Diving Ni'ihau & Lehua Rock, Kauai, Hawaii

[@tracyhaver6178]

I am so glad you got to see the seals. Lehua Crater was the first snorkel of my life. I jumped in, nearly sucked in water due to gasping at the number of fish I saw immediately. Picked my head up to tell my husband and was face to face with a monk seal…whiskers nearly touching my face. It was at that moment I regretted saying no to my husband’s request for an underwater camera. That was our honeymoon. All these years later he still gets a yes to all photography equipment requests. We have made that trip again many times. It’s a beautiful place full of amazing people and super cool wildlife. Will be going to the big island for the first time soon, to swim with manta rays.

[@kapioleilanionalanielua]

very beautiful! I went to high school with one of the kids of Bruce Robinson. Jimmy and I were good friends in high school and he invited me to Niihau. I never got to go though. About monk seals, when I lived on the Big Island, my ex would surf all the breaks. One time we hiked in to a surf beach and there was a monk seal laying on the rocks. I sat under a tree to read while my ex surfed and the seal was about 20 feet away from me, sleeping. Another time, my ex and I went to visit a friend who rented a house on the coast in Kona. Before dinner, close to sunset, my ex brought his surf board and dove in right off the back yard. When he was done surfing about an hour later, he glided up to the rocks in the back yard and right next to him was a monk seal. The seal was trying to play with him or something, it was so cute.

[@rob_9876]

Looks like some neat dives with those rock formations and especially with the seals!

[@ScubaSEAsons]

Hi Rob sorry I didn't reply i haven't been feeling well & I was out shooting an new video before that. Any ways yeah those seal are top notch! they are THE reason I waited until May to go to Kauai and it was totally worth it!

[@-metaldemon]

Good shots in that one! looked well wroth it 👍

[@ScubaSEAsons]

Thanks!, making this video was really fun, and the Ni'ihau trip is definitely worth it IMO!

[@FreeSpirit47]

I went to Ni'ihau in 1980 with Mr. Robinson. I was AD USAF, had just arrived in Hawai'i as my first military assignment. I knew almost nothing about Hawai'i. I was a gate guard (Kuntz Gate) at the back gate of Hickam AFB. Mr Robinson drove up to the gate, we chatted for quite a long time. He asked if I knew who he was. I didn't. He asked me if I would like to go with him to an island that most people will never be allowed to go to. I was a naïve 19 yr old from a small town in Michigan! He asked for my phone number, I gave it to him. he called me the next day, we made arrangements to meet and take the helicopter over to NI'ihau. I had no idea what a rarity this was! I do, NOW!

[@bella42291]

I wish you would coordinate with Mr Robinson. The island has a huge garbage problem and I'm sure he'd appreciate you guys taking some of it back to Kauai.

[@richarddeichler2172]

So, others have to help the Robinsons, who own Billions of dollars worth of Hawaiian real estate, take out their trash? From an island that we aren't even allowed to go to?

[@bella42291]

@@richarddeichler2172 It's not Ni'ihau's garbage, it's the worlds garbage washing onto Ni'ihau's shores. "Billions" of dollars worth of land, this is why native Hawaiians want houles off their land, because they live like slaves while you destroy the islands.

[@lseungmook]

looks amazing under the water in Kauai. I was in Kauai on May this year. I should have tried diving!

[@ScubaSEAsons]

Thanks the Ni'ihau trip is a fantastic dive experience, I would 100% recommend it. Just to be clear this isn't on Kauai, its on Ni'ihau about 17 miles off of Kauai, but only accessible from Kauai during May - October, the swell is to rough in the winter months. Also in case you aren't yet, Hawaii will only let you dive if you have open water certification at minimum, so if you want to dive there make sure to bring along your cert card.

[@eagley8708]

@@ScubaSEAsons Is it worth going on the 12 hour expedition, if you are just snorkeling, going with a diver?