Kaanapali, Hawaii, United States

Black Rock

Black Rock (Pu'u Keka'a in Hawaiian) is a lava cinder cone that drops directly from the north end of Kaanapali Beach into the sea on the leeward coast of Maui. Hawaiian tradition holds the rock as a 'leina a ka uhane', a soul-leaping place where the spirits of the dead were believed to leap into the next world. Beneath the surface the rock extends as a sloping wall to about 12 metres, then breaks into a sand-and-rubble bottom. Entry is straight off the beach in front of the Sheraton Maui Resort and the dive follows the wall north and around the point. The site is one of the easiest and most reliable shore dives on Maui and one of the best places to encounter green sea turtles feeding on the rocks; 5 to 10 turtles per dive are typical. Other species: yellow tang, Moorish idols, ornate butterflyfish, achilles tang, scrawled filefish, the state fish, octopus and the occasional white tip reef shark resting under ledges. Calm conditions year-round when winter swell drops.