![]() ![]() Mantas are really fabulous (success rate is about 80%). If you head towards the South end of the bay it drops off at a wall to about 40 feet and slopes deeper as you go further away from shore. Towards the Center of the bay are concrete blocks with lots of coral and fish on them, depth gets to 15 to 18 feet deep. The Topology of this bay is as follows: Towards the North side of the bay you will never get deeper than 12 feet and you will find a little bit of coral and fish and lots of golf balls. If you entered near the picnic table then you have quite a long surface swim in the south-west direction to the dropoff point. You can see the dropoff point on the map. The Reef and actual dive site starts far from shore, if you enter the water at the center of the bay then simply swim out in a WSW direction and eventually you will reach the dropoff to a beautiful reef. Otherwise enter to the right, as there is a deep break in the lava that allows for easy access to deeper water, but be prepared for the surface swim of your life.Ĥ. Once you are setup walk to the center of the Bay with your gear and there should be a less painful entry point over lava rocks and urchins. You can setup on a picnic table that is on the beach, located close to the trail. Take the trail until you see an exit on your left that leads you directly onto the sand.ģ. There is an obvious paved and boarded trail at the end of the road that takes you directly to the beach, it is not a difficult walk, even with heavy gear. ![]() The road leads behind the guard-station and ends at a partially shaded parking lot with nice rest-rooms and outdoor showers mounted on the outside of the restroom building. Pull up to the guard-station and ask for a beach pass for Kukio Beach, turn left immediately after the guard-station and drive to the end of the road.Ģ. The dive-site is accessible via the Four Seasons Resort Hualalai at Historic Ka'upulehu. With surf there is also some current, so expect to fight some current on your way out to the drop-off point, once you reach the drop-off point the current is not bad.ġ. I would consider this dive worth the surface swim to the drop-off point if the surf is not high, if it is I would abort your plan to dive this site as it will tucker you out. ![]() The general slope of the bay becomes more shallow as you go north and deeper as you go south. This site will involve a lengthy surface swim to the edge of the drop-off point where the reef can be accessed. Drop down to the bottom, about 15 feet, and swim out under the arch. There is a nice exit on the South side of the hole right by a rusted piton which is there. Within the lava heads is a cove with an arch on the ocean side which is partially submerged. You will see 3 large lava heads along the ocean. Go about 100 yards past the gate and look to the ocean. Drive (VERY CAREFULLY) about 500 yards to a gate which should be open during the day. Drive about 1 mile West to the point where the paved road turns north. On the Big Island, go North on Highway 19 from Kailua Kona about 7 miles to Natural Energy Road (Last road West before the Airport). There are some little caves in and around the cove that are very interesting a flashlight is good. The visual effect of the arch, both in and out, is quite stunning. As always the case when diving Hawaii watch the waves and wind. It isn't a big deal to go back out of the old cove and enter the right one, but you can't always see the arch until you get all the way into the cove. Navigate carefully because immediately north of the blow hole is an another cove and it is easy to mistake this cove for the one you went into. The floor gradually drops off to 100 feet, lots of corals, fish, etc. ![]()
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