THE POMACANTHUS Snorkelling DESTINATION
Issue 1, August 2005
Focus on …. MAUI in the Hawaiian Islands
How to get there
Maui is not hard to
reach! Most travellers probably fly to
Honolulu (HNL), on the island of Oahu, connecting there to either Aloha Air or
Hawaiian Airlines for the short hop across the water to Kahului Airport (OGG)
on the north coast of Maui. [Yes, it’s worth flying the extra leg:
snorkelling on Maui surpasses that on Oahu.]
There are, however, some direct and non-stop flights into OGG from major cities
on the west coast of North America.
When to go
In most parts of the world there is a seasonal pattern to
sun and rain. In the Hawaiian Islands that
seasonality is dwarfed by a geographic difference: cloudy NE coasts exposed to
trade winds, and sunny SW coasts. True,
there is more rain November-March, winds do tend to be stronger then (and seas
somewhat rougher) but most of the leeward coasts are fine even at this time of
year. For skinny individuals who don’t
wear a wetsuit, water temperature might be something to consider: Hawaiian
waters build up to a warm 28°C [82°F] in early September and decrease to a cool 24°C [75°F] in
late February. If you want to escape
during “winter”, the early months of November-December are a few (noticeable)
degrees warmer than January-February.
Summer and early autumn are a pleasant time, with usually calm waters,
but the Hawaiian Islands are affected by the
occasional cyclone (hurricane).
Historical data show that cyclones tracking closer than 150 km to shore
occur no more frequently, on average, than ten times per century, with the peak
month being September. Cyclones do tend
to be more frequent (and capable of occurring later in the year, even as late
as November) in El Nino years.
Reef and snorkelling conditions
The Hawaiian Islands, as a
whole, have some of the healthiest reefs on Earth, as documented in the recent
(2004) Status of the Coral Reefs of the World report by the Global Coral
Reef Monitoring Network, and as evident by personal inspection. Maui is no exception and, in my mind, ranks a
close second to the Big Island in the quality and abundance of places to
snorkel in Hawaii. Winds do tend to pick up during the day which
means somewhat rougher conditions in the afternoon and reduced visibility (as
wave motion throws sand into suspension).
Sunlight penetrating the water makes snorkelling so much more enjoyable
for me, and southwest Maui ranks highly in
this regard …. except for that late morning cloud that develops in the lee of
the volcano of Haleakala and often throws a shadow over the area around La
Perouse Bay when there is blue sky elsewhere.
Map of reef
areas above courtesy of United Nations Environment Programme and the US
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Where to go
There are really two snorkelling coasts on Maui: those of
west Maui (Honolua Bay to Olowalu) and south (strictly southwest) Maui from Kama’ole Beach in Kihei through Wailea and
Makena to the end of the road at La Perouse Bay. Elsewhere, north and east, though the map
shows reefs, the surf is usually too rough for snorkelling, especially in
winter. Of the two coasts, west Maui is
not my preferred place: it gets more rain and has more cloud than south Maui (and clouds affect underwater visibility) and the
further north you go the more likely you are to encounter NE Trade Winds
blowing along the coast. Having said
that, the protected sand beach immediately south of Black Rock in Kaanapali, is
usually an excellent, if crowded, place for beginning snorkelers.
To me, snorkelling Maui is
all about the southwest coast. The water
immediately offshore from north Kihei (north of Kama’ole Beach) is reported to
be of unpleasant quality (see Maui Revealed below), but there are
multiple beaches along the Wailea-Makena coastline where the water is clear and
where corals, fishes and turtles are abundant around the intervening rocky
headlands (at both ends of Big Beach for example), and there are several
relatively protected bays or coves adjacent to and within the Ahihi Kina’u
Natural Area Reserve just west of La Perouse Bay. My favourite snorkelling locales (see below)
are in the Reserve itself, requiring a 30–45 minutes walk (each way) across the
lava fields. As of early 2005, access to
these coves was being regulated by the State Department of Land and Natural
Resources (in response to pressure from local environmental groups) primarily
through restricting parking on the road.
