The first five days of the trip were absolutely amazing and the second five days of the trip definitely didn’t disappoint. We went on 4 more snorkeling adventures, sailing to unique spots each time. The ocean animals amazed us at Honoloa Bay, Slaughterhouse Bay, Molikini, Turtle Town, and at a random lava finger reef near Turtle Town. We even got a boat captain to take us over to Lanai to snorkel. We were the only boat along the whole coast and it was the best coral cover I have ever seen.

I can’t figure out which spot was my favorite, as they all had some kind of unique quality. Honoloa Bay had too many fish to count, a turtle and manta ray cleaning station, and a school of something that made the reef look like a highway. Slaughterhouse Bay had more turtles and cornetfish changing colors. Molikini had a crown of thorns starfish and an eel that explored half the reef while we watched. Turtle town didn’t disappoint with the turtles. The random lava finger showed us a white-tipped reef shark in a cave and after we rolled off the side of our kayaks. Lanai was a coral covered paradise full of colors, more sharks, more fish, and no other snorkelers to bump into.

I wish that I had brought an underwater camera, but there’s no way a photo could capture the beauty of that underwater realm so I’ll just leave it to your imagination!

Other activities took us to Waihe’e ridge for a service project pulling invasive species and then planting native species. It was nice to give back to such a wonderful island and culture.

We investigated a midwater reef via an actual submarine. It was super cool exploring the shipwreck at 120 ft. More white-tipped reef sharks, rays, lots of fish, and coral with evidence of growth could be seen out the port windows.

One of the last adventures was to explore La Perouse Bay. This area is the most recent lava flow on the island and is rocky and desolate and absolutely beautiful. It has ruins from an old Hawaiian village right along the water line.

This trip was something special. It was eye-opening to be able to share it with the next generation, experiencing that awe and wonder all over again through their eyes. It’s also comforting to know that the next generation has an appreciation of our natural world. I hope they will help to save it!