May 17th, 2008

Oahu vacation homes bring you a word of underwater adventure! Some of the best snorkeling in Oahu is at the underwater park at Hanauma Bay. It’s crowded — sometimes it seems there are more people than fish, but Hanauma has clear, warm, protected waters and an abundance of friendly reef fish — including Moorish idols, scores of butterflyfish, damselfish, and wrasses. Hanauma Bay has two reefs, an inner and an outer — the first for novices, the other for experts. The inner reef is calm and shallow (less than 10 ft.); in some places, you can just wade and put your face in the water. Go early: It’s packed by 10am and closed on Tuesdays. Braver snorkelers may want to head to Shark’s Cove, on the North Shore just off Kamehameha Highway, between Haleiwa and Pupukea. Sounds risky, we know, but we’ve never seen or heard of any sharks in this cove, and in summer, this big, lava-edged pool is one of Oahu’s best snorkel spots. Waves splash over the natural lava grotto and cascade like waterfalls into the pool full of tropical fish. To the right of the cove are deep-sea caves to explore. The uninitiated might prefer a lesson and a snorkel tour. Surf-N-Sea, 62-595 Kamehameha Hwy., Haleiwa (tel. 808/637-9887), has 2-hour tours, with equipment, starting at $45.

It happens every day on the North Shore Shark Adventure (tel. 808/228-5900; www.hawaiisharkadventures.com), the dream of Captain Joe Pavsek, who decided, after some 30 years of surfing and diving, to share the experience of seeing a shark with visitors staying at Oahu vacation homes.. To make sure that the predators of the deep will show up for the viewing, Captain Pavsek heaves “chum,” a not very appetizing concoction of fish trimmings and entrails, over the side of his 26-foot boat, Kailolo. Sort of like ringing the dinner bell, after a few minutes the sharks (generally gray reef, Galapagos, and sandbars, ranging from 5 ft.-15 ft.) show up — sometimes just a few, sometimes a couple dozen. Depending on the sea conditions and the weather, snorkelers can stay in the cage as long as they wish, with the sharks just inches away. The shark cage, connected to the boat with wire line, floats several feet back and a little above the surface, holding two snorkelers comfortably and four snuggly. You can stay on the boat and view the sharks from a more respectable distance for just $60. The brave and adventuresome will be down in that cage, just thin aluminum separating them from jaws. It definitely will be a memory you won’t forget.