9 Feb 2022
Good morning, Hawai’i!
I’m still on Central Time and woke up well before dawn again. While my room faces northwest-ish, it still has nice views of the town in the morning light.
Today, I only booked a morning boat trip- it’ll be strange to have the afternoon off, but I’ve done so many manta dives (which is what most of the afternoon dives are here) and diving in Hawaii is expensive!
I do, however, enjoy the long-range charters- the boats tend to be smaller (max. 6 divers) and we get to check out sites that are a bit further out and find some of the critters that hang out either in deeper/different waters.
Dive #2 – Driftwood
We headed south today and dove off this beautiful coastline:
Hello there, Freckled hawkfish!
This guy was tucked up into a hole, but I believe he is a Yellow-margin moray eel:
FLAME ANGELFISH!!!
Normally, these guys are super-skittish, but I was at the back of the group and happened to come across this guy out and about, swimming around quite boldly (until I took his picture).
Disappearing wrasse:
this guy definitely lives up to his name and disappeared into the coral as soon as I snapped this shot.
A little strawberry nudibranch / Phyllidiella pustulosa!
A hidden Peacock grouper:
Fun fact: the Peacock grouper is not native to Hawai’i but was introduced because someone thought that they were pretty (they are!) and that they would make for good fishing (somewhat true, but they sometimes carry a toxin that makes eating them risky).
Fried egg nudibranch / Phyllidia varicosa:
and another!
Fourspot butterflyfish:
Typically, I see these guys in pairs, but this one was solo 🙁
Ewa fang blenny:
This guy was nipping at other fish, as fang blennies tend to do.
Dwarf moray!
this little guy was about the size of a chunky pencil
isn’t he cute!?
Threadfin butterflyfish:
Yellow tang:
A (terrible picture of a) juvenile Yellowtail coris, who is starting to change into an adult:
Ornate wrasse:
one day, I will get a good picture of this guy!
Dive #3 – Henry’s Cave
We drove up the coast just a bit and dove near this formation:
Normally when I see slipper lobsters, they are tucked up in a little nook, but this guy was out in the open, so here’s a silly shot of his legs:
Gold-lace nudibranch! / Halgerda terramtuentis:
and another!
I love these guys- they’re so pretty!
Dot-and-dash nudibranch / Hypselodoris bertschi:
I had only spotted this guy once before, and my picture wasn’t that great, so I’m glad to have a better shot for my fish book.
Reef lizardfish:
Adult Yellowtail coris:
Hawaiian dascyllus:
Agile chromis:
Lei triggerfish:
Whitemouth moray:
and another!
he had wound himself through the coral:
Orangeband surgeonfish:
After a quick stop at my condo to hang out my gear to dry, I wandered into town and found some shave ice- one of my favorite Hawaiian treats 🙂
this one is strawberry, mango and guava- tropical and delicious!
Goodnight Kona!
