Attempting to snorkel in Hawaii

Greg and I enjoy snorkelling, but almost always it's at an all-inclusive resort where we're able to come out of our hotel room and swim from the beach. We brought our snorkel equipment with us to Hawaii, but so far haven't been successful.

Yesterday, we went to Kona, on the west side of the island. It's about an hour-and-a-half drive. As we started out, we saw snow on the mountain top. That's the way I like to see snow - from a distance!

The Kona area, on the west side of The Big Island, is far different to the Hilo area on the east coast. The coastline near Kona has gated high-end hotels, complete with manicured golf courses and large detached accommodations. 

An internet search showed good snorkelling at three beaches at one of the resorts. All beaches are open to the public here, so hotels must allow access. A local told us which was the best beach, which was a black-sand beach.

That's Greg on the left - braver than me!

The water was a little too rough for me, and we didn't see anyone snorkelling, so we passed on it. The next beach was a good walk over lava cliffs and so I chose not to go to that one.

There are homes all along the cliff in the upper coastline

After our day out, we returned home without having snorkelled.

New Year's Eve I decided we'd go to the local beach that's known for good snorkelling.

Again, as confirmed by a local, the water was unusually rough. Also, the water seemed colder than the Kona side. I'm one who's used to snorkelling in warm water, and it just didn't seem warm enough for me. Strike out again.

Their shells were about 2 feet around

We'd also heard it was a good area to see turtles. We went a little way over the lava rock and saw 10 turtles - some quite large - in a tide pool.

A local told us he'd seen a whale quite close to shore. Within a short while, we also saw it, and people started to gather. Soon there were two whales, and one gave quite a show by breaching high up out of the water a few times. I was one of the many who was too slow to get a photo, so I'll just ask you to believe my whale story!

We saw this bird today near a large pond. It's a nēnē, and is the official state bird of Hawaii. It's also called a Hawaiian goose. As I watched it, it was watching something and its neck lengthened and its feathers went up. It was interesting to watch.

We're grateful for that warm sunny day we had at the beach in Hilo. It was a pleasant change from rain!