You need the BIG box of crayolas to draw the reef fish of Hawaii. So, if all you do while vacationing in the islands is look at the surface of the water, if you don’t actually stick your face in the briney and literally immerse yourself in the Hawaiian ocean, you’re cheating yourself out of one of the great pleasures of life!
Every person I know who has lived a land-locked existence and then, on the spur of the moment, decided to try snorkeling has the same story to tell. Yelling "WOW!" into the snorkel pipe. Breathing hard. Eyeballs squirting out into the mask. Absolute astonishment at the color, beauty, frenzy, and complexity of the shallow water world. You don’t have to be a water baby. You don’t have to be a strong swimmer. If your ancestors came from Africa, then your muscle density is greater than that of white or Asian people and you may have trouble swimming. If so, just put on a floatation device. If you’re overweight and reluctant to appear in public in a bathing suit, stop worrying. This is America. We’re all overweight. If you have small kids and you fear for their safety in the water, give them water wings. Just don’t miss this opportunity to do something you cannot do at home! If you’re afraid of water, you’ll still love snorkeling (see next journal entry). If you do one thing on your Hawaiian vacation, get a mask and pipe and put your face in the water. It may be as close as you’ll get to discovering life on another planet.
Hanauma Bay is a great place to start. It’s right down the street from Waikiki, a five minute drive, nestled in a volcanic crater once used as a set for an Elvis movie. The water is shallow far out from the beach. The fish life is abundant. The goober life is also abundant, so you may get finned in the face by someone not watching what they’re doing. But it’s worth it. Needlefish, wahoos, yellow and convict tangs, blue surgeons, orange unicornfish, stoplight parrots, triggerfish, snowflake eels, schools of blue trevallies, every color from ultraviolet to infrared. No coral though. At least not close in. All volcanic hard bottom. So, if you’re used to Bonaire or the Bay Islands off Honduras or the Great Barrier Reef, you’ll have to re-set your expectations. But it’s a perfect place to try snorkeling for the first time. The local biologists are conducting tests on whether fish feeding by tourists disrupts the life cycles of reef fish, so feeding the fish may be banned when you visit. If it isn’t, you can buy packets of fish food at a concession stand.
Another great spot for first timers is on the Big Island: Kanoe’ele Cove, part of Honaunau Bay right beside the City Of Refuge. It’s just up the road from Kealakekua Bay where Captain Cook was killed by native Hawaiians. You can park in the lot for the Refuge and walk over to the right to where you see kids swimming. (Don’t leave your sneakers or towels on the Refuge property.) Occasional skiffs come in to the boat launch, so keep your wits about you. But what you’re more likely to see than boats are turtles munching on the raspberry sea lettuce that grows on the bottom of the cove. Thermal vents open into the bay so you’ll be swimming over the coraline algae and suddenly the water will wrinkle up the way air wrinkles over a hot asphalt road in the summer. You’ll suddenly be bathed in warm water. Then you’ll pass over it and you’ll be cold again. The day we went, the cove was full of turtles. You can’t see then from the surface unless you watch for bobbing heads, but it’s hard not to bump into them below the surface.
If you’re driving by and you see people snorkeling, stop and jump in. Guide books don’t list all the best spots. Sometimes you just stumble on them. Look for quiet coves with no waves and burned floating backs in the water.