The good news is that this will reduce the level of use of the
coves. The tough news is that it will
mean getting there early in the day (to secure parking) and hiking a little
further. But these are minor concerns
for avid snorkelers. As of mid 2005,
DLNR Rangers patrol the area and provide directions to the trailheads. They are also apparently encouraging
snorkelers to use other nearby coves.
The most accessible of these is Ahihi Bay
adjacent to the road: Inshore, the water
there can be cold (from springs) and murky (from sand) and crowded, but further
out it is pleasant (especially in the calmer morning conditions), with
interesting seabed topography to explore in relatively shallow water (10–15
metres).
Many will want to take a boat trip to the partly submerged
volcanic crater of Molokini, a short ride out from Kihei/Wailea, but the
reports I get are mixed. The water is
exceptionally clear and the fishes are abundant, but so also, much of the time
it seems, is snorkeler congestion …. as boat after boat unloads its clients. Snorkelling to me is a personal thing, a chance to be away from the crowds and in
tune with Nature, and I have resisted the urge to head out to Molokini for that
reason.
My special snorkelling memories
Drifting just offshore from Black Rock, away from the
throngs, when a Devil Ray swims right up to me and does several graceful
“barrel rolls” leaving me spellbound; my first expedition across the Ahihi
Kina’u lava fields to the cove known as Fishbowl (how appropriate!) and then
watching a Bluefin Trevally lunge into a resting school of nocturnal goatfish
just metres from shore; hiking out to Aquarium (another aptly named cove) on
the southern edge of the same lava field, and having the lagoon entirely to
ourselves.
Books to consult
Three books, from a long list, deserve mention. Andrew Doughty’s Maui
Revealed is simply the ultimate guidebook for outdoors enthusiasts, with
excellent maps and, in particular, explicit instructions on how to access the
best shore areas for snorkelling (important when the trails are indistinct or
the unadvertised public access is wedged between two private properties). John
Hoover’s Hawaii Fishes and Douglas Fenner’s Corals of Hawaii provide
helpful photographs for field identification as well as information on local
fauna.
Websites to check out
Shore diving in Maui: http://www.shorediving.com/Earth/Hawaii/Maui/index.htm
Monthly sea conditions (climatic summary: e.g., temperature;
wave height) in Hawaiian Islands: http://www.ndbc.noaa.gov/station_history.php?station=51002
Historical cyclone occurrence in Hawaiian
Islands: http://www.soest.hawaii.edu/MET/Faculty/businger/poster/hurricane/
Photographs of fishes and corals in the Hawaiian
Islands: http://www.coralreefnetwork.com/stender/default.htm
Fish checklist for Maui reefs
(top table on page gives areas sampled; bottom table is checklist; can be slow
to load):
http://www.reef.org/cgi-bin/georep.pl?region=HAW&geogr=41&min_date=00%2f00%2f&max_date=00%2f00%2f&species=&sort=freq&inverts=
Average monthly rainfall statistics (e.g., Kihei, Lahaina): http://www.worldclimate.com/cgi-bin/data.pl?ref=N20W156+2200+514489C
Use and limitations of data in the above websites are
discussed in The Pomacanthus Snorkelling Guide to the World’s Coral Reefs [Chapter
3: A Global View of Coral Reefs].
Where to stay
Accommodation in South Maui
is not scarce. There are condos in Kihei
and upscale resorts in Wailea. We were
lucky, as snorkelers, to find a comfortable but inexpensive (by Maui standards)
bed and breakfast, 10 minutes walk from the south Kihei coast and less than 20
minutes drive from Ahihi
Bay. Private rooms with cooking facilities (and a
pleasant courtyard for al fresco
eating), excellent breakfasts, and a friendly and helpful hostess were added
bonuses. For more details check out: http://www.amauibedandbreakfast.com/index.htm