Hawaii Day 6 Makaiwa Bay

Today we got a later start than I'd planned.  We actually didn't get up until 7:15 which is a lot later than usual for this trip.  We quickly had breakfast and got packed up for the day. 

We decided to start out our day by revisiting Makaiwa Bay.  We arrived a bit after 9:00 and had no problem finding a spot in the public parking lot.  We started the long walk to the beach.  Like I said the other day, it really is a pretty walk!

Heading to the beach

Hard to complain too much when you get views like this!

Fish Ponds

We saw this guy near the fish ponds

After a 10 or 15 minute walk we arrived at the beach, it was a bit busier than a few days ago but we had no problem finding a perfect spot.

The kids were eager to start snorkeling right away.  We quickly laid out our towels and headed to the water with our snorkel gear.  We snorkeled together for about 30 minutes, the weather was perfect and the water was like glass.  We headed out quite a bit further than we'd gone the other day.  We saw tons of colorful fish and beatiful coral.  When we were out in the deeper water I saw another snorkeler diving down to look at something, I figured it was good so I swam over.  He told me that there was a sea turtle. As much as I wanted to see the turtle I wasn't brave enough to dive under the water and I couldn't see him from the surface, apparently he was under a piece of coral.  I showed Dan where the man said the turtle was and he dove down and checked it out.  Ali decided she was done so she and I headed back to the shore.  Dan and Connor stayed out for at least 20 minutes longer.  Apparently Connor decided to be brave and he started diving under with his snorkel too. 

There was a fish traffic jam, this is just one of many schools of fish we saw

Look at him go!

Connor was having so much fun!

When Dan and Connor came back to shore, Connor wanted to go back out right away.  Connor also thought I should really try diving down under the water.  I told him I was really scared that I'd get saltwater in my mouth, Dan and Connor assured me that I'd be fine.  Connor and I headed out, I think we saw more fish the second time out than we had the first.  We saw tons of Yellow Tang, Parrotfish, and Butterflyfish.  We headed back out where we had seen the Sea Turtle, this time the turtle was visible from the surface he'd climbed out some from his hiding spot.  I also got brave enough to dive down and get a closer look.  I did give the turtle plenty of space though, it really is important to remember that we are guests in their home.  I couldn't help wondering if this turtle was happier than the turtles who visit Kahaluu Beach, at Kahaluu we've seen people basically right on top of the poor turtles.  Today there were snorkelers checking out the turtle but everyone that I saw was being respectful and not invading his space.

Can you see the turtle hanging out?



Ali kept herself busy building in the sand

After nearly an hour and a half snorkeling Connor took a break and tried to figure out what he'd seen out on the reef

We stayed at Makaiwa Bay until around noon, it was a great morning.  I was so proud of how well the kids snorkeled!  Today they both really improved by leaps and bounds.  Connor just couldn't get enough of it today!  I highly recommend Makaiwa Bay, the snorkeling is just amazing. 

We ended up having a picnic lunch near the parking lot, there were two picnic tables in a nice shady area.  We were greeted by some stray cats.  When one of the cats got near us, Ali literally jumped onto the table!  Oh I wish I'd had my camera.  The cat proceeded to run away, apparently he was as scared of Ali as she was of him!  We also saw a Mongoose hanging around.

We headed north to Wai'alea Bay.  Wai'alea is lovely but was very crowded, both kids said they'd rather head back to the condo than stay.  We decided to follow their lead and we headed back. 

After relaxing in the condo we decided to go out for an early dinner.  We went to the Kona Brewing Company.  The food was good and the kids had a great time, the portions were large.  Both of the kids were happy with the choices on the Keiki menu. 

Happy Kids at Dinner

After dinner we did a few errands before we headed back to the condo.  We filled up the car at Costco, gas was 30 cents cheaper per gallon than the other stations.  If you are a Costco member it really pays to bring your card!  We also picked up some souvenirs for the kids and gifts for their teachers. 

Today was laid back day but it was perfect!