After a few buses I got to the North Shore- or particularly the only other backpacker that is on the island but not in Honolulu or Waikiki! Cheap accommodation does not exist here!
The North Shore is very popular for surfing- but that’s more in the winter months when the waves are allegedly super!! Now- all I have seen is very calm seas.
The exact location is nearly centre of the northern part of the island. So I figured I can explore in either direction by bus. On the day I arrived I took a snorkel in the bay just opposite the road- Three Tables and Ship Cove a little bit down the road. Three Tables had an excellent variety of fish and lots of them too! The visibility was good and not too many people. The area is protected by the reefs and rocks at the mouth of the bay, and thus not many waves make it to shore. Ship’s Cove is a shallow series of water pools that doesn’t have as much variety. You don’t really have to swim-or cannot- just propel yourself along the bottom using your arms. The variety of fish was not great and neither was the quantity.
I really wanted to see some more sea turtles- so for sunset I headed west to Laniakea Beach. It took a while, but a youngish turtle appeared on the beach and we got to learn a few things about the Hawaiian Honu or green basking sea turtles, from the volunteers who patrol the beaches to make sure tourists don’t get too close. They work in shifts.
The next day I went east to Turtle Bay. I was excited to do some more snorkelling. Disappointment hit as I realised that visibility was very poor and I thus gave up. It was a short swim rather than snorkel.
However, there is a silver lining. Not spending too much time here I set off back to Pupukea for lunch and then caught another bus to Haleiwa- surfing capital of the North Shore. It is a quaint town with old style buildings and a surprising large amount and variety of art galleries which I enjoyed browsing.
