what to do with belongings while snorkeling?

[ms_shell]

We plan to do a lot of swimming/snorkeling while in FP, but I'm a little nervous about what to do with our stuff while we're in the water. I know when we are on organized excursions, we can leave our beach bag in the boat, or with tour operators, and it will be relatively safe.

But what about if we venture off on our own, (we are planning to do this in Rarotonga and Moorea) to have a beach day? I would like to bring my digital camera, but I don't have the underwater housing, so will need to leave it on dry land. Very nervous about just leaving it unattended, along with money, key cards etc.

What have others come up with for this problem?

Looking for a watertight wallet for hubby, haven't found one yet. One of his bathing suits has a plastic pouch that looks like a zip loc bag. Has anyone tried using this type of set up, and does it really keep stuff dry?

 

Thanks for any suggestions.

 

Michelle

[Bob100]

I posted a similar question below (see water wallets). Though I have not tested it yet, I purchased a small pouch from http://www.waterproofcases.net last week and it arrived in a timely manner. For about $15 + shipping, it is big enough to keep a room key/credit card/money and can be worn around your neck. Not sure how well these work but hopefully it will work out. As for the bigger items, I would love to hear anyone else's suggestions!

[JRoeT]

Well, you could try to book places / plan to go places that have lockers for rent.

 

Or, you could ask another couple / person if they'd like to take turns being vigilant over eachothers' stuff (a risk, still, but less of one than just leaving stuff on a beach by itself).

 

Thinking out of the box here . . . when you swim or snorkel, you could rent / bring a blow up raft (doughnut shaped would work best) and bring your bag out on it. As exra protection, you could put it all in zip-locks, too.

 

But, the best thing is probably to pack very light, and on a day when you know you will be "on your own," you may want to sub one of those water cameras for your digital, so you can bring it intot he water with you. The water cameras take decent pictures above water, too.

 

And bring a small water wallet for credit card, cash, room key.

[wyocruiser]

We bought a small, watertight container onboard the ship for $4 ---- it holds rooms keys, credit cards, money, etc. --- and can be worn around your neck as the previous reply mentioned.

 

On Rarotonga, if you're planning on snorkeling by the fruit stand, they will watch your bag for you. There is no charge as most people end up buying something at the fruit stand.

[wyocruiser]

By the way, where are you planning on snorkeling in Moorea? We spent four days there pre-cruise.

[RNay]

Ditto the water wallet for us. It was big enough to hold our cards, money, even my watch. This was purchased on Princess Cays a few years ago and is bigger than the ones I see on the ship now. I left the digital camera in the safe and brought an underwater disposable. Our bag was always visible and I guess if someone really wanted our shorts, what can I do? ;)

[mpbmark]

Patty, I thought I had responded to your request for additional information, but I don't see the entry, so here it is again. This is an edited excerpt from another tour page discussing their trip to the tubes.

 

"Today’s excursion is attempted only when there is no danger of a sudden downpour. It is then possible to walk through the large Hitiaa Lava tubes.

 

The first tube is about 100m long and is close to the second one of 300m, hidden behind two waterfalls. Between the second and third tube, the trail goes under a stone bridge (remains of a collapsed lava tube). The third tube is longer, darker and more complex. About 100m in, it divides either to an exit or to a large cavern, complete with a lake and waterfall. On the wall of the cavern, tiny golden algae will make you believe that you found the most incredible gold mine of the world."

 

This doesn't sound too difficult and it appears you can leave the tubes at the end of any one of the three. No mention of repelling or any rope work. Seems to be only walking although it probably is slippery and uneven.

 

I will let you know more specifics as they become available.

[Wennfred]

What Wendy and I do, if we are alone, we usually go in the water alone while one stays back to watch the items, at that point she or I would take the pictures, but we usually find a nice family to sit by, same family on the same ship and at that point we would take turns watching everyones stuff on the beach. :)