It is a rare thing for me to take groups to the backwall of Molokini for a snorkel. But today was that day. Molokini is a volcanic crater, located about three and a half miles off the southwest coast of Maui. The inside of the crater is considered one of the best snorkels in Hawaii, with its crystal clear water and incredible coral coverage. It is a marine reserve, so no fishing or collecting allowed. The back wall, however, is a bit wilder. This is a three hundred foot (100 meter), vertical wall, descending into the blue abyss. I told my group to look on the wall itself for interesting creatures and fish, but don't forget to glance out into the deep blue, because you never know what might swim by.
Today, something definitely swam by. Two grey reef sharks came out of the blue. One of them, in the photo above, turned and came right at me. I was read with my camera, and snapped that picture as it turned right in front of me. Just look at the visibility. We could see strait down for about 150ft.
The two sharks came back a second time, later in the snorkel. It was fun to see how curious they were. And it was nice to be in super clear water, so they knew we could see them as well. It was an exhilarating encounter.
We continued on checking out all the schools of beautiful tropical fish in the coral. I tried to photograph many of my favorites below. There are many day boats that take snorkelers out to Molokini Crater for morning snorkels. If you are ever on Maui, put this on your list. It is quite often calm water, clear water, and so much underwater life. And who knows, maybe you will get lucky enough to be visited by sharks! And who doesn't want that!
I wanted to get a photo of our snorkel strike force team, and Lala's reflective sunglasses provided the perfect mirror for our group.
Grey reef shark swimming very close to me.
I love taking people to the back wall of Molokini Crater because of the amazing visibility of the water.
This is what the back wall of Molokini looks like out of the water. It is a rare geological formation called a tuff cone, which happens when a volcano erupts in shallow water.
Jumping in to the blue abyss. The backwall is definitely not for the feint of heart.
Looking 150ft down the submerged back wall of Molokini.
Making sure my group is not getting carried off by any currents coming around the crater. I don't need anyone drifting off to Tahiti.
My buddy Sam diving down to check out something on the wall.
The water gets pretty blue out here in Maui, especially a few miles offshore away from the rivers and beaches.
A couple of ornate butterflyfish swimming close to the back wall.
The waves were crashing up on the back wall a bit, causing some bubbles that made visibility tough right next to the wall. Unless you dove down a few feet.
Looking down into the depths.
Looking into the cracks along the back wall revealed lots of fun finds, like these sergeant majors and surgeonfish.
This sea cucumber was moving around looking for food.
Red slate pencil urchins add a splash of color onto the reef.
A barred filefish swims amongst the cauliflower corals.
Looking up at threadfin butterflyfish as a waves crashes above. I had to freedive down and hold my breath to get this photo.
Snorkelers above the deep blue.
Snorkeling a few miles offshore of Maui.
A grey chub also enjoys the blue.
A rarely photographed scrawled filefish with its broom-like tail.
A yellow-tail coris flashes some color.
Two moorish idols strike an underwater pose.
Saddleback butterflyfish is another rare find.
I often see oval butterflyfish in pairs. It makes sense because they are monogamous.
A very large blue fin trevally cruises the shallows, looking for a quick meal.
A threadfin butterflyfish hangs out with a bunch of yellow tangs.
You can just make out the sailfin tang behind all the yellow tangs.
This long skinny fish is a cornet fish.
Two barred filefish swim together.
A spotted pufferfish swims deeper into the coral. Their meat is quite poisonous, and is known as 'fugu' in Japan.
One of my favorite butterflyfish to find, the only one with a dark purple tint to it, called the Reticulated Butterflyfish.
I hope you enjoyed coming along on the adventure with me.
As always, keep traveling and keep posting!
- Dai Mar