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Trip Report 4/4-4/13 Number 2(hehe) -Snorkeling
Trip Report 4/4-4/13 Number 2(hehe) -Snorkeling
Ok, the snorkeling. I'm as white as a ghost, so that plus the advantage of being one of the only people snorkeling means we did 95% of our time in the water from 7-10am.
Salt Pond
First time to Salt Pond and I drove right past it. It wasn't until I hit the dirt road that I turned around. Hike down was nice, but knew the hike back (up) would be a trek after snorkeling. Salt Pond did not disappoint. We snorkeled the right side and then to the middle where rocks peak out of the bay. Near the right side my wife pointed out 3 squid that were swimming along in a line together. I followed them and dove down to be nearer. I had heard that they change colors when they are afraid. I guess I expected a change from mustard yellow to ketchup red to something else. It was subtle, but I did see a change (I think). We also saw porcupinefish, which are super cool looking, some puffer fish, conch, barracuda, a couple small turtles and then a giant gorgeous spotted eagle ray. I love how they move through the water, like they are flying. Their tails are so long too. It was a perfect first full day on island snorkel. The trek back was a pain after such a long snorkel, but well worth it (Watch your time out snorkeling. We were super excited, got to the middle of the Bay w/the rocks and found ourselves exhausted on the way back)
Blue Cobblestone Beach
So we did the Ram's Head Trail early and got the idea to do Blue Cobblestone Beach through the Off the Beaten Path book (It's about halfway or so along the Ram's Head trail). We sat with someone at a bar who told us they saw a whale breach while looking out into the sea at the top of Ram's Head. We thought this was pretty amazing and wondered if anybody else had ever seen this.
Blue Cobblestone was a pretty good snorkel out from the right side of the beach, refreshing too after the walk. Some neat silver fish, like jacks or mackerel chasing after smaller fish for a meal.
Grootpan
Wow, I thought I was driving off-road when I was on Virgin Gorda. Nope. Well, technically it's a road down to Grootpan, but our Jeep took a bit of a beating getting down there. Ok, not really, but it was super bumpy. So we finally get there and it is a pretty stone beach. We walked to the far end of the beach, past Grootpan Man (kind of a stone snowman), and jump in. We must have missed the sweet spots because we found it not very exciting. We did see another eagle ray, and a sting ray buried in the sand, but that was about it. Granted, we did not go over the point towards Kiddel Bay, which I've heard contains a big nurse shark. It was pretty and an adventurous ride though.
Waterlemon Cay
I was prepared for this to not meet my expectations. Four years ago we came here and it was out of this world. I thought there was no way it would match the last time. It was even better. We were the first ones there around 7:15 or such after the walk from Annanberg parking lot. We went counter-clockwise around the cay. Don't know if this mattered at the time, I've read talk of currents, but not sure any existed when we were there. Swimming out we saw gigantic starfish. On the right side of the Cay we saw the biggest hawksbill turtle we've ever seen. He was close and he was in pretty shallow water. Two different types of remora were on him. He chewed on some grass as we hung out with him for maybe 15 minutes. When the turtle would surface for air, it was cool watching the remoras switch from the top shell to attaching themselves to his belly. When the turtle swam he sometimes would get annoyed with the remora and try to get them off. The remoras occasionally looked like they were picking at his butt. Were they eating poop?! That was my analysis, my wife thought I just liked saying the word "poop". Anybody know? Plenty of colorful fish -angel,butterfly,parrot and two big spotted eagle rays swimming together. Super cool. Speaking of parrotfish, I love the fact that the pretty sandy beaches are mostly made from parrotfish poop (according to one of the books I read). No sharks though, I was hoping to have a sighting. A family that went the day after us said they saw reef sharks. Hmm.
Haulover North
We didn't have much luck here. We traversed from the trail off of East End road all the way to the right side of the beach, scrambling over rocks. Lotsa urchins, but we finally found an entry point. Again, we didn't find much but one barracuda sure did love us. I've read all about how barracudas are curious and will come close - and open their mouths menacingly, but that is just to help them breathe. This guy must have followed us for a good 10 minutes or so, although it felt like an hour. Even though I read about all their behaviors, it still was freaking us out. He was a large one too and he really was into us. Not much else here. A couple small turtles and a ray. .
Princess Bay
This one was a bit of an afterthought, but it turned out to be pretty cool. There are very few entry spots because the mangroves block your path, but keep on going down the road and you will find an entry point. This is mangrove snorkeling, which we have never done. Super shallow, as little as 2-3 feet of water sometimes. But the Off the Beaten Track book was spot on with the variety and size of fish. The tiniest of butterfly fishes (maybe an inch long) but the brightest of colors. A trillion conchs, including the largest one we've ever seen. I watched a conch walk too. Man, I did not expect it to walk. This was a great stop.
