Photos of Diving and snorkeling near Two Harbors, Santa Catalina Island, California

Continued from Two Harbors, Catalina Island

We arrived at Two Harbors in the morning, and got in the water as quickly as possible. As part of the package for our trip to Two Harbors, there were a number of kayaks available for free use. Anna and I took the opportunity to use them to get to snorkeling spots in the marine sanctuary near the UC research station. The area has a great kelp bed, and a lot of sea life. We had a lot of fun snorkeling around the kelp and spotting fish and rays. Great visibility in the morning, probably around 50 feet.

Some of the most fun snorkeling was when the harbor seals came out to play. In the shallow water of the kelp forest there were three that would come to visit. Two were a bit skittish, and would only nibble and sniff when they didn’t think you were watching them. But the most curious one eventually started to be more and more bold, hugging my legs, and examining Anna’s hands. It was a lot of fun to see them blow bubbles and corkscrew around you. It wasn’t quite as bold in deeper water, but if you swam about 10 feet away when it was hunting on the bottom, it would follow you and your tasty fins to the surface, before swimming away. I’m assuming they are wary on the surface in deeper water because of the local shark population.

That evening I did a night dive with some people from the dive group. The kick out was amazing, the bioluminescence was so intense you didn’t need a light to see other divers under water. Everyone glowed teal and green. The group was too big for wandering around the kelp, and some of the divers didn’t seem to be that comfortable with the kelp, especially in the dark. Splitting up and moving into the less dense waters eventually happened, and we managed to see some life out on the sand then – shovelnose, rays, halibut, and some horn sharks.

The next day’s dives started at Ship Rock. This was a great site with huge numbers of fish. It is also a great mixed environment, rocks and kelp forest from 0-60 feet, then mixed plants, corals, and fans from 60-100 feet, with a sandy bottom. The kelp was amazing to dive through, some of them in the 50-60 foot range. We saw a seal hunting, but he didn’t stop to play. Lots of sea cucumbers, but I couldn’t find any eels. Great dive, and the visibility was fantastic, 40-60 feet.

The next dive was near the shore and a boy scout camp, deserted for the fall. It has a great kelp forest just off the shore with lots of fans and corals. The visibility on this dive was a bit churned up from divers, but still a lot of sea life to spot. Shallow depth made for a nice, long dive. Sunday morning we got in one last snorkel session with the seals before packing up for the 2 PM ferry. I hope to come out here again soon, the diving and snorkeling was amazing.

Photos of Two Harbors, Santa Catalina Island, California

Anna and I took a three day weekend to head out to Two Harbors on Santa Catalina Island. I have been meaning to get out there for a long time, but when a cheap trip came up by way of a local dive group, it was too good to pass up. I’m glad we went, it was well worth it.

Two Harbors is a quiet place, at least this time of year. The village is really just a collection of houses, a camp ground, a historic hotel, general store, bar, and a dive shop. We stayed in cabins that are used for staff housing in the summer, so I’d guess it can be packed in peak season. For a fall weekend, it seemed like the perfect size and temperament for us.

We had a great time kayaking, hiking, snorkeling, and (just me) diving (more on snorkeling & diving in a future post). One of Anna’s goals was to see a buffalo, sorry, bison on the island. Leftovers from a movie in the 20′s the herd is now over 200 strong, and a major tourist draw. They are also a burden on the slow growing native grasses and shrubs of the island, and the subject of a lot of controversy.

We assumed we would need to do some serious hiking to find the bison herd in the hills. However, after kayaking we wandered into the center of town to see a bison standing on one of the only patches of grass, in center of town. He was munching on lush green grass, and getting hosed off by the sprinklers. The lakes are dry, and the herd has been having a tough time finding water. So when someone left the gate open, this guy decided to visit town.

A few people were standing too close to him, and the bison was staring them down. One of the dive shop workers told them about a guy that got too close to a herd the day before, and now has a new hole in his ass. They backed up, and the bison went back to munching.

He was there for a good half hour, we came back to town just as he was stepping off the grass patch, and making his way through town to the road. Stray cats and people slunk back into the nearest doorway as he slowly walked between the palm trees across the sand without incident.

More to come on scuba & snorkeling in a future post. Update, post is here: Diving and snorkeling near Two Harbors, Catalina Island