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Hi everyone, my name is Ernest and I’ve created this video to help anyone planning a trip
to the Big Island of Hawaii, and, specifically, anyone who’s planning to snorkel on the Big Island.
If you’ve already done some research into snorkeling spots on the Big Island, you’ve
almost certainly read about a location called Two Step, which is also referred to by a few other names,
including Honaunau Bay, City of Refuge and Pae’a.
If your reading has led you to consider visiting Two Step, I can tell you that you should stop
considering it and just go.
Before showing you our footage, just a few quick bits of context.
The surf was really high during the entire week of our most recent trip to the Big Island,
and you’ll see that in the video—particularly at the start, where we had to swim through
a fairly strong current to get further out into the Bay.
It’s worth noting, though, that one of the things that makes Two Step such a great spot
for snorkeling is that the layout of the Bay naturally protects it from the worst of the surf,
which is important not only because it keeps you from getting knocked around on the surface,
but also because it means less sand gets kicked up into the water, preserving
visibility.
We went snorkeling at a spot closer to our hotel on this same day, and that spot's usually excellent,
but we had to come right back in because the visibility in the water was so poor.
Second, the footage is pretty much in the order in which we shot it.
We stuck to the left side of the Bay because it’s more protected from the surf, and we
essentially did a counter-clockwise loop.
The whole experience was amazing, but then, as we were heading back in and only about
20 yards from shore, my wife spotted a beautiful old green sea turtle out of the corner of her eye
and we ended up having the most remarkable interaction.
We’d seen sea turtles on previous swims, but never like this—it was really a magical experience.
But enough of me telling you about it, let me show you...
[MUSIC]
Okay, so hopefully you’ll now understand why I think you should put Two Step
at the top of your list of snorkeling spots on the Big Island.
And this footage was shot on a day when conditions were far from ideal.
If the water was calmer, we would have explored the right side of the Bay—by which I mean,
the right side when you’re looking out at the water from the beach—which gets much
deeper and is a popular hang out for large pods of Spinner Dolphins.
[MUSIC]
Two Step is dead simple to get to by car.
If you get lucky, you can park on the road for free
or in the lot for the Pu’uhonua O Honaunau National Historical Park,
which is right next door to Two Step.
Parking there costs just $5, and you get the added bonus of access to the Historical Park,
which is really beautiful and informative.
We parked at the Historical Park, snorkeled at Two Step for about an hour-and-a-half,
then took a walking tour of the Park, which made for a really terrific afternoon.
Whether you park on the street or at the Historical Park, access to the water is
just a few minutes walk away.
I hope this video was useful for you.
If so, please give it a thumbs up, share it with anyone else you think might like it,
and subscribe to this channel.
I’ll be posting more videos in the coming weeks with reviews of some of the gear I used
on this trip, like the terrific full-face “Easy Breathe” mask you saw my wife using
in our underwater footage, along with my prescription SeaVision mask, and also this
amazing, fully submersible waterproof bag from a company called Watershed.
We used it to hold our phones, sandals and all our other necessities while snorkeling,
so that we wouldn’t have to leave anything out on the beach while we were in the water.
So, look out for those videos, and thanks for watching!