Whistling Cay and Mary's Point
Wow, the swells kicked our rears that day. We got a dinghy from Calypso, which we'll never rent anywhere else again. The backs on the seats, center console, and extra horsepower make it a much better experience for us. So we roll out to Whistling Cay and the waves are significant. My wife gives me a "you're kidding,right" look as I put on my snorkel gear. We were on the west side of the Cay. I jumped in and swam around for a while. Saw a couple tarpon but it was just too cloudy. Same at Mary's Point. It's a shame as I really wanted to snorkel this bad. Oh well, next time.
Beehive Cove/Tektite/Donkey Bight
Yeah, I'm not exactly sure which of these we did, but I think we did all of them. There was a thread on Beehive Cove a few days ago about where it was. Anyhoo, this was my favorite snorkel. It is a trek there, and a rock scramble, but it really is worth it. Right at entry I knew it was special. Tons of fish, and a huge variety. Butterfly/Angel/Parrot/Porcupine/Puffer/barracuda/needle - and then a million more species I have no idea what they were. I think we saw the huge dog snapper they talk about in Off the Beaten Path. That would have been good enough (the variety that is), but as my wife said, it seems as though these fish were involved in some nuclear experiment, making them 2-3 times the size as regular fish. Butterflyfish the size of a house (ok, well no, but big), I even think the barracuda swimming by was wary of these giant wonders. I really could not believe my eyes, it was as close to a perfect snorkel as I could dream while planning such a trip. We were probably there around 7:30-8am and the way the light hit the water it was like a flashlight lighting up all the different sea life. The huge underwater boulders were fantastic and beautiful. Just out-friggin-standing. Go!
Can't wait to go back to St. John.
Salt Pond
First time to Salt Pond and I drove right past it. It wasn't until I hit the dirt road that I turned around. Hike down was nice, but knew the hike back (up) would be a trek after snorkeling. Salt Pond did not disappoint. We snorkeled the right side and then to the middle where rocks peak out of the bay. Near the right side my wife pointed out 3 squid that were swimming along in a line together. I followed them and dove down to be nearer. I had heard that they change colors when they are afraid. I guess I expected a change from mustard yellow to ketchup red to something else. It was subtle, but I did see a change (I think). We also saw porcupinefish, which are super cool looking, some puffer fish, conch, barracuda, a couple small turtles and then a giant gorgeous spotted eagle ray. I love how they move through the water, like they are flying. Their tails are so long too. It was a perfect first full day on island snorkel. The trek back was a pain after such a long snorkel, but well worth it (Watch your time out snorkeling. We were super excited, got to the middle of the Bay w/the rocks and found ourselves exhausted on the way back)
Blue Cobblestone Beach
So we did the Ram's Head Trail early and got the idea to do Blue Cobblestone Beach through the Off the Beaten Path book (It's about halfway or so along the Ram's Head trail). We sat with someone at a bar who told us they saw a whale breach while looking out into the sea at the top of Ram's Head. We thought this was pretty amazing and wondered if anybody else had ever seen this.
Blue Cobblestone was a pretty good snorkel out from the right side of the beach, refreshing too after the walk. Some neat silver fish, like jacks or mackerel chasing after smaller fish for a meal.
Grootpan
Wow, I thought I was driving off-road when I was on Virgin Gorda. Nope. Well, technically it's a road down to Grootpan, but our Jeep took a bit of a beating getting down there. Ok, not really, but it was super bumpy. So we finally get there and it is a pretty stone beach. We walked to the far end of the beach, past Grootpan Man (kind of a stone snowman), and jump in. We must have missed the sweet spots because we found it not very exciting. We did see another eagle ray, and a sting ray buried in the sand, but that was about it. Granted, we did not go over the point towards Kiddel Bay, which I've heard contains a big nurse shark. It was pretty and an adventurous ride though.
Waterlemon Cay
I was prepared for this to not meet my expectations. Four years ago we came here and it was out of this world. I thought there was no way it would match the last time. It was even better. We were the first ones there around 7:15 or such after the walk from Annanberg parking lot. We went counter-clockwise around the cay. Don't know if this mattered at the time, I've read talk of currents, but not sure any existed when we were there. Swimming out we saw gigantic starfish. On the right side of the Cay we saw the biggest hawksbill turtle we've ever seen. He was close and he was in pretty shallow water. Two different types of remora were on him. He chewed on some grass as we hung out with him for maybe 15 minutes. When the turtle would surface for air, it was cool watching the remoras switch from the top shell to attaching themselves to his belly. When the turtle swam he sometimes would get annoyed with the remora and try to get them off. The remoras occasionally looked like they were picking at his butt. Were they eating poop?! That was my analysis, my wife thought I just liked saying the word "poop". Anybody know? Plenty of colorful fish -angel,butterfly,parrot and two big spotted eagle rays swimming together. Super cool. Speaking of parrotfish, I love the fact that the pretty sandy beaches are mostly made from parrotfish poop (according to one of the books I read). No sharks though, I was hoping to have a sighting. A family that went the day after us said they saw reef sharks. Hmm.
