Makua Beach
Dive Site: This is a great shore diving site for intermediate and advanced divers. There is plenty of reef to explore along this entire site with numerous canyons, caves, and trenches. As an added bonus, there is usually a wide variety of wildlife due to the sparse number of other divers. The only downside is the long drive out to the site (especially in traffic) and possible strong currents.
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Dive Type: Shore Dive/Reef (West Shore)
Difficultly: Intermediate to Advanced (Depending on entry and wave conditions)
Average Depth: 20 - 45 feet
Ideal Wave Conditions: You can dive at this site in waves up to 2-3 feet high, but only from the beach entry. The conditions need to be flat for the giant stride entry off the rock ledge.
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Location:
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GPS Address: There's no official address for this site. Use the coordinates 21.526433, -158.229068 in Google Maps.
Amenities: None
Parking: Parking here is a challenge. As you can see from the satellite map images, you have to access this site from a dirt road. As of February 2020, there's a fairly large indent in the middle of the dirt road heading to the beach. It's really hard to reach the site without a 4x4, and even a little bit of rain will make it super muddy.
Family-Friendly: I'm torn on this one. In my personal experience, the beach is a nice place to hang out and somewhere I'd bring the family during the day. However, some people have reported some hostility towards scuba divers at this site, especially if they are by themselves. Exercise caution, dive with a group, and be mindful of your surroundings.
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Considerations:​
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In the winter, this site becomes fairly rough with high waves, ripping cross currents, and strong wind.
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Be careful entering and exiting from the beach; the waves are strong and can easily knock you over if you aren't paying attention.
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Do not attempt the rock ledge stride entry if their are any waves crashing on the ledge. The waves can easily knock you over.
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This site is subject to some pretty strong North and South cross currents. Watch the water, when you get to the site, and cancel the dive if the current looks like it's ripping.
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There have been issues with car break-ins at this parking lot. Keep valuables out of site and locked up.
Dive Site Maps:
(Base map courtesy of Google Maps)
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Maps Coming Soon!
Dive Guide: (Under Construction)
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Entry:
Summary:
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Be On the Lookout (BOLO): Large pelagic fish, spinner dolphins, sea turtles, tons of lobsters and crabs at night, moray eels, octopus, puffer fish, and sharks (usually white tip, but their have been reports of a rare Tiger shark sighting)