Hawaiian Adventure Series: Shark-Cage Diving

Weeks before our family's vacation to Hawaii, my sister sent an email to our some of us containing a link to a Shark-Cage Diving Encounter. I know she sent it as a semi-joke and i also just laughed it off. I really did not take it seriously. When my dad saw the link, he was immediately interested. This surprised us but also made us rethink this 'joke' and inquire more seriously.

After a lot of back and forth, we decided to push through with it. We booked online through a promo with Groupon and prepared ourselves for an adventure of a lifetime.

We got there 30 minutes ahead of schedule and waited by the pier for the boat to arrive.  We then got in a speed boat that can sit around 12  to 14 passengers. Since there were already 8 of us (including 2 kids) plus three crew, only two other guests were accomodated to join us. It felt pretty exclusive to our family. We rode a high-speed boat on bumpy seas for a good 15 minutes before reaching the shark infested water. The cage was already docked, waiting for us.

The two kids did not go down but they were able to also see the sharks from the boat. There were a good 12 to 14 sharks swimming around us. Ironically, around the same number as the passengers of the boat. Eeps. They were about 13 feet long each and were Galapagos sharks.

I know the pictures look intimidating but it actually felt very safe. I would have even asked my kids to join us if they dared to. The only reason why it may not be ideal for small children is the rough seas. The waves were hitting hard and we had to hold on to the rails of the cage to avoid getting whipped around. Although once we were under water, it felt very calm.

Amidst the rough seas, it was an experience I will never forget. Definitely one for the books. As i looked at the sharks swimming around us, I was just in awe of how peaceful they moved around their habitat. I was just so amazed and cannot believe I was actually doing it. Such a National Geographic experience.

When you find yourselves in Hawaii, I would highly encourage you to give this activity a shot. To those of you asking who took our pictures, the captain of the boat had a GoPro on a stick and took our videos and photos for an additional fee. You only get to do it once, I'd say the additional $$ is priceless.

Visit Hawaii Shark Encounters http://hawaiisharkencounters.com/home to learn more about this wonderful experience.

 

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Hawaiian Adventure Series: Marriott's Maui Ocean Club

We stayed at the Marriott's Maui Ocean Club for a week while in Maui. The resort is strategically located along the famous Ka'anapali Beach.  Moreover, it is only about 15 minutes away from the Lahaina Historic Town which had a number of souvenir shops and restaurants. 

The only thing with our resort is that you need to rent a car in order to go around Maui efficiently. But I guess that's the case with any resort in Maui. They have shuttles but the desitations and schedule are quite limited. I will talk a little bit more about renting a car in Hawaii in a future post.

Our hotel's feel is very laid back. The lobby is definitely not the posh, carpeted, five-star hotel type but the interiors definitely fit the beach-vacation ambience of the place.

The resort is separated by the Molokai, Maui and Lanai towers.  All of these towers houses guest rooms that generally look the same. The only difference, of course, is the view from each tower. If you are booking more than one room, you may want to request for rooms from the same tower as traveling from one tower to the next requires elevator transfers and a good amount of walking.

For our family of 8 (6 adults and 2 kids), we got one Guest room and one 1-Bedroom Suite. I was not able to take pictures of our rooms before we settled in but they looked very much like the pictures below.

Guest Room with 1 king size bed and a sofa bed

Living room of the suite. The couch is a sofa bed.

Bedroom of the suite, 1 King size bed

Here are pictures taken from our hotel room in the Lanai tower.  





The resort had a good fitness center which I used a couple of times. But truth is, when you're in a place as beautiful as Hawaii, you'd want to run outdoors. I only used the gym on days when I woke up too late and want to avoid the harsh mid-morning sun.

The resort has a schedule of activites that changes every day. From Koi feeding to Zumba, they got the entire family covered.  

Playroom for the children (and yes, parents, you can leave your kids with them!)

Giant chess which Troy loved

A full functioning kitchen at the lobby that can be used by all resort guests.  We cooked some of our meals here.

