Mile 4.9

My husband and I dove Mile 4.9 on 6.24.2007. The site access was not that bad although we had to park up at the highway and carry all the gear down. The shore entry was good, pretty much like from the boat: you can gear up and jump into the water from the rocks at the right hand site of the cove (a bit harder on the way back :). We tried to exit on the left side of the cove - don't do it.. We made it but could not climb up to the highway, and had to swim back along the shoreline to our entry point :) Still, it was not too bad compared to the reef and underwater conditions. The coral there is almost entirely dead! There is some lint-looking stuff hanging on it. We saw very few fish, couple of crabs and nudibranches - pretty much nothing compared to other Big Island sites. We dove this site with a boat a year ago, and the reef was nice and healthy (that time we even saw a manta there in a day time!) We have asked local divers about bad reef conditions, and they told us the problem with the reef was due to locals using some chemicals (fertilizers or similar) next to the reef that then get washed offshore, and kills the reef. The earthquake last fall has also damaged the reef. Pretty sad! Unfortunately, it's not a good choice for a shore dive anymore.