Kona Extreme Adventures
From 2007 World Tour in Hawaiian Beaches, United States on Sep 18 '07
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We had a hiccup this morning as we found out that there was not a transfer available from our hotel for our activities in Kona, and that the only way to get there was by Taxi. This would be fine, but the ride was about 30mins away and was going to cost us $85 return. This was my fault as I had booked all of our activities in Hawaii on the net without considering the location of the activies relative to the hotel.
We were picked up by a charming cab driver named Carl, who drove us to Kona. On the way he gave us commentary of places and items along the way, and we thought he had good knowledge of the area. We got dropped off about an hour before check-in and walked around and amused ourself before our first activity.
Submarines and Zodiac Rafts
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Time finally came for boarding of the boat which would take us out to the Atlantis Submarine. This vessel descends 100ft below the surface to a local reef and provides the passengers with a birdseye view of the inhabitants of the reef. This was really good, and we attempted to try and take photos of what we saw, but this was difficult due to the three inch think porthole windows which distorted the images. It was then baffles out and our quick ride to the surface.
Back at dock, we had about 3 hour before our planned extreme snorkeling adventure. We took a walk down the main town street of Kona, window shopping and buying souveniers when the urge took us. We stopped at Bubba Gumps for lunch, where we were seated on the viewing deck and had a perfect view of the harbour, and the anchored large cruise ship that was offshore. After lunch we made our way back to the dock and checked-in to Captain Zodiac for our next adventure.
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This had us boarding a zodiac boat (like that used by the surf lifesavers), 10 people, 5 sitting on each side of the boat, atop the rubber inflated sides of the boat. One has to hold on tight to the hand rope down the side, the metal hand-rail in the centre of the boat, and one foot under the foot anchor rope. This was in order to insure that you didn't get tossed out of the boat when it was driven at a frightening speed, and turned around at tight angles. Our driver was a real character - his name was Chad, he was bald and wore a pirate shull emblazened hanky scarf wrapped around his head, and spoke loud like a pirate. He also had a crewmate called Stashia, who provided commentary on wildlife and bays and formations we passed.
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The first treat we had was coming across a pod of spinner dolphins. These small dolphins love to play in the wake of ships and jump out of the water and spin around, giving them their name. We then took off and it took all my strength to hang onto the rope and stay on the boat. The wind blowing in our hair as the boat bumped high on the waves, making our bottoms jump up and down in the air and giving us the thrill of a lifetime.
We came to our destination and we given snorkel and fins and jumped over the side. Joe had a little trouble getting used to the mask and snorkel, but I was off and running and viewing the spenders of the nearby reef. I took the underwater camera off Joe and took many many photos of the beautiful fish and coral that I saw. I was disappointed that the coral did not have the colour that I expected. After about an hour, we climbed back into the boat (me with a little difficulty), and we provided with an afternoon snack of drinks, fresh pineapple, crisps and cookies. Everyone hoed in as that snorkeling can be hard work. Heading back to the dock, the bumpy ride nearly made me lose my afternoon tea!!
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On dry land again and Joe raced off to the mens, after drinking two bottles of water at afternoon tea. He said it was pure agony on the way back, every bump teasing his bladder. We arrived at 4:30 and our transfer to the hotel was not booked until 6pm. We stopped in at a nearby bar, shared a cocktail for two, then a liquer coffee, and I was well on my way to happy-street!!
Carl appeared once again to return us back to the hotel. On the way back I asked if he did personal tours and if he was available the next day. He said yes, and yes and gave us an idea of price. Joe and I thought about this and decided to book him for the following day. We had dinner in the hotel restaurant, then headed back to the room as both of us were dog-tired after our adventurous day.
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