And, of course, there's Starbucks inside the resort. I count that as an activity.

Overall, I would not hesitate staying in the Maui Ocean Club next time. The kids enjoyed going to the beach every day and we also got to enjoy lounging while watching them have the time of their lives.

Marriott's Maui Ocean Club - Molokai, Maui & Lanai Towers

100 Nohea Kai Drive, Marriott Vacation Club Hawaii Tax ID # W20121878-02

Lahaina - Maui, Hawaii 96761 USA

 

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Hawaiian Adventure Series: Reef Dancers #SemiSubmarine

During our first few days in Hawaii, we decided that we wanted the kids to experience the marine animals in the wild. Since we were unsure if they will be brave enough to snorkel in the middle of the sea just yet, we decided to try the submarine tour.

There were a few to choose from and after some research, we were down to either the Atlantis Submarine or the Reef Dancers. The former is more popular and is a real submarine that goes underwater while the Reef Dancers is a semi-submarine in that there is a bottom portion that gives the feel of a real submarine but the deck is still afloat. There were some negative reviews on the Atlantis and our resort's staff highly recommended the Reef Dancer so we decided to book with them.

We got to the Lahaina Harbor 30 minutes before our scheduled departure. All the tours have their own mini booths along the harbor so you just have to look for the one that you booked with. There are a couple of parking areas nearby. See the map of Lahaina Harbor below.

Reef Dancer and the crew

So you have the option to stay on the deck the entire time. Maybe get some sunshine, if you're up for that, or try to spot some dolphins. But then again, why book with a semi-submarine if you are not staying in the 'submarine'?

Inside the submarine with the marine life expert

One of the reasons why we chose the Reef Dancer over the Atlantis Submarine was because they told us that the Reef Dancers had divers who go out and bring interesting sea creatures to the glass for us to see.

We were hoping to see some octopus and sea turtles during the tour but none of them showed up during our schedule.  Given that they are in the wild, spotting these animals will never be a guarantee. We did see various types of fish though which is quite interesting for the kids.

Overall I would recommend the Reef Dancers if you would like to get a feel of riding a submarine and have small kids who are too young to snorkel. Don't expect any guarantees on spotting octopus and sea turtles as we did because you may get disappointed. But then again, you might just see them on your trip...who knows?

You may inquire and book with them here if you are interested. It does not cost too much and it's not something you get to do everyday. I'd say still worth checking them out.

  

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Hawaiian Adventure Series: Sea Turtles

Aloha! If you have been following my Instagram feed (@densfan), you will know that our family just spent two weeks in the beautiful island of Hawaii. From outlet shopping to swimming with the sharks, there are just so many fun things to do. Two weeks is not enough!

 

I will be doing a series of posts of some of the things that we did during our vacation. Today's post will be about spotting the beautiful Sea Turtles in Hawaii.

 

So here are some facts about sea turtles taken from Defenders of Wildlife :

 

"Sea turtles are one of the Earth's most ancient creatures. The seven species that can be found today have been around for 110 million years, since the time of the dinosaurs. The sea turtle's shell, or "carapace" is streamlined for swimming through the water. Unlike other turtles, sea turtles cannot retract their legs and head into their shells. Their color varies between yellow, greenish and black depending on the species."

 

The first week of our vacation was in Maui. We were told that Sea Turtles can sometimes be spotted within Ka'anapali beach, specifically near the Black Rock which was right in front of the Maui Sheraton Hotel. Our hotel was just walking distance from the Black Rock so we decided to visit one day as the sun was setting. We trekked the shores for a good 15 to 20 minutes before we reached Black Rock. But after staying for an hour and a half, we knew we were not going to find any Sea Turtles that day. We were quite determined and decided to go back early morning the next day.

 

We got up around 6:30am and reached Black Rock before 7:30am. The sun was shining and the water was clear. Still no Sea Turtle in sight but the kids enjoyed playing in the beach nonetheless.



Black Rock - it's known as such because of this huge black rock that sits by the shore. Lots of locals come here to cliff dive.



