Monday, November 18, 2019

Lonetree Arch (Big Arch) and Kaloko, 11/18/19

Too much surge today fro the big swell yesterday to consider taking the 105 macro so I loaded up the 60mm and felt like my chances were good of finding something pretty underwater.

Found I'm still off my game (was I ever on it?) with nudis, of which there were very many. Most of the small kine 3 found at Lonetree, but the real stars of the day were waiting for us at Kaloko Canyons (arches): Mr and Ms Whitleys.  See them below.

At Lonetree, instead of heading toward the wall, today we went right to the arch top trying to find a bubble shell that was reported there.  Either it was gone, hiding, or just too small for us to have a chance to run across it who knows.  We did have some of the best nudi hunters in Kona:  Sandy Hammel, Sarah Bergeson and Rob Porter.  So I guess it wasn't there.  What there were were nudis!

Bicolor nudi

Locust nudi

White Bump nudi
Heading north from the arch we visited a few Leaf Scorpions, but they were way too down in the antler coral to get a good shot of them from my rig.  Free swimming shark at Suck 'em up was just on of the white tips that hang out at the front of the cave and had been rousted by divers that were there ahead of us.  She was too far away for me to get a shot so I saved gas for the trip back to the mooring and another shot at finding nudis on the arch.

At Kaloko I was reqlly hoping to revisit the wire corals a few turns out from the inner mooring.  The wire coralsw were there but the gobies I'd seen there last week with the wrong lens were gone.  No problem, sincfer right after that Rob found Ms Whitleys.  Mr Whitleys was a few turns farther out.  Here they are.

Female Whitleys


Male Whitleys
There were lots of other fish and critters along the way.  Here they are:

Blue Stripe Snappers under the arch

Dragon Wrasse

Red Pencil Urchin

Saddle Wrasse

Star eye Parrot
Ornate Wrasse

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