Humuhumunukunukuapua'a

Try saying that ten times quickly.  Well if you can’t, that’s okay, because I can’t either.  What is a humuhumunukunukuapua’a anyhow?  Well it is the state fish of Hawaii...and today I got to see some up close.

If you look carefully at the water in Hanauma Bay you can see darker patches. 
Those patches are alive!  They are coral reefs.

My fish hunt began in Hanauma Bay, a great place to visit in Oahu if you want to go snorkelling.  With more than half a million fish for you to spot in its reefs, Hanauma Bay is a snorkeler’s paradise.  I spent the day floating around, face down, taking in as many of the amazing sights as I could.

Mask, snorkel and flippers all in place, I am ready for some fish spotting.

As soon as I started floating over the reefs I realized something, “Hey, this is just like being at an aquarium!”  Seeing all the colourful fish swim around made me think back to being in Malaysia and visiting the KLCC Aquaria.  There was one main difference. Today, it was like I was in the tank with them too!

A fish snacking on some of the reef.

With over 500,000 fish to see, I had a lot of work to do if I was going to see them all.  I have a challenge for you.  Take a look at the pictures I took, then use the guide below (I was given it at Snorkel Bob’s today when I was renting my snorkelling gear) and see if you can match any fish to their names.  Can you identify any of the fish I saw today?

Use this guide to label some of the fish I saw today.

 

Do you think this is a Threadfin or a Pyramid Butterfly Fish?



Can you label this fish?