Magic Island Lagoon

Ahhhh, yet another great site masked by a cloak of bad vis., a seemingly lack of fish, and an unlikely location. The key to this dive is to remember, "you're diving in Hawaii-- if you look for it, you will find it!" And such is the case with this site. Located just minutes from Waikiki and directly in front of the world famous Ala Moana Shopping Center, one can enjoy a convenient dive while under time constraints or as your non-diving spouse runs up the credit cards. There is, however, a small (or should I say long) drawback in that the walk from the parking lot to the entrance is like doing a marathon. Best is to done your gear in the lot and walk to the entrance with it all on (minus the fins, of course!). Now here is the secret to making this dive either a hit or a miss. Make sure to surface swim out to the green channel marker, staying to the right to avoid boating traffic, then descend about 20ft. Visibility is likely to be pretty bad here so stay close to the wall so you don't get lost. Next, quickly follow the underwater ledge until you come upon an outcropping from the wall. It is more like a chunk of rubble that broke off of the ledge, but this is your cue to swim right, up over the ledge. It will be about 15-20ft. deep and will reveal a spectacular topography that resembles an underwater labyrinth. There is a sand path to follow with all sorts of caves with green sea turtles, large saddle back goat fish, huge schools of tangs and butterfly fish, dragon morays, and white tipped reef sharks that hide in and around them. If you follow the sand path long enough and stay to the right you will find yourself in a popular boat diving site known as Rainbow Reef. This section is about 30-45ft. deep and has an abundance of cauliflower, antler, and finger corals. There are also many fish to be seen here and the visibility is usually a lot nicer in this area because of its outside location from the boat channel. One last thing: make sure to wear at least a full body skin suit because with the high level of microscopic hydroids in the area you may find yourself re-enacting a scene from the movie "Killer Ants!"