Snorkeling on the Island of Molikini

The day after Nick and Amanda arrived we booked a snorkel tour for the five of us to Molikini, a small island a few kilometers of the coast of Maui which was formed by a now dormant volcano crater. It is ranked as one of the top diving and snorkeling sites in the world due to the very clear waters and range of marine life.

Bright and early at 7:00am we set out for the island on the Four Winds II, from the Maalaea Harbour watching whales blowing and trying to keep our breakfast from doing the same.

As we approached the crater, four air force helicopters passed by and buzzed overhead.

We all jumped in the crystal clear waters and set out in search of interesting fish and other colourful marine life.

There were a number of black durgons.

Various colours of triggerfish.

The kids had a great time just diving down in the warm pacific waters.

All of us had fun just floating around and looking down to the bottom which even in the snorkeling area was over 60 feet deep.

The visibility was good to at least 100 feet and you saw all sorts of interesting sea anemones, coral and different kinds of sea urchins.

After we dried off and had lunch we headed back and stopped a number of times along the way to watch the whales. They came quite close to the boat and gave us a great show.

This is a baby whale copying it's older mates in breaching and splashing around. The mothers exhibit various behaviours as they teach their young how to get along and communicate with the other whales.

Some were quite curious and came very close to the boat so you could plainly see the spots and bumps on their heads.

We also stopped on the way back and a flock of turtles swam by giving us a great photo op.

As we were leaving the channel, finishing another great adventure on the water, a humpback whale started waving and slapping it's tail time after time on the surface of the water as if to say "bye for now".