If you can't spot them, you make them!



Our very own baby turtles



The kids enjoying the early morning swim



A week later, we found ourselves in Honolulu. My friend told me about Laniakea Beach in the North Shore. It's basically a public beach just along the Kamehameha highway. There are no signs but you will know that you are already in the area when you start to see a lot of cars parked by the roadside. We got there around 10am and met around 4 to 7 beautiful Sea Turtles sunbathing on the beach and swimming near the shore. Such an amazing experience.

Huge Sea Turtle sunbathing.  You need to stay about 10 feet away so that you won't hurt the turtles

Another turtle resting near the rock

Sea Turtle swimming near the shore

I highly recommend visiting the Laniakea Beach (a.k.a. Turtle Beach) when you find yourselves in Honolulu. It's such a blessing to catch them in the wild.

 

Laniakea Beach is located in 61-676 Kamehameha Hwy Haleiwa, HI 96712

 

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Tried and Tested Tips on Traveling with Kids

As you know from my previous post, i recently traveled with my two kids to Thailand. Here are some tips and tools that helped me go through it with ease.

1. Fill out all embarkation cards at home.  It's very difficult to be too busy filling out the cards in a crowded airport when you need to fix your eyes on your kids every 5 seconds. Likewise, i also suggest filling out disembarkation and custom & immigration cards inside the airplane for the same reason.

2.  Bring a stroller.  This will be your best decision ever. Of course, you need to train your children to ride in strollers beforehand. Otherwise you will find yourself chasing the kids while carrying the stroller. Not glamorous at all.

My personal favorite is the Aprica Karoon Plus. I love how lightweight it is and that i can open and close the stroller with one hand. 

global.rakuten.com

3. Another option is to use a Backpark with Harness. I bought ours a long long time ago but never had the heart to use it. I was torn between safety and having people think we're treating our kids like dogs on a leash.  But this recent trip made me rethink my priorities. There were times when Troy was tired and Dawn would offer the stroller to her brother.  This means she will need to walk with me instead. I would still hold her hand (and the leash) while walking. But at least in case i had to use my hands to fill out forms or get some things from my bag, there is no risk of her running away on her own.  So i decided that people may judge all they want but my kids' safety is more important than that.

http://www.oocities.org

 4.  Bring out new activity books or download new games or movies on your iPhones and iPads. These will keep them entertained during the waiting period (in flight and pre-boarding). Please note that it has to be NEW. Old games and books may not excite them enough to keep still for a long time.

5.  Bring water bottles that are half-filled with water. I personally use the Thermos Funtainers for my kids because it's spill-proof.  The reason it's important to bring them is so that you don't need to ask for cups with water while eating inside the airplane. Imagine the chaos when they accidentally flip the table and spill the water. Not cool (or ironically, that's all your legs are going to feel when the water spills). I always just ask the flight attendant to fill the water bottles with water in case we run out. I prefer them half-filled since i don't want to carry heavy containers inside my bag.

6.  Put your safety on!  I found two very useful identification tags for my kids.

The first is the MyTag (http://mytag.ph) Klein slender silicone bracelets.  It's really chic and useful. I had my kids' names engraved together with our contact details (mobile number and email address) on the steel tag. I taught my kids to show these to the security guards in case they cannot find us. They only cost P400 each which already comes with the engraving.

The next one is the Safetytat Tattoo (http://www.safetytat.com/).  It's a temporary tattoo that will last for about 3 days of sweat and shower. I used this on my 3-year old since she may be too young to fully explain the concept of the ID bracelet.  I like her contact details to be immediately seen in case someone needs to reach us. I placed the tattoo on her arm and wrote down our contact number using the special pen that came with it.

7.  Finally, talk with your children before the trip.  As i've mentioned in my previous post, they are more matured that we usually give them credit for. Explain the dangers of being too rowdy in a crowded place and what they can do to help make the trip enjoyable for the entire family.

That's it! Hope you found these tips helpful. Have fun on your next vacation.

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