Diving with Bubbles Below in
Hawaii/Ni'ihau, Kaua'i in 2003/08:
an Instant Reader Report

 Little Cayman, Grand Cayman, British Columbia, Palau, Yap, Channel Islands,
Florida Keys, Cozumel,Papua New Guinea. 

Dive Conditions

All dives led by divemaster.  

Minimal accomodations for photographers, though the dive crew was helpful
with that brought abourd the boat.  

Overall Rating

The quality of the dive staff was first rate. Good dive briefings and
excellent guided service to go to the most enjoyable parts of the reef.
Bubbles Below did an awesome job, making guided diving enjoyable even
though I am used to diving with my own agenda. The diving around Kaua'i was
quite fascinating for me, quite a different seascape compared to that in
the Carribean, but equally enjoyable and fascinating. The numbers of
butterfly fish, large surgeon fish, and what appeared to be yellow and blue
striped grunts was quite striking, and though there was less coral than I
am used to, it was obvious that the underwater environment was healthier
than that in Palau or in the Caribbean, as the coral that was around Kaua'i
seemed in good shape. Many fascinating critters such as leaf scorpion fish
and frogfish, as well as many types of reef fish kept the diving
interesting, and we saw more turtles around Kaua'i than anywhere else I've
visited, with Little Cayman being perhaps equal in turtle interactions.
Around Ni'ihau, I can only echo the official report given in Undercurrent
Magazine this year, this was world class diving, with multiple monk seal
interactions, whitetip shark sightings, tuna and rainbow runners diving in
and out of a large bait ball, clouds of butterfly fish, and the most
fascinating seascape formations, with multiple caves, swim throughs,
dramatic pinnacles, canyons, and bottomless vertical walls, and visibility
easily 150 feet, probably more like 200 feet, easily the best visibility
I've ever encountered. Currents were mild to nonexistent, though the
surface during the morning dives was a bit choppy. The water was very calm
during the afternoon in Ni'ihau. It was a rough boat ride back from Ni'ihau
to Kaua'i, but well worth it. The underwater environment was like no where
else I've ever been, which made it quite interesting for me. My advice--if
you're going to Hawaii, you've got to go diving at Ni'ihau. 

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