Difficulty
beginner
Viz (last reported 13955h ago)
Max Depth
30ft
Snorkeling and Scuba Diving at Black Rock
Black Rock was formed from one of the last-gasp lava flows on this side of the island. It is a rocky outcrop at the far North end of Ka’anapali Beach and blocks off access (from the beach) to the lesser-known Ka’anapali Resort beach called Kahekili Beach Park. The Hawai’ian name for Black Rock is Pu’u Keka’a, and ancient Hawaiians believed that this was the place where their spirits went to jump off to join ancestors forever. Unlucky souls who could not be shown the way by their family ‘aumakua (guardian animal spirit), would wander and attach themselves to rocks in the area. This is likely where the “it is bad luck to take a Hawai’ian lava rock” superstition comes from.
This is also a popular spot for cliff jumping. If you are cliff jumping, swim to the far side of the rock and climb up from there. It's much more challenging and dangerous to reach the rock by click up it from shore.
Access
shore
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Jim Emig
Apr 24, 2013, 12:00 AM
scuba
We (four of us) dove Black Rock on April 18th 2013 (my birthday) On a Maui breezy day with a tropical 82 degrees reading on my dive computer. It started with driving the car to Kaanapali beach access north and drop the family and all the gear off. I then returned to the free beach-use parking, with one spot left (8am) I joined up with the family (short walk) gathered our gear and headed to the beach. (another short walk) We entered from the North side went all the way around the rock did an air check (all 1400+ psi) and proceeded to turn around (no current) and head back to the north and exit where we started. I have been diving here many times. But this time! We saw amazing animals while listening to Humpbacks in the distance. 4 perfectly timed spotted eagle rays swam the entire time with us. We saw five Green sea turtles, a white tip reef shark and two nice green eels. The final amazing experience was a nice large sea snake not an eel but a sea snake curled up in between coral heads. The last most memorable moment was my wife (Marleen) and I watching my future son in law (Sean from Australia) propose to our daughter Shari with a white board. (she said yes!) Memories….. It's no wonder I always have Maui on my mind.
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