Happy Snorkeling with the Hawaiian Honu
Kauai Blog # 6
When you take a trip to the Hawaiian Islands and venture out into one of the many wonderful spots for snorkeling, you just might, if you are lucky, encounter the majestic Green Sea Turtle.
It's also known as the Hawaiian Honu, the only indigenous reptile found in Hawaii.
Seeing them in their natural habitat is an experience that we won't soon forgot. Our "go-to" snorkeling beach is call Anini. It's about 8 miles from our condo. We've seen sea turtles there every time we've gone into the water.
Anini Beach is a mostly tranquil stretch of beach that is protected by Hawaii's largest coral fringing reef
(Anini Reef). On a calm day, this shallow reef allows us to snorkel far out without fear of being swept away by a strong current or being smashed by powerful waves.
We slowly snorkel above the turtles and don't get too close. They will happily eat the sea grasses and algae at the sea bottom and ignore snorkelers. However, sometimes they come close to us when they swim up to gulp some fresh air! When that happens, we stay calm and don't move around a lot.
I read that a sea turtle is one of the Earth's oldest animals. They have been swimming the Earth's oceans
rather unchanged for nearly 75 million years or more. With lifespans similar to humans, sea turtles can
frequently be found to live around 80 years or more.
Most Hawaiian turtles migrate to mate and give birth in the French Frigate Shoals, 800 miles northwest
of Hawaii! I read online that the nesting ritual of the sea turtle is an ancient as it is unique. When ready to hatch, she does so in the calm and coolness of evening. At the right moment, she moves over the sand shedding large tears with excess salt. The tears will protect her eyes from the sharp sand. With her
flippers, she then digs a two foot deep hole, crouching over it and laying her eggs. Amazingly, during a single season, she will probably fill three or four nests with up to 100 eggs in each. After filling her nest with sand, she goes back into the water. Her accomplishment is complete for two or three years, when she mates again. However, out of thousands of eggs that are laid, only a handful will become mature sea turtles.
We feel lucky to have been graced by the presence of a reptilian survivor from the age of dinosaurs!
Kauai Blog # 6
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| Snorkeling brings you to an underwater wonderland. |
It's also known as the Hawaiian Honu, the only indigenous reptile found in Hawaii.
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| Bob heading out to the Anini Reef. |
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| Smiling! We just swam with the sea turtles! |
Anini Beach is a mostly tranquil stretch of beach that is protected by Hawaii's largest coral fringing reef
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| Anini Beach is also a great place to sit, relax, enjoy the fresh sea air and read. |
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| We also see different fish at Anini Reef. Bob saw an eel one time! |
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| A section of Anini Beach: Depending on the tide, the beach can be wide or narrow. One day when we went there, we found "no beach" in our favorite spot. |
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| Anini Reef |
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| Snorkeling is easy. Getting the gear on is not. |
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| Sea turtle up for air; left hand corner. Only their heads come out of the water. |
A sea turtle can grow up to 45 inches and weigh as much as 200-400 pounds by the time it reaches maturity at the average age of 25 years. Its heart-shaped shell is grey-brown and its underbelly is green.
The photos we were able to snap do not capture the beauty of this gorgeous big sea animal, but
gives you a glimpse into the underwater wonderland of the Green Sea Turtles.
Using a Fuji underwater throw-away (yup, they still make them!) camera was a laugh. Remember those days of picture taking? Well, half of our pictures did not come out, but here are a few.
I read that a sea turtle is one of the Earth's oldest animals. They have been swimming the Earth's oceans
rather unchanged for nearly 75 million years or more. With lifespans similar to humans, sea turtles can
frequently be found to live around 80 years or more.
One of the unique traits of this gorgeous reptile is its long journey to its mating/birthing place.
This incredible ability to always find its way home makes it a symbol of navigation.
of Hawaii! I read online that the nesting ritual of the sea turtle is an ancient as it is unique. When ready to hatch, she does so in the calm and coolness of evening. At the right moment, she moves over the sand shedding large tears with excess salt. The tears will protect her eyes from the sharp sand. With her
flippers, she then digs a two foot deep hole, crouching over it and laying her eggs. Amazingly, during a single season, she will probably fill three or four nests with up to 100 eggs in each. After filling her nest with sand, she goes back into the water. Her accomplishment is complete for two or three years, when she mates again. However, out of thousands of eggs that are laid, only a handful will become mature sea turtles.
We feel lucky to have been graced by the presence of a reptilian survivor from the age of dinosaurs!
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| We cannot stop smiling… snorkeling allows us to feel as free as we do when motorcycling! |
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This little cutie was taken with my iPhone 5s.
I was standing in the ankle-deep water looking down.
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To swim with a sea turtle is magic.
Just remember to walk into the ocean backwards with
your flippers on or you will fall over!
Just remember to walk into the ocean backwards with
your flippers on or you will fall over!
Mahalo for reading our blog.
Cheers,
Mary and Bob
Fabulous, Mary! I'll show A, B, and J when they come up next weekend. I liked the pattern of sunlight on the ocean floor as well as the majestic turtles. The one with its flippers flung outward looks like its waving goodbye! Just came back from a wonderful cross country ski - wind started gusting when I was nearly back home. We got a few fresh inches through last night.
ReplyDeleteIncredible. I've never snorkeled so you gave me a view of a world I've never seen. The sea turtles are amazing. I have a hard time visualizing a little egg becoming a 400 lb sea turtle. Wow!
ReplyDeleteBTW, I love the Charles Schultz quote in your sidebar!
It has been fabulous meeting you both. We are also ecstatic that you shall be exporing our island home of the Big Island for several more weeks. Yippee! We are enjoying browsing and reading your blog. I feel I shall learn from it, not just of your adventures and blogging, but also of a point of view and way of life. Always live Aloha, wherever you may be taken and be Pono (good) as it will illuminate the path. Joe and Becky
ReplyDelete