stone heiaus (temples) and a decisive battlefield. Arriving at Kealakekua Bay, we see a tall white memorial. Here, he tells how natives welcomed Captain Cook as a god in 1779, and killed him months later as a troublesome mortal.
Soon there’s a show of humpback whales spouting and breaching amid dolphins spinning up from the water. Our dinner is enjoyed on this placid bay bathed by a tropic sunset. Sailing back, a guitarist croons Hawaiian melodies, golden oldies and songs inspiring enthusiastic line dancing.
The Fair Winds carried us twice to explore this bay’s wondrous arrays of fish. Years later, its sister catamaran Hula Kai took us to rocky inlets beyond. There, shipmates rented water-rockets for effortless surveys and long, air-hosed snuba (shallow water diving) equipment to explore the depths.
Simply masked and finned, I paddle around this piscine paradise. Lava tubes, once conduits of hot flowing magma, now shelter countless fish. Red squirrelfish rummage amongst two sea arches. And psychedelic Moorish idols parade by sporting white dorsal pennants!
At Rob’s Reef, the captain mentions some rare fish at the end of the cove. In pristine water, I snorkel above silver unicorn tangs and small red neon wrasses. Approaching the shoreline, red cardinal fish gather in shadowy depths. Flashy triggerfish prowl a seabed dotted with orange and purple sea urchins. Their name reflects how they can fire water jets to flip over these urchins for meals.
Four species of butterflyfish dubbed by their flamboyant designs – fourspot, teardrop, raccoon and threadfin – promenade among the coral architecture. Mating for life, they swim as couples. At the edge of the reef, the glorious rarities are seen: fluttering pairs of pyramid butterflyfish. As their name suggests, these orange-and-yellow fish bear white pyramids on their side.
Many beach parks access spots for observing arrays of exciting marine life. Sitting on sandy strands, we attend offshore the antics of whales and dolphins. Turtles may bask nearby or on offshore rocks. Vivid fish dart around tide pools and lagoons. Immersed, I see finny friends magically interact. At Kahaluu, placards and volunteers help families learn about Hawaiian sea-life. Surrounded by a rock wall, its calm waters typically encompass extraordinary pink-tailed tangs, saddle wrasse, starry-eyed parrotfish, silvery surgeonfish, bluefin trevally, lizardfish, and the splendiferous ornate wrasse.
Bidding aloha to Kona’s marine life is difficult, but we’ll return.
See Hawaii Island Tourism www.gohawaii.com for possibilities, planning and aloha spirit, Body Glove Cruises: www.bodyglovehawaii.com, and Huala Kai www.fairwind.com for a terrific time at Kealakekua Bay and nearby.
