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Hawaiian guides on the big island have developed great skill in finding the unique: Spanish dancers, rare juveniles, and lionfish. KailuaKona is filled with trendy shops to extract dollars from tourists in tacky hula shirts.... The major bill is the fishing industry, with dead marlin and sailfish as scenery du jour in the harbor. The diving is mostly lava flow dives with relatively low coral cover. Sea turtles belly-up to boats of snorkelers to be fed lettuce, dogfood, or "turtle chow".... There's excellent access to good shore diving at City of Refuge and at Puako at the northern end of the bicycle route for the Iron Man competition; still, the right guides provide fish fanciers a great experience.... Kauai has special trips available only in the summer, but Maui diving's not much; take day boats to the backside of Molokini or Lanai. Development in Honolulu has burned out most Oahu diving.... There's limited fish diversity here compared to further west in the Indo-Pacific. Some reefs are barren due to commercial collection for aquariums. There are few soft corals and dull hard corals, but colorful, plentiful, and unusual fish make the diving interesting.... Expect clear water, visibility that's often above 100', and air temperatures in the low 80s. Water temperatures range from 73 in January and February to 80 in August and September; visibility is usually better than the Caribbeanaround 100 feet.... From December through February, squalls can last several days; otherwise the climate's pleasant and unoppressive year-round.... There are plenty of condos available everywhere (many with cars, which you'll need since the dive boats are not berthed at hotels); ask your dive shop to find you a place; they often have good prices. . . .
For a full review of the following Hawaii destinations, see:
Kauai and Beyond, In Depth- February 1997
Kauai Several Operators, In Depth- July 1995 Kona Aggressor,June 1999, David H. Jackson Sr. (Djac5478@aol.com), Battle Creek, MI. Vis: 80-100 ft. Water: 74-78 degrees. Sunny, cloudy. Water: calm. Restrictions: Stay above 110 ft. Diving great, but no mantas on night dive. Spinner dolphins on 2 different sites and we snorkeled with them. Mantas on a day dive and snorkeled with them. Pilot whales around the boat the last day. I had talked to the AggressorFleet in Louisiana telling them I could not eat spicy foods. I was not specific enough and next time I will make it known that I want meat and potatoes, not gourmet meals. Crew did everything in their power to see that we, their "family," had a good time diving and enjoyed the trip. They need to be a little more flexible in their meal selection. (AggressorFleet: Ph: 800-348-2628 or 504-385-2628; Fax: 504-384-0817; e-mail: info@aggressor.com;website www.aggressor.com)
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