Go Snorkelling in Hanauma Bay

Excerpt from I Need to Get L'eid from the Teresa the Traveler series of books.   After shark cage diving we returned to the harbour before 9am giving me plenty of time to explore more of Oahu’s marine life before my afternoon flight to Maui.  I called the car rental company to see if I could keep the car for a few more hours and was informed I would have to pay for an extra day.  I decided the benefit was worth the cost and drove my rental car over to Hanauma Bay.  Hanauma Bay Nature Preserve, a marine cove formed within a volcanic cone, is a popular nursery ground for immature green sea turtles.  Its abundant coral reef also provides a rich habitat for over 450 species of tropical fish as well as octopus, crabs and eels.
    Thanks again to my GPS device I found my way to Hanauma Bay just in time for the next viewing of the informational video.  I have never been required to watch a video before going snorkelling. What the...?
After watching the video and learning how to behave responsibly in the bay to protect the fish, I was thankful that people cared enough to properly manage this marine habitat.  Previous to 1990, when a plan was put in place to protect Hanauma, the bay was being destroyed by people.  Over 10,000 people a day were visiting the bay, smoking, consuming alcohol, walking on the coral reefs and feeding the fish (a practice that causes water pollution and takes fish away from their natural food source).  Since preservation efforts have been made, the number of visitors has gone down to around 3000 a day, smoking and alcohol is banned and everyone must abide by strict rules laid out in the 9-minute educational video. 
     Armed with this new information, I set out to observe the marine life while being careful not to touch the coral reefs or the fish.  I did my best not to disturb them. Many of the fish did not seem to notice or care that I was there while others were curious and swam right up to my mask to eyeball me.  Being eyeballed by a fish is pretty darn funny.  It was all I could do to stop myself from laughing and swallowing the ocean. 
     I wished I had come on a Saturday night when the park is open until 10 pm to allow people to snorkel at night when a whole different crowd of fish come out to play. You can even rent an underwater flashlight on the beach.  How cool would that be?
    Staying off the coral reef proved harder than I thought.  In some places where the coral was high and the water was low, I had less than two feet forcing me to suck in my stomach and both chins until I could reach deeper water. I wanted to go into the deep water farther out but unfortunately I did not have fins and I knew that without them, swimming out would be easier than swimming back in.  I figured the lifeguards already had their hands full.  Every year they paddle out on their surfboards and help the hundreds of people who can’t make it back to land but despite their best efforts, people drown every year.  In fact, in 2002, 12 tourists drown in Hanauma Bay alone.