Kauaʻi · United States · Wall
Vertical Awareness
A Hawaiian monk seal among the lava pillars off Lehua Rock
Vertical Awareness is a wall dive at Lehua Rock, the islet off Niʻihau that Kauaʻi boats reach on their long crossing. Angular lava pillars and jutting shelves line a nearly sheer wall in clear blue water, and divers make the trip for big animals: sandbar and whitetip sharks, manta rays and the Hawaiian monk seal.
Where it is and how deep
22.0262° N, 160.0945° WApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.
The dive
With the boat moored on the site, divers descend through crystalline water onto a nearly sheer lava wall broken by jutting shelves. Angular pillars of volcanic rock rise from 91 m (300 ft) to within 18 m (60 ft) of the surface, so the pillar tops are the shallow part of the dive and the wall beneath them falls far out of recreational range. Reported dives here have gone to 18 to 21 m (60 to 70 ft).
Currents swirl around the pillars on and off, and were slight on the reported dives. Sandbar sharks, manta rays and whitetip reef sharks can show up right after the descent, and a Hawaiian monk seal sometimes swims in from the blue to look the divers over along the wall.
Marine life and season
- Seals & sea lions
- Manta rays
- Reef sharks
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Good | Good | Good | Good | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Good | Good |
Season follows Kauaʻi: May to September brings the calmest seas and warmest water, though south-shore visibility tends to run a little better in winter.
Know before you go
- The wall and its pillars drop to 91 m (300 ft), with no bottom anywhere near recreational depth.
- Intermittent currents swirl around the pillars, and strong currents are possible.
Photos from Vertical Awareness
Forest & Kim Starr · CC BY 3.0
Dive videos
Ni'ihau Scuba Diving - Vertical Awareness - 4k 60fps · RCB0B on YouTube
Questions divers ask
What level of diver is Vertical Awareness for?+
Advanced divers. Dives reach about 21 m (70 ft), but the wall keeps going to 91 m (300 ft) and currents swirl around the rock.
Sources
- Vertical Awareness — ScubaGo
- Hawaii/Kauai & Niihau (Lehua) Diving review of Bubbles Below — Undercurrent
- Niihau and Lehua, Offshore Kauai — Undercurrent
- Scuba Diving Hawaii's Jurassic Park: Kauai — Scuba Diving
- Diving Kauai and Niihau — Divers Alert Network
Photo credits
- Aerial view through haze of a crescent-shaped brown volcanic islet with a long curving rim, surrounded by blue-grey sea by Forest & Kim Starr, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
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