As our Captain pulled the vessel out of the Ko’olina Harbor we could see the beautiful hills of the Waianae Coast extending out towards Kaena Point off in the distance. The ocean that was extending out from the coastline was as calm as the surface of a lake, which made the dolphins very easy to see.
It only took about fifteen minutes from when we left the harbor before we spotted our first dolphins off in the distance. They curiously approached our boat until they got about 100 feet away and then they continued on down the coast. Within the next half an hour while we were traveling to our snorkel location we had had a similar experience with three other groups of dolphins.
When we pulled up to our snorkel site the first mate of the boat briefed us on the location for a few minutes before we got into the water. She pointed out a few zones that we could find some interesting sea creatures and she also informed us that she was going to be in the water with us, to point things out and assist with any problems or issues that arise.
The location that we were at was an interesting place. There was a large power plant on the shore that circulated ocean water through it to keep it cool. After cooling the power plant, the water (which at this point has been warmed significantly) is then expelled back into the ocean. This warm water stimulates the growth of certain types of algae which has significantly increased the fish populations in the reefs surrounding the end of the pipe.
After spending a good amount of time snorkeling around and exploring the area I eventually made my way back to the boat to eat lunch and have a drink. As I was relaxing on the boat and eating my lunch I looked around and thought about how nice it was that we had been able to get away from the crowds of Waikiki to get to experience a morning enjoying the uncrowded side of Oahu.