Steam rises from vents alongside the Crater Rim Trail in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. In the distance is Volcano House, the park’s hotel and restaurant, which also boasts a decent view of the current eruption.
For more information about Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, go to nps.gov/havo/.
I saw this floating bag while out snorkeling. It looks like flotsam, but people fishing use such bags to get their hook and line out far enough to where it won’t get snagged on rocks and coral. Unfortunately, it’s not uncommon to see such bags, deflated and abandoned, left behind in the water. That’s because they do sometimes get caught on rocks or because the line broke leaving them to drift, just one more bit of drifting garbage.
A Pacific Trumpetfish drifts in the water as a couple of Yellow Tangs pass by. Trumpetfishes often hang vertically, head down waiting to snag a meal. They also change color and markings to blend in with other fish, hoping to sneak up on prey.
Trumpetfishes looks easy to spot, but they propel themselves with dorsal and anal fins set far back on the body where they’re not seen by potential prey and, from the front, which is where its prey is, they’re very hard to see.
The top photo shows a Flowery Flounder resting on a patch of sandy sea floor. These fish blend in so well they’re almost impossible to spot. The trick is to spot them on the move (second photo). In motion, they’re quite distinctive with their undulating movement, especially if the pectoral fin is raised as in this photo.
The third photo shows the fish just as it landed on the sand to begin its very fast process of blending in.
This is a section of the path along the waterfront at Kaloko-Honokōhau National Historical Park. It’s easier walking than it looks, though sometimes bad weather can cause sections to become more of an adventure.
I was snorkeling in some fairly hazy water and lamenting that, on such a day, I wasn’t going to get any decent photos unless something swam right up to my face. Not long after, this little turtle showed up and did just that. It looped around me several times before diving lower and heading away. But it made my day and I was glad I hadn’t given up on my swim earlier when I was feeling as gloomy as the water.
A couple of boats ply the waters off the South Kohala coast.
Canoe paddling is very popular in Hawaii, both for exercise and for racing. These boats were out in the early morning, on calm water and under a pastel sky.
