It was surreal walking out to the plane. The ride between Maui and the Big Island was a unique experience for sure.
No safety doors here to separate the captain
The view from the plane was amazing. It felt more like a chartered tour than a standard plane ride.
Landing in Kona. It felt like we were landing on a volcano. I guess we were.
Maui from the air
Of course we had to check out Kona brewing. It was a short walk from where we were staying
Of course we had to check out Kona brewing. It was a short walk from where we were staying
The weather stayed pretty rainy while we were on the big island, but that doesn’t matter when you’re diving!
There’s an eel poking out in the center of the picture
I saw my first octopus! It was definitely the coolest thing I’ve seen diving yet. It’s hard to make out in the photo, but it’s right in the center.
The dive boats in Hawaii are a lot nicer than the ones in the Caribbean. Definitely more expensive, but it’s hard to beat fresh pineapple after a dive.
There was a local farmers market going on in Kona.
We spent a day driving across the big island to bike/hike to the lava flow. It was definitely a highlight. We rented bikes and rode for a while out to a spot where we hiked over the volcano for about an hour and a half. It was worth it though to get to see lava up close.
We were able to get really close to the lava. This was about 3-4 feet away from it.
After days of rain, it was nice to wake up to a clear sky. We definitely made the most of our last day, going snorkeling, and then swimming with the manta rays
The view from our snorkeling boat. Finally some sun!
The snorkeling spot we went to, Captain Cook’s Bay, was absolutely amazing. It was probably better than any diving I’ve done so far. There was wildlife everywhere and it was calm and protected.
The water was crystal-clear
An eel
The second snorkeling spot
One of the boat employees found an octopus at the second snorkeling spot
We were really happy to have nice weather finally on our last day on the big island
On the way back to the dock after snorkeling
The sky was putting on a show on our way out into the bay
Our last sunset and it was amazing. We were boarding the boat to swim with the manta rays
Swimming with the manta ray was the perfect end to the trip. It was surreal. This ray was named “Amanda-ray” by the guides.
It’s a blurry picture, but that’s a manta ray below us. They take you out into the bay and you float while holding onto powerful lights that shine down into the water. The lights attract plankton, which in turn attract the manta rays. The rays have learned that the lights equal food
Here comes the ray. They swim by right in front of your face, inches away
