'Honu' is the Hawaiian word for sea turtle. The honu symbolizes wisdom, endurance and good luck and is almost as synonymous with Hawaii as coconuts and Hawaiian shirts. Encounters with these creatures are less rare than you might suppose for frequenters of Hawaiian waters, but honu sightings retain a magical quality whether it is your first sighting or your fiftieth.
My experience with sea turtles prior to arriving on Hawaiian shores was limited to the female loggerhead turtles that come ashore on Seabrook Island (where my parents lives) to lay their eggs.
I have a wonderful memory of waking up early in the morning and following the 'Turtle Patrol' crew along the beach to the site of a nest in the midst of hatching. Watching these tiny turtles make their way across the sand, their little flippers unfolding more and more with each step, was something I'll never forget.
Like many species of sea turtles, once the baby loggerheads hit the water, the males never return to land and the females return only to lay eggs. Here in Hawaii, however, the green sea turtles often come up on the beach and bask in the sun for hours a time. Your chances of encountering them in the water are even greater.
I've had the good fortune to see them both on in the water and on the beach. In fact, I found myself swimming with sea turtles my very first time snorkeling here on Maui! I had my waterproof camera with me and took lots of photos. Unfortunately, less than a week later, that camera found itself resting at the bottom of a waterfall on the Big Island. The wrist strap broke at the MOST inopportune time and the turtle photos had NOT been uploaded off the camera. *grrr*
When my mom and sister came to visit, I took them to that exact same snorkel spot over in Kihei- we swam around and around- on two different days- and there was not a turtle to be seen. (Sorry, Mom and Stephanie).
Were my encounters with Hawaiian sea turtles to live on only in my memory? Thankfully not. Ho'okipa Beach, located on Maui's north shore, is not only one of the best windsurfing spots in the world, it is also a favored place for sea turtles to gather around sunset. I didn't know about this early on (again, sorry, Mom and Stephanie). When my friend Melissa was here visiting, however, I was armed with knowledge and we planned ourselves a perfectly romantic evening- we picked up an entire pizza from Flatbread Company in Pa'ia, sat on the beach to watch the windsurfers for a bit, then migrated over to the east side of the beach to watch giant turtles pull themselves up onto the sand while the sun painted the sky vibrant shades of orange and pink. On a 'beautiful evenings' scale, this one clocked in at 'seriously stunning.' See for yourself:
And then! The icing on the cake!
I went with my friend Anders to the west side of Oahu. We set out in search of dolphins and had to 'settle' for sea turtles instead. The turtles were hanging out at a 'turtle cleaning station'- a large clump of coral where turtles gather to have the algae on their shells nibbled off by small fish- a sort of 'shell shine,' if you will. These turtles are amazingly mellow and don't seem to mind if you dive down to say hello. With GoPro in hand, you can get some amazing photos!
Many thanks to the Hawaiian hono for making my ocean explorations here so magical!
