Today, we did some adventure diving. The local dive shop, Espace Plongee, recommended a site called Kona Paradise. Although it was not mentioned in any travel guide or scuba diving website, we decided to heed the local expert and try it out, anyway. It was some of the most exciting diving that I have ever done, not just for the marine life that we saw, but for the dark and foreboding ambiance of the place itself.
Kona Paradise is named after a quiet residential complex just south of Captain Cook, HI. At the end of Kona Paradise sits an unusual black pebble beach, the pebbles are fairly large, ranging from penny, to a quarter-sized in diameter.
One of the locals there was swimming his paraplegic dog with a hand held sling. Upon seeing our scuba gear, the man gave us intriguing, detailed dive site instructions. He mentioned that there was an underwater sea arch in the North that we would find if we just swam across a few canyons. We would know we were on the right path if we encountered a rift in the wall. Very knowledgeable of the dive site, he also told us to watch out for baby fish seen in the area. Baby fish eggs are swept down from the North Western Hawaiian Islands by the current.
Sizing us and our gear up, the man assumed we weren't beginner divers. However, he couldn't help but mention that a couple of snorkelers die at Kona Paradise every year due to deceptive currents and undertow. He wished us well, as we embarked on our dive and told us to watch out for the conditions.
The first thing we noticed when we submerged was the sound. There was a rhythmic raking sound going on in the background, caused by the pebbles scraping against one another in the waves. The second thing we noticed was how dark the water seemed against the backdrop of black lava rock. The overall visual and auditory effect was a little haunting.
This dive site was characterized by fingers of lava dividing black rubble valleys. As the visibility was around 80+ feet, I felt like I was flying over the valleys. At around 65' in depth I saw an unmistakable cleft in a sheer wall. I honked excitedly at Mark, and we diverted from our path slightly to meet our first milestone. I was just happy to find the cleft in the wall, which had been described to us by our friendly local, and never expected to go much further in our search for the underwater sea arch.
However, as Mark led us over the next ridge, in the foggy distance, there appeared to be a low hill at 65'. It was the underwater sea arch we had been told about! I had never been good at heeding directions, let alone on land. Finding the underwater sea arch with vague verbal instructions and no map whatsoever was the most successful underwater search we had ever conducted. I felt like we were explorers in an undiscovered land.
We had swum out fairly far out, it was fairly deep, there was current working against us, and an hour had nearly transpired, but we still had not turned around. I indicated to Mark that we ought to turn around, but he kept on exploring. As if in keeping with the haunted, desolate feel of the area, the eels in this area were particularly aggressive. In one patch of coral, we saw not 1, not 2, but 3 eels swimming out in the open trying to catch baby yellow tangs. While taking pictures of one eel, we had prevented it from catching his prey, and in its frustration, it snapped its mouth at us in a threatening display:
The doom and gloom of the place was certainly starting to concern me, as I feared we would not find our entry point with a still generous air supply. The only cheerful thing about this dark, mysterious dive site were the clouds of baby fish we saw everywhere:
Dive Details:
Dive #206: Kona Paradise
Depth/Time/Temp: 68'/1:20/? deg F
-ridges and valleys, grand canyons
-schools of baby damselfish
-3 whitemouth eel hunting baby yellow tangs hiding in the coral. Only eel that hunts during the day, and will apparently collaborate with jacks
-cleaning behavior
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| What is this? A Sailor's Eyeball? Kona Paradise, Big Island, HI |
One of the locals there was swimming his paraplegic dog with a hand held sling. Upon seeing our scuba gear, the man gave us intriguing, detailed dive site instructions. He mentioned that there was an underwater sea arch in the North that we would find if we just swam across a few canyons. We would know we were on the right path if we encountered a rift in the wall. Very knowledgeable of the dive site, he also told us to watch out for baby fish seen in the area. Baby fish eggs are swept down from the North Western Hawaiian Islands by the current.
