Fourth and final stop was a turtle local off of Makena Landing. It evoked a feeling of diving on a wreck - at least what i think it might feel like. The reef structure varied in depth from the shallow peak to deeper areas - all with really nice water clarity - I could have spend an hour there tracing out the reef shape where it ended into deeper and/or sandy bottoms. It had great structure with edges that dropped off as walls and was full of crevice and cracks - really great looking coral and fish populations. The 3rd stop was excellent - I might say it was as interesting or even better than Molokini - La Perouse bay had the most interesting large reef rising out of deeper waters peaking to just 5 feet or so from the surface. We later saw a large sea turtle swimming on the surface. It moved off and at about 100-120 feet revealed its fluke(tail) as it slowly headed into a dive. Slowing/stopping the boat we are treated to the Humpback traveling towards us and surfaced to blow probably no further than 40 feet off (one boat length) away. Continuing on in-route Kelly spotted a submerged humpback - our paths essentially crossed. We left Molokini and Tim shared information with other friendly boat operators allowing us to locate some Bottle-nosed dolphins en route to our 3rd stop. Before getting to Molokini we slowed/stopped to watch a nearby Humpback whale that was slowing cruising along the surface. We spent about 30 minutes at each stop I would estimate - I could have spent twice that given the nice conditions. Both stops had us as one of only a few boats in the area - there were divers when we first arrived at Molokini. The 2nd stop was on the backside of Molokini (out of the shadows) and was different experience as the wall drops off to the dark depths quickly - again a nice variety of fish to see. Even so it was a very interesting assortment of fish and coral. I mention that because the clarity of water was very good, but I imagine direct sunlight enhances the overall fish and coral color. Being mid December we arrived at Molokini with the sun low enough for the waters to be in the shadows for the inside Molokini stop. We took less-drowsy dramamine as precaution, but probably didn't need it. That made the ride in the smaller of the two RedLine boats (35ft I think) very comfortable. We had mostly overcast to partly cloudy skies but very smooth glass like ocean conditions. Tim and Kelly of Redline were excellent crew. Thank you Redline Tours for our gorgeous morning on the water as always all opinions are completely our own and we would never recommend something we didn’t love, no matter who pays the check.My wife and two daughters (14,16) had great time - co-highlight of trip (tied with surfing lesson by Maui Surfer Girls). They even provided a prescription mask for one of the people on our boat who wore glasses! The tour costs $124.95 from the Redline site and includes breakfast, lunch, wetsuits and all snorkel gear. The tour departs daily from Kihei Small Boat Ramp at 7:00 in the morning and returns at noon. We loved snorkeling Molokini Crater and are pretty sure that it is not only the best snorkeling in Maui but probably the best snorkeling on all of the Hawaiian islands! The captains were both knowledgeable about Maui and all of the ocean life and were very relaxed and easy to get along with. This is also where delicious deli sandwiches and pasta salad was served for lunch.Īll in all, we had an absolutely lovely morning out on the water with Redline. The last stop of the morning was to turtle town for some up close and personal encounters in the water with the protected Hawaiian Green Sea Turtle. Boats are required to stay a certain distance from each whale, which means that if you are surrounded you basically are stuck in one spot until all the whales decide to give you some more breathing room! We were told by our captains that at times during whale season the water gets so full of leviathans that they have a hard time navigating the boat where it needs to go. After snorkeling two spots at Molokini, we took a trip down the coastline to explore more of the sheer cliffs that make up Maui’s “forbidden coast.” Since we were there in the Winter, Hawaii’s whale season, this portion of the day became a whale watching tour.
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