The shuttle was waiting for us once we stepped off the ship. The only other passengers in the shuttle were Rick and Lauren, from Rochester, New York. We all wondered if we were the only 4 doing the snorkelling trip.
But once we got to the harbour on the other side of the island, it became obvious this was a very popular cruise.
Rel was starting to get excited about this day
The weather was still looking fine
The boat looked seaworthy
Once on board, Rel found a great seat on the top deck and the smile really lit up.
So off we charged to the reef at Moloki
As we got closer it was time to get into our snorkelling gear
And then we started to approach the reef, which was actually a crater, where part of it still pops out of the water.
Behind us was Maui
In front of us was our swimming spot
Rel looked fetching with her snorkel gear
Very large birds were circling, hopefully not an ominous sign
The water look calm and serene
Snorkellers seemed to be enjoying themselves
So we enjoyed our snorkel. It may not have been as amazing as the Great Barrier Reef, but it had different fish to the reef. And the water was so refreshing.
John also saw some things he did not expect, nor really want, to see.
In the interests of public heath and safety, John strongly advises that women should not snorkel only in bikinis, no matter how good they may look on the beach. When snorkelling, one has an amazingly clear view of what is going on under the water. When snorkelling, all sorts of weird things happen to one’s swimsuit when kicking and moving about in the water. John’s dreams are still haunted by what he accidentally saw.
At one point, one of the boat’s crew was taking underwater shots. When it came time to take photos of John and Rel, there was a small ‘incident’. John’s attempts to put his arm around Rel resulted in him submerging her snorkel, thereby nearly drowning Rel. Needless to say, we did not buy those photos.
Back on board the boat, it was time to head off for the 2nd, and final destination.
We would be snorkelling at a place known as turtle town, where apparently, we would see turtles. We were a little sceptical.
Turns out this place was literally just off the coast from where we played golf the day before. In fact, the photo below is of the golf course we played on.
And to our surprise, we actually saw a number of turtles. They were actually huge turtles. And looked so majestic when then swam. What was amazing was how much they blended in with the reef when they settled on the bottom. At times, once could not distinguish them from a large rock.
But this was truly another highlight swimming with large turtles.
(It should be noted that these photos are a re-enactment of the ones we swam with. Due to turtle protection programs, we could not show you the real turtles we swam with. In fact our experience was more vivid and closer than these photos show)
Once on board, the captain starting purring Mai Tais, some drink with rum and juice. They were free, we’d never tried one before, so we though we would try one. As the captain prepared the drink for us, we realised he was was not too scientific. The rum flowed freely, whilst he struggled to get the juice to flow in. At least the drink warmed our insides for the trip home. One was way more than enough!
Back on the boat, we discovered our towels were in the shape of a rabbit today.
It was then time to kick back and enjoy what the ship had to offer in the afternoon
We then strolled to the Cadillac Diner
Dropped into the Napa Wine Bar to enjoy one of our bottles of wine
Then we headed off for dinner, and finished with a make your own dessert
Another day of absolutely amazing adventures
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