Open Water Diver

Last year when we dove on the Rainbow Reef Maxie got himself hooked on SCUBA, so for his most recent birthday we gave him a PADI Open Water Diver certification as a gift. He spent five or six weeks after school studying during April and May, completed his pool training in Marin a few weeks back, all that was left were his four ocean dives… Instead of completing his certification here in the cold, low vis waters of Northern California we took the opportunity to jet over to Oahu for a few days so he could finish up in the warm water with the turtles. It was also a great opportunity to catch up with Veronika and Oliver, and to meet baby Nela (who arrived at the end of last year).

Lilia bunked in with Veronika, Oliver and Nela in their beautiful apartment high above Ala Moana, while Max and I stayed in one of the building’s guest suites a few floors below. It was a great location for our time on the island, with Ala Moana Beach a few steps from the front door and the Dive Oahu dock less than a minute’s walk across the street. An easy jaunt over to the beach, for a snorkel out behind the breakers or even a spearfishing lesson for Max from Oliver one afternoon. Veronika and Oliver were such amazing hosts, ferrying us around the island on adventures and treating us to some amazing meals during our stay. The kids loved staying in the high rise with its infinity pool overlooking the ocean and lots of time playing with baby Nela. I enjoyed a morning run each day before the sun sent the humidity into overdrive, during which it was fun to watch all the local fishermen at dawn next to Magic Island hoping to hook into the juvenile trevally hunting in the shallows.

Oliver organized for Max to finish his Open Water Diver certification with a divemaster friend of his named Jeff: a larger than life ex-special forces gent who instantly gelled with Max and made his two days of diving a ton of fun. Wild Man had a little trouble equalizing on the way down during his first day, but otherwise progressed through the final part of his certification like a champ, stoked with himself after finishing up on day two. I think he counted 19 turtles in the water with him during his time on Oahu, most of them at the aptly named Turtle Canyon just behind the breakers of Fort DeRussy Beach. Oliver and I didn’t actually dive with Max, but his dive instructor sent me a few pics and videos of him at the Turtle Canyon and Nautilus dive sites he explored during his two days of adventuring underwater.

Oliver and I got out on the dive boat for a day as well, our dive on the dual wrecks of YO257 a very memorable one for me: my first wreck dive and deepest dive to date (by a long shot). Being down there 90 feet/27 meters was a little eerie at first, but the fun of exploring the wrecks and paddling around with a few turtles and eels quickly took my mind off how far below the surface we were. I popped a blood vessel in my sinuses at some point during the initial equalization so came up with a mask full of blood (!), but otherwise it was an awesome experience and fun to get down there with Oliver for our first dive together.

Kewalo Pipe was also a hoot, and at 65 feet/20 meters was more the kind of depth I was used to… An old storm drain on the bottom of the ocean made for a perfect artificial reef, it was covered with mountains of coral and made an ideal home for a ton of reef fish and handful of turtles. Oliver had his GoPro setup with lights for the duration of our dives, credit for the vid below goes to him, great to have a log of our adventures below the waters of Oahu.

We also managed a few adventures on land around Oahu in between (or during) Nela’s naps. We braved the heat and humidity one afternoon with a drive along the southeast coast to the Makapu’u Point Lighthouse Trailhead. Wild Man and I got sidetracked partway up the trail and ventured down the scree to Makapu’u Tide Pools, the blowholes and crystal clear, aquarium-like swimming holes were pretty amazing. I think Veronika is going to be back (without Nela!) to explore them herself sometime soon!

Veronika also took us on a trip across the island to her old digs at Kailua Bay while Oliver took one for the team during nap time, filling the drive with stories of how she made her way from Czechia to Hawaii and having to grind out so many hours at near minimum wage as a pilot on Hawaiian island hopper aircraft before eventually making her way up the ranks to captain the A330 for Hawaiian Airlines. We spent the afternoon on the sand at picturesque Kailua Beach, where the girls worked on their tans while Max and I swam out to explore the reef at Popoia Island. We counted six turtles swimming with us on the way out, two of them monstrous leatherbacks chewing on the grass between the beach and island. I think my favorite was the baby we came across behind Popoia Island, it would have only been about a foot across and was quite wary of us getting too close (unlike the leatherbacks…).

The food during our time on Oahu was (unexpectedly) quite a highlight. Our first dinner at Merriman’s compliments of Jenni and Steve was very memorable, the tableside-mixed poke and Max’s happy hour smash burger the standouts there. Oliver also did me a solid on my hunt for Hawaii’s best poke with a hot tip to try the bulk bar at nearby Foodland supermarket: it was very good but not quite as exceptional as the wahoo/ahi mix from Merriman’s. I think the kids’ favorite was the baked goods from Okayama Kobo next to Oliver and Veronika’s building, the delicateness of the imported flour from Hokkaido made for some extremely unique and decidedly scrumptious offerings for breakfast each morning (their cheese and jalapeño bun may be worth flying to Oahu for!). And we can’t forget the almost endless supply of scrumptious food on offer at the Saturday morning Kaka’ako Farmers Market. It was incredibly humid during our morning at the market – Max almost melted – but was worth braving the heat to check out everything on offer. Of everything we ate, though, I think Oliver’s Hawaiian-inspired sliders for dinner by the pool would have been near the top of everyone’s list!

During our last morning on the island – which also happened to be Father’s Day – the kids and I headed up Highway 61 to the Lulumahu Trail for a quick hike to Lulumahu Falls. It was a reasonably short hike through the jungle up to the falls, although we did lose the trail once or twice as we navigated the muddy ground through the incredibly thick undergrowth. A great way to cap off our time on the island before hopping on the plane home…

The Valtenbergs usually pack a lot in to anywhere we travel, but looking back on these photos raises even my eyebrow at all the adventures we had during our five day stint on Oahu. Such a good time that wouldn’t have been possible without the generosity and hospitality of Veronika and Oliver. Thank you both, so fun to spend a few days with you guys and meet baby Nela! See you at Thanksgiving!