Sizing us and our gear up, the man assumed we weren't beginner divers. However, he couldn't help but mention that a couple of snorkelers die at Kona Paradise every year due to deceptive currents and undertow. He wished us well, as we embarked on our dive and told us to watch out for the conditions.
 |
| One of the aggressive eels we encountered Kona Paradise, Big Island, HI |
This dive site was characterized by fingers of lava dividing black rubble valleys. As the visibility was around 80+ feet, I felt like I was flying over the valleys. At around 65' in depth I saw an unmistakable cleft in a sheer wall. I honked excitedly at Mark, and we diverted from our path slightly to meet our first milestone. I was just happy to find the cleft in the wall, which had been described to us by our friendly local, and never expected to go much further in our search for the underwater sea arch.
However, as Mark led us over the next ridge, in the foggy distance, there appeared to be a low hill at 65'. It was the underwater sea arch we had been told about! I had never been good at heeding directions, let alone on land. Finding the underwater sea arch with vague verbal instructions and no map whatsoever was the most successful underwater search we had ever conducted. I felt like we were explorers in an undiscovered land.
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| We found the rift in the wall! Kona Paradise, Big Island, HI |
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| And then we found the underwater sea arch! Kona Paradise, Big Island, HI |
Aggressive, Snapping Eel
Kona Paradise, Big Island, HI
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| Mina diving on a wall, and concerned about turning around Kona Paradise, Big Island, HI |
Babies, Babies everywhere
Kona Paradise Dive Site, Big Island, HI
On our way back, we actually started to hear that rhythmic scraping sound again, a sound that should have told us we were at the beach (a hint given to us by the local dive shop). But we didn't trust the sound and head in as we should have, and continued on. When we reached some significant white water, and were considerably low on air, we decided to surface to see where we were. We had overshot the beach considerably. Taking a heading, and swimming back to our entry point, we saw a cute pair of baby Humuhumu trigger fish the size of my thumb getting tossed in the waves.
Back on land, we were excited to describe our dive to our friends at the local dive shop. Although the owners of the shop were primarily French speaking, we managed to pantomime to them that we had found the underwater sea arch, and I think they understood how awesome we thought the dive was.
In the afternoon, after a cup of our favorite Cafe de Pele Kona coffee, we perused the Farmer's market and bought some Dragonfruit, starfruit, guava, and passionfruit for our trip to the volcanoes the following day. Based on recommendations from the retired physicist we had met the previous day, we decided to eat at the Kona Brewing company. It poured cats and dogs as we ate outside on the patio listening to the live music. but rather than being disappointed, I fully enjoyed it, and think this was one of the most poignant moments on our vacation. I enjoyed seeing the kids prancing with their mouths open to the rain pouring down, and I delighted in the sound of the guitar music against the backdrop of a torrent of rain.
Dive Details:
Dive #206: Kona Paradise
Depth/Time/Temp: 68'/1:20/? deg F
-ridges and valleys, grand canyons
-schools of baby damselfish
-3 whitemouth eel hunting baby yellow tangs hiding in the coral. Only eel that hunts during the day, and will apparently collaborate with jacks
-cleaning behavior
Postscript
I can't help but wonder while writing this blog post whether or not the haunted ambience I felt at Kona Paradise was due to the snorkeling deaths that occur there yearly. I don't necessarily believe in ghosts, but I know for certain that different places boast different flavors. This particular dive site felt mysterious and not a little gloomy. It reminded me of the Monastery Dive Site, in Carmel, CA, which in my experience is one of the darkest, scariest dives I have ever done. Monastery also boasts diver and swimmer deaths yearly. Could the ambiance in these dark places be caused by the deaths, or is it caused by the conditions causing those deaths in the first place?
Wow, amazing story & experience! Look forward to diving there one day. We are looking into buying a property in Kona Paradise. So I assume we will be diving there a lot in the near future :) Thanks for sharing some pics!
ReplyDeleteThanks! It was spooky. Good luck in getting property there. That should be heaven...
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