Makena Coast Photo Gallery and Sea Life Identification
| One of the benefits of going out SCUBA diving off the coast of Maui every day is that we get to see so many different sea creatures. Some are "regulars" whose homes we know and visit regularly, and others are a delightful surpise even to us!
The photos below were mostly taken by Benja Iglesis Buchannan, with a few exceptions. |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
 |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Frogfish—we never get tired of seeing Frogfish. These members of the anglerfish family arrange in size from teeny tiny to the size of a grapefruit. They are masters of camouflage and are usually found her in bright yellow, red, beige and black. They can blend perfectly with the coral or rock they are perched on. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Commerson's Frogfish
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Manta Rays are possibly the most graceful animals of the sea. They move like dancers in the water—effortlessly and graceful. We don't see them every day at Molokini, but they aren't rare either. | It is hard to imagine the ocean without the spectacular Humpback Whales in it, but at the end of spring they disappear every year from Hawaiian waters. Arriving in late Dec. early January, we are treated to their display of power and size until May. They breed, birth— and dare we say—play while they are here! | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Hawaiian Monk Seals are on the endangered list and are indeed rare to see.
Every year for a week or two one will come hang out at Molokini Crater and play with the snorkelers and divers. |
 |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| While Hawaiian Spinner Dolphins and Pacific Bottlenose Dolphins frequent Hawaiian Waters, it is still a unique experience to have them close enough to observe, enjoy and potentially see underwater. In addition to being extremely fast swimmers (who love to play in the wake of a moving boat) they are very playful. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sharks!
Molokini is a great place to view the incredibly graceful movements of Gray Sharks (as seen to the left) and White Tip Reef Sharks (as seen to the right) and In fact, divers may well be the only people in the world who jump IN the water when someone yells "SHARK!" We are also the privileged ones to get to know the graceful beauty of these creatures, while simultaneously respecting their powerful potential. Most of the sharks at Molokini are "puppies" in their demeaner. They are curious, yet cautious. |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
 |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Eels galore! | Hawaiian waters also boast a variety of eels. The one pictured here is a Yellow Margin Moray with a banded coral shrimp preparing to do his dentistry. We regularly see Snowflake, Zebra Moray, Ungulated (otherwise known as "The Green Meanie", White Mouth, and Black Spotted eels.
Eels, like squirrels, will defend their homes—so your are best off keeping your hands and fingers out of holes, cracks and crevices. However, if you leave them alone, they will leave you a lone and they are wonderful to spot on a leisurely dive. It is an extra special treat to see them free swimming as they hunt on the reef. |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
 |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Banded Moray | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
Snowflake Moray | Freckled Snake Eel | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Benja Iglesis is a Dive Master on our boat and is a world-class photographer. All of these photos were taken while out on our daily trips with Makena Coast Dive Charters.
Keep your eye on this page as we will continuously add more photos. We will also have daily updates and photos on our Dive Blog. Check out his Web Site www.BenjaIglesis.com |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Undulated Moray (aka Green Meanie!) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
