Monday, December 03, 2018

Molokini Crater and Snorkeling – Maui, Hawaii


I have always been fascinated by the ocean, to dip a limb beneath its surface and know that I’m touching eternity, that it goes on forever until it begins here again.”
Lauren DeStefano


We picked a snorkeling excursion called Molokini Crater and Turtle Snorkel to go on for our second day on Maui. We got up early, had a nice breakfast onboard, and then met up with our friends, Sharad and Jennifer to get on the bus to the excursion. The bus drove us to town of Kahului where we boarded our boat to take us to our snorkeling site, Molokini. Molokini is a crescent shaped partially submerged volcanic crater that is uninhabited. It last erupted 230,000 years ago.








After getting on the boat, the crew did a briefing on safety for while we were on the ship and how to use the snorkeling gear and be safe while in the water. They also explained what kinds of fish we may see and loaded us up with our snorkeling gear and wet suit top. It was a nice calm ride out and was relaxing watching the mountains pass us by and the bird soaring overhead. By the time we got there, we were ready and anxious to get in the water. They told us the morning is the best time to go snorkeling since the ocean is calm and there is less wind. We fortunately scheduled the trip for first thing in the morning and the timing was perfect.








The boat pulled up inside the crescent and hooked up to one of the many moorings. They set these up to protect the ocean floor from damage from the anchors. We had a choice to jump or take the steps down into into to water. The first thing we noticed was the clarity of the water. We were told the visibility is up to 150 feet and there are over 250 species of fish to see. Joe and I stuck together and we swam around and pointed out various beautiful tropical fish. What a joy to see these colorful fish swimming around in their natural habitat. Unfortunately we didn't have an underwater camera. 







This is a very popular destination to go scuba diving, Snuba, and snorkeling since the crescent shaped island protects divers from the waves. It did prove to be an amazing place to snorkel. You could see how this volcanic crater went straight down deep in the depths of the ocean where you couldn’t see the bottom of the land anymore. It was a little scary but amazing just the same.





During World War II, the US Navy used Molokini for target practice since it was the shape of a battleship. The south west rim of the islet is very damaged because of the amount of target practice that was done during this time. In 1975 to 1984 the Navy detonated, in place, many unexploded munitions that were found in the crater. They damaged much of the coral and the public loudly objected. After that, a thorough search of the islet was done in a very risky manner, by the manual removal of unexploded munitions. The volunteer divers took the munitions to deep water.


Molokini has 23 acres above the water with the highest elevation is 161 feet and is now a Hawaiian protected seabird sanctuary.



The Hawaiian mythology states the legend of Molokini was that it was a beautiful woman. She and Pele, the fire goddess were in love with the same man. The jealous Pele, cut her rival in two and made her into stone. The woman’s head is supposed to be Pu’u Olai, the cinder cone by Makena Beach. There are many legends about Molokini and this was just one of them.








After snorkeling for a good long time and enjoying our time here, we loaded back up on the boat and were offered a drink and some food. Our boat unhooked from the mooring and we took off towards where the turtles were. It was fascinating seeing so many turtles swimming and putting their heads out of the water. They are such beautiful graceful creatures. Coming back the wind started really kicking and the waves were cresting with white caps. I now understood the reason behind going to Molokini in the morning when the water was calm. I do not think the boat would be able to go out this afternoon with the winds being as it was. There was even a slight chill in the air from wind blowing on us.




When our boat past a point on Maui, the waters calmed and the sun warmed us up. This was a great trip, with a great crew, and we really enjoyed our time. The staff on the boat collected our snorkel equipment and we finished our drinks before pulling back to the dock. It was a fun excursion and if you like to snorkel, this was the best snorkeling we had ever done since the visibility was so great.


Till next time.  Aloha.

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