Mokuho’oniki

The Islet of Mokuho’oniki, also known as the “Rock”, is located in the Pailolo Channel about one mile from the east end of Molokai. You will see huge schools of tropical fish, with stunning reef and rock structures. Pelagics often seen include, grey reef sharks, white tips, and Galapagos sharks. There are schooling hammerhead sharks at one of the sites. Mokuho’oniki was heavily bombed for military training during World War II and up until 1958 so you are likely to see WWII bombs, bullets, and shrapnel.

Our staff has logged over 1000 dives off the “Rock”. We schedule trips when the weather is good and swells are down. Currents are the difficult part of these dives.

Things To Know

  • 2 tank dive
  • Departure time 6:30 A.M.
  • Minimum of 4 passengers
  • Expect an hour to two hour travel time depending on conditions.
  • Experienced divemaster leads dive
  • Beverages included
  • Bring your own lunch

Dive Site 1 (Advanced):  The Pinnacle
The pinnacle is a submerged island with a concave top reaching up to 30 feet from the surface with 100 feet on the deep side.

Two missiles angled at 45 degrees are located on either side of the pinnacle providing a great photo opportunity.

In addition to lobster and large spotted eagle rays, you will see a wide variety of fish species in a kaleidoscope of colors.

Dive Site 2 (Easy +):  The Canyon
This site is really cool. Huge slabs of rock line this dive site with a huge boulder (the size of a ½ block long) creating a huge canyon.

You can see pillow stars, eels and seven-eleven crabs on this site along with a cave.

When your done with this dive, you will know why we called it the canyon.

Dive Site 3 (Advanced):  The Pocket
This site has probably the most tropical fish around the island. It is the site where we see scalloped hammerheads also known as the schooling hammerheads. Occasionally we see a giant hammerhead. These sharks are big!

If the currents are right, after dropping down a steep ledge, divers can sit on the bottom at around 85 feet waiting for hammerheads to go by. In all actuality, you have around a 30% chance of seeing hammerheads and this is with 20 years of experience of diving that site. Even if you don’t see the big ones, this is really a great spot.

Dive Site 4 (Easy):  The Cove
We usually dive the cove when the conditions get bad. Tucked in between the two islands it offers a safe haven from rough seas.

It has nice verticals with a few caves where white tips often hide. We often see frog fish and slipper lobster at this site. A lot of ordinance is also found here.

Dive Site 5 (Advanced +):  Backside
Very susceptible to heavy seas and currents, we only visit here about 3 times a year. However, that said, the area is truly unique. There are archways, sharks, large schools of fish and huge rock structures with deep drop offs. Beautifully colored corals line the areas where the current is strong.

Dive Site 6 (Easy):  The Corner
Usually done as a drift dive, we visit this site when conditions are difficult as there is less current in this area.

You will see large schools of tropicals along with some nice drops.