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jetlag_8
I only had a chance to dive twice here, but that was enough to see a manta ray, two spotted eagle rays, many turtles and a few moray eels. The fish concentrations were localized around a few spiny ridges with populations elsewhere being low by Hawaiian standards.
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Nadrafied
Be sure to add sorkeling in Molokai to you ""to do" list. Molokai Fish and Dive shop will get you there... Captain Tim and deckhand/guide Gabe will show you miles and miles of beautiful coral, fish and giant turtles.
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716jessicah
I don't remember which company we used, but I'm sure they're all just the same, as long as they bring you there! We went on a 2 hour guided tour, where we were free to reoam about, but could stick with the guide if we wanted to. While we were on the boat heading towards the reef, we were shown pictures and given descriptions of the fish we would be seeing in the area. It was informative and good to know before we started. We got some great pictures, including the state fish, which are beautiful! The second half of the tour is dedicated to snorkeling around the turtles, however when we went that way, there was too much sand kicked up from the recent storm, and visibility wasn't where it should be, as sharks can linger when it's hard to see. So, we were brought out a little further so we could get a top side glipse of some turtles, and brought back to the reef to swim with the fish again.It was a bit disappointing to not be able to see the turtles up close, but it was in our best interest, just in case there were any sharks drawn to the area.Definitely recommended!
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DonnaFromOklahoma
We borrowed flippers from our B&B host, and a snorkel and mask for my husband. I had my own mask with prescription glass and a snorkel. What neither of us had was any practice or experience with using the equipment or swimming in the ocean. A day with wind stiff enough to blow your towel away is not the kind of day to go out in the water to learn. Pick a calm day when the water is like glass. Our host told us about the reef at Mile 16 and warned us about a deep hole we would have to swim across to get out to the reef. Once across the hole, we would be able to stand up and walk around. The wind blew us sideways as we made our way across the deep hole, at times bringing us to a complete standstill. We would swim and swim, but not go anywhere because of the wind.At last we made it to the reef. We knew we were there because the wind crashed us into chunks of coral, which is as sharp as razors. Good thing there were no sharks inside the reef; there was plenty of blood for them to scent. I tried filming the reef fish, but could not hold steady with the wind tossing me around. My husband held onto me and I got several minutes of parrot fish darting about. We decided not to go any farther into the meat-grinder conditions of the reef, so we saw no turtles or any other reef life.The swim back was another scary crossing of the deep hole. And I thought I was safely across to shallow water when the wind blew me into another deep hole that I did not know about. The best thing was, when I lay back with my ears in the water I could hear whale-song going "skreee-eeee-eeeee." At one point we each thought drowning was a very real possibility. My husband is an excellent swimmer and once worked as a lifeguard, but we were both exhausted and thankful to set foot on dry land. There was no one else on the beach when we got out of the water. If we had gotten into trouble, there was no one to see us going down. Pick a beach with other people on it. If the locals are not swimming there, perhaps there is a reason.Later I saw people snorkeling around the rocks at Mile 20, and wished we had gone there instead.
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shambhalaa
We almost didn't make it. we had two days left. Called Molokai Fish and Dive on Monday for a Tuesday snorkel and were told they were only doing a dive tour. So we booked a whale watching tour for Tuesday instead. While at the wharf Tuesday morning, ran into the owner of Fish and Dive to be told that they were doing a combo dive and snorkel trip that morning. The new girl messed up (?) Anyhow, the whale watching was great, had a mom and baby come right up to the boat and the baby breached. After the whale watching, went to Fish and Dive and set up a snorkel for Wednesday morning (we flew out Wed afternoon). We had to buy a towel in town, go back to the wharf and shower at the public Restroom (which was clean). The snorkeling was the best. We saw the most turtles ever. We snorkeled two different spots that were equally good. Saw schools of papio, manini, wrasses, and many other reef fish.The snorkeling spots for this trip were west or the wharf. We stayed at mile 19 on the east side. The reef was about 200 yards out and protected the beach in front of our rental. The proximity did allow us to view whales spouting and breaching.We also did a SUP (stand up paddle) tour. Well, the wife did great, I on the other hand need at least a pair of french doors to stand up on. The site was at mile 6 beach. we paddled out and were able to see the reef below us. We were also close enough to the whales to actually hear them. We were astounded.