Haulover North
We didn't have much luck here. We traversed from the trail off of East End road all the way to the right side of the beach, scrambling over rocks. Lotsa urchins, but we finally found an entry point. Again, we didn't find much but one barracuda sure did love us. I've read all about how barracudas are curious and will come close - and open their mouths menacingly, but that is just to help them breathe. This guy must have followed us for a good 10 minutes or so, although it felt like an hour. Even though I read about all their behaviors, it still was freaking us out. He was a large one too and he really was into us. Not much else here. A couple small turtles and a ray. .
Princess Bay
This one was a bit of an afterthought, but it turned out to be pretty cool. There are very few entry spots because the mangroves block your path, but keep on going down the road and you will find an entry point. This is mangrove snorkeling, which we have never done. Super shallow, as little as 2-3 feet of water sometimes. But the Off the Beaten Track book was spot on with the variety and size of fish. The tiniest of butterfly fishes (maybe an inch long) but the brightest of colors. A trillion conchs, including the largest one we've ever seen. I watched a conch walk too. Man, I did not expect it to walk. This was a great stop.
Whistling Cay and Mary's Point
Wow, the swells kicked our rears that day. We got a dinghy from Calypso, which we'll never rent anywhere else again. The backs on the seats, center console, and extra horsepower make it a much better experience for us. So we roll out to Whistling Cay and the waves are significant. My wife gives me a "you're kidding,right" look as I put on my snorkel gear. We were on the west side of the Cay. I jumped in and swam around for a while. Saw a couple tarpon but it was just too cloudy. Same at Mary's Point. It's a shame as I really wanted to snorkel this bad. Oh well, next time.
Beehive Cove/Tektite/Donkey Bight
Yeah, I'm not exactly sure which of these we did, but I think we did all of them. There was a thread on Beehive Cove a few days ago about where it was. Anyhoo, this was my favorite snorkel. It is a trek there, and a rock scramble, but it really is worth it. Right at entry I knew it was special. Tons of fish, and a huge variety. Butterfly/Angel/Parrot/Porcupine/Puffer/barracuda/needle - and then a million more species I have no idea what they were. I think we saw the huge dog snapper they talk about in Off the Beaten Path. That would have been good enough (the variety that is), but as my wife said, it seems as though these fish were involved in some nuclear experiment, making them 2-3 times the size as regular fish. Butterflyfish the size of a house (ok, well no, but big), I even think the barracuda swimming by was wary of these giant wonders. I really could not believe my eyes, it was as close to a perfect snorkel as I could dream while planning such a trip. We were probably there around 7:30-8am and the way the light hit the water it was like a flashlight lighting up all the different sea life. The huge underwater boulders were fantastic and beautiful. Just out-friggin-standing. Go!
Can't wait to go back to St. John.
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beachluvers
- Posts: 128
- Joined: Tue Dec 12, 2006 7:19 pm
- Location: Cumming, Georgia
Awesome snorkel report, Tony! We are defintely doing Beehive. It's sounds like a "can't miss."
For next time (and there will be a next time, right?
), to find the good snorkeling at Haulover North, you should swim to the left side of the beach as you are facing the water. There's lots of huge coral over there. We didn't find much on the right side either, except for a school of blue tang.
For next time (and there will be a next time, right?
), to find the good snorkeling at Haulover North, you should swim to the left side of the beach as you are facing the water. There's lots of huge coral over there. We didn't find much on the right side either, except for a school of blue tang.It's like looking in your soup and finding a whole different alphabet.
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chicagoans
- Posts: 1586
- Joined: Thu Jan 18, 2007 2:51 pm
- Location: IL
Great information!
Re: Trip Report 4/4-4/13 Number 2(hehe) -Snorkeling
Donkey was our favorite snorkel as well. Thanks for the mid-bay rocks at salt pond report. Glad you had a great time.....great reports!tonyadams wrote: Beehive Cove/Tektite/Donkey Bight
Yeah, I’m not exactly sure which of these we did, but I think we did all of them. There was a thread on Beehive Cove a few days ago about where it was. Anyhoo, this was my favorite snorkel. It is a trek there, and a rock scramble, but it really is worth it. Right at entry I knew it was special. Tons of fish, and a huge variety. Butterfly/Angel/Parrot/Porcupine/Puffer/barracuda/needle – and then a million more species I have no idea what they were. I think we saw the huge dog snapper they talk about in Off the Beaten Path. That would have been good enough (the variety that is), but as my wife said, it seems as though these fish were involved in some nuclear experiment, making them 2-3 times the size as regular fish. Butterflyfish the size of a house (ok, well no, but big), I even think the barracuda swimming by was wary of these giant wonders. I really could not believe my eyes, it was as close to a perfect snorkel as I could dream while planning such a trip. We were probably there around 7:30-8am and the way the light hit the water it was like a flashlight lighting up all the different sea life. The huge underwater boulders were fantastic and beautiful. Just out-friggin-standing. Go!
