| SCUBATREKKERS Hawaii 2003 Story |
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| The year 2002 has been a very dry year for most of the members of Scubatrekkers Diveclub. The lack of a good nitrogen intake was no longer bearable and we decided to fix that problem. Just as the new year started we hoped into a plane and flew to the islands of paradise closest to Los Angeles... HAWAII Two weeks of diving, sunshine and great company. Of course, the occasional Mai Tai and the Hula Dance did the rest |
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| It has been a pretty quick decision to have a trip to Hawaii. And as always our crew came from close and far away. I believe that SCUBATREKKERS is the only Diveclub of its kind... with members all across the globe. Sandra & Bruno flew in from Switzerland, Tanya & Daniel had a (shorter) trip from Los Angeles and Ana is a local Hawaiian babe anyway. The first highlight of the trip came already at the Honolulu airport... all luggage - even that of Sandra & Bruno - arrived with the same plane as they did! If you read through the trip reports of Bonaire & Mexico you will know why this is such a wonderous thing. We all met on the island of Oahu, where we had a wonderful vacation house all to ourself. |
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| What made us choose Waimanalo Beach over a hotel at world famous Waikiki Beach? Well, first of all, we wanted to get away from it all, second we love the rural Hawaiian atmosphere much better than the 24-hour action of Honolulu and last... were the SCUBATREKKERS gang lands... there is always a party! So we settled right in and just a few beers later felt totally at home. The only one missing in this picture was our friend Aldie, who had to stay home and dry. Let's have another cold one for Aldie... CHEERS! |
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| Finally the fist day of diving... how long did we have to wait for that one? But the weather gods were not on our side today... One look outside our bungalow and we could tell, that this strong wind was up to no good! Isn't Hawaii world famous for its surfing? The waves crashing onto the beach convinced all of us, that we rather be dry and high than become the worlds first Scuba-Surfer-Dudes. But true SCUBATREKKERS can't stay away from the ocean, once its that close. So we started with a snorkeling trip at picture perfect Hanauma Bay and met with an incredible wild and frenzy crowd of colorful fish all waiting for a handout. You've got to see this to believe it! |
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| Also snorkeling makes hungry... so we drove to North Shore to feast on the most tasteful BBQ-Killer-Shrimps anywere on the islands. |
| Later on that day we also drove around the island, paid a visit to the very comfortable Haleiwa Coffee House and watched as some crazy surfers battled the huge waves. The long anticipated fist day of scuba diving finally arrived! Because Aqua Zone did not go out on Sundays we choose Captain Bruce as our dive operator. With a full load of divers we visited the Sea Tiger Ship Wreck and to all our pleasure where greeted by the songs of the Humpback Whales as well as a huge green sea turtle. Oh... it feels so good to be back in the warm tropical waters, flying high through the deep blue of the ocean and to hear my bubbles finding a way to the surface. We are definately back in the game! |
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| The plan for the first day was to dive to the max with four dives at different sites. Unfortunately the diving gods again were not on our side... after the third dive the engine of the boat broke down and we had to throttle back to the harbor to have it fixed. Dive number 4 was lost. |
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| We have to say, that we were not very impressed by Captain Bruce's Operation. A breakdown can happen to the best company but the divemasters did not give any briefings or orientation about the sites we dove. And after loosing one paid dive, the only offer was that we would receive a discount for a future booking. Now who needs such a sloppy answer after missing out on a desperate nitrogen fix? It can only get better... NOT! Well, not for Tanya, who caught a cold and missed out on the following days diving. For Daniel und Bruno it surely got much much better. For the rest of the week we had Aqua Zone as our |
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| diving partner. Very small and personalized groups, super divemasters and friendly captains... this makes the difference! They showed us some of the very best of what Oahu had to offer below the surface. |
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| With great ocean conditions and visability over 100 feet we were in diving heaven. Throw in a Corsair plane wreck, colorful fish in the thousands plus a few friendly turtles... there is nothing more a divers heart can ask for. Diving day number 3 got even better since Tanya was good to go again and even our Brazilian island girl Ana joined into the fun. Bruno's underwater camera was snapping away, Daniel did his Advanced Diver certificate while Ana & Tanya enjoyed the marine life. Only Sandra chose to be a beach bum this week. You can also call her our surface support for after the dives. When we returned to our beach house after a morning full of diving, she already had the cold beers and freshly prepared lunch waiting for us. Life is so good especially among SCUBATREKKERS dive buddies! |
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| But with all good things... time passes way too fast and our Scuba-week on Oahu was over before we knew it. Too bad for Tanya & Daniel, who returned to Los Angeles. Ana stayed on the island - naturally for a local Kamaiina... but lucky Sandra & Bruno had another week on Maui... Yeeeehhhaaaaaaaaaa!!! So the small rest of our crew enjoyed one more week sitting in the sun, exploring the island and of course paying our tribute to the diving world. With our base in the cute town of Lahaina we chose Lahaina Divers to go diving with. And our choice was great... since this is very professional operation. |
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| They took us to the world famous Molokini Crater. Whales singing, a Manta Ray, sharks and tons of reef fish... all in two great dives!!! |
| Lahaina Divers took good care of us. On the way out to Molokini Island we observed huge Humpback whales breaching, the dives were in crystal clear water, there was so much to see and last but certainly not least... also lunch on board was tasteful and plenty. The snorkelers on our boat even claimed, that a whale was just swimming next to them. This is probably the only time I ever wished to be part of the snorkeling group instead of the scuba gang... |
| Of course... the time in paradise flew by way to quickly! Wonderful tropical Hawaii. A place to love and to come back to over and over again. SCUBATREKKERS Diveclub left the islands with our divebags full of great memories. If you want to hear all the great stories, you can talk to Tanya & Daniel in Los Angeles, Ana in Hawaii or Sandra & Bruno (currently) in Switzerland. Or even better yet... next time just come along and see for yourself! |
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