Hanauma Bay

Matt and I went to Hanauma Bay the first two mornings I was there. The first morning, we tried to get there in time for sunrise, but between leaving a bit late and traffic, we didn’t quite make it. The view from the overlook was still spectacular, regardless of the time.


Hanauma is a protected marine life conservation area. The bay floor is actually the crater of an ancient volcano that flooded when the exterior wall collapsed and the ocean rushed in. A large coral reef covers a fair portion of the bay, and extends throughout the cove into deeper water. The bay is perfect for snorkeling, since its protected from big ocean waves. The first trip there, we didn’t have any cameras with us. That turned out to not be a problem, since the water was a bit cloudy.


On the second day, we made it to the park before it opened, ensuring that we would be able to see the sun rise. It was beautiful, just like I expected it to be.


We also had four disposable underwater cameras with us, so we were able to get some pictures of the fish we saw. When I was first looking through the prints from the snorkeling, I noticed that Matt managed to get several pictures of the not-so-elusive Thumbfish. Thankfully, we also got several good pictures of real fish...





Probably the most interesting critter I saw on the island – and other than the wild chickens, I didn’t see many critters – is what I’ve been calling the “squeasel”, something that looks like a cross between a squirrel and a weasel. It looks a lot like a ferret, but I didn’t like the name “squerret”. I need to find out what this really is.