Hanauma Bay 2014

I know all of these pictures are very similar but this place was just so amazingly beautiful and none of the pictures do it justice.  This is an absolutely beautiful nature preserve that is a must see must snorkel.  This is one that the tourists absolutely got right.  They have a parking lot that really dictates how many people can be there at once, once the lot is full, there is no parking for miles.  

You see that dark stuff in the water?  That is the reef.  I was so close to it at times I had to let the waves take me over while I thought skinny thoughts.  If the water was any lower I may not have been able to get out there.  But being that close to the reef means that you get a really up close and personal view of the fish/sea life.  Because it is a preserve, the fish are not scared of you and even the fish that are usually more skiddish will let you get pretty close.  We saw the most amazing parrot fish and you could hear them crunch the coral as they ate it.  

This was possibly my most favorite place to snorkel.  Other places you had to dive to see the good stuff.  Here there were so many fish and they were right there swimming right next to you.

We also saw a turtle here but it isn't the best place to go if you want to snorkel with a turtle.  Not enough room unless you go out pretty far.

And although I didn't get any pictures, we saw plenty of Mongoose here.  I didn't know Hawaii had Mongoose but apparently they were introduced as an experimental rat control that did not work.  Instead they ate the bird's eggs until the birds began nesting on small islands off the mainland.  I know that means that I shouldn't like them but they were so cute it was hard to have any bad feelings toward them.

Again, I wish I could give you a glimpse of how great this place was; I could tell/show you the fish I saw there, describe the water, but I think it is one of those things that has to be experienced.