宇宁: Kuaui Trip August 2015 Day 6

Tunnels beach snorkeling

Clear waters at Tunnels Beach

Woke up bright and early to go snorkeling at Tunnels beach. It's supposed to be the best snorkeling spot in north shores but was closed due to high surf and brown water when we first arrived.
http://www.tropicalsnorkeling.com/kauaisnorkeling.html
http://www.tropicalsnorkeling.com/snorkeling-tunnels.html

It's protected by an outer reef but the reef formation cause a current flow that's going from right to left all the time. Research and local advice got us going at the right spot and we didn't get a strong current as the tide is low. It's also early enough that visibility was good for snorkeling.

We saw a turtle and a lot of reef fishes. And the coral is interesting as there's some coral heads.
We saw a few dive boards and Na Pali catamaran dock there for snorkeling by the time we got in, as the surf was too rough to snorkel outside.

Ching Young village
This is a center catered for Hanalei tourism.
http://www.chingyoungvillage.com/

Ching Young village and a few fun touristy t shirts quotes

Puka Dogs and Chickien in a bucket

There's chicken in a bucket which is where we got dinner last night and Puka dogs.

We came back to Ching Young village after the catamaran trip and had some appetizers and cocktails at Kalypso and Tahiti Nui.

Na Pali Catamaran Tour

Kalalau campsite in Na Pali

Another way, other than hiking, for Na Pali access is via water. We booked a Catamaran tour a couple of weeks back as part of our trip highlight.
http://www.napalicatamaran.com/
We picked this tour company as it start from Hanalei Bay instead of Port Allen. It saves us driving time and boat distance to Na Pali Coast. They also feature smaller catamaran boats that allows us to go into the caves and a faster boat ride.

First off, the weather is awesome! There's some uncertainty with this boat trip as we are between hurricanes in Hawaii. The trip turned out to be sunny and low enough surf for caves exploration.
The trip was not able to do snorkeling as the water was too stirred up for visibility by the afternoon. But we are ok with it since we managed to snorkel Tunnels Beach in the morning.

We started the trip with a pod of 100+ dolphins spotted right off the coast. The Captain did a 90 deg turn and we went dolphin chasing. I have not seen so many dolphins this close, spinning and jumping at the same time. I caught pictures of a couple of them surfacing and swimming near the boat. Now i know why they are called spinner dolphins =)

Spinner dolphins in the ocean

The trip to Na Pali is breath taking. I truly understand why the locals are reluctant to build roads to this piece of land that's pristine and untouched by modern human civilization. It's astounding to think that native Hawaiians used to live in that land, travelling by kayaks and hiking.

We ended the tour at Tunnels beach chasing another pod of dolphins. The captain was planning to do some snorkeling at Tunnels beach but realized quickly it was too murky to see much. Instead he spotted the 2nd school of dolphins and we end up eating our roast beef sandwiches watching the dolphin jumping around the boat. Cool!