Hawaiian Adventure Series: Sea Turtles

Aloha! If you have been following my Instagram feed (@densfan), you will know that our family just spent two weeks in the beautiful island of Hawaii. From outlet shopping to swimming with the sharks, there are just so many fun things to do. Two weeks is not enough!

 

I will be doing a series of posts of some of the things that we did during our vacation. Today's post will be about spotting the beautiful Sea Turtles in Hawaii.

 

So here are some facts about sea turtles taken from Defenders of Wildlife :

 

"Sea turtles are one of the Earth's most ancient creatures. The seven species that can be found today have been around for 110 million years, since the time of the dinosaurs. The sea turtle's shell, or "carapace" is streamlined for swimming through the water. Unlike other turtles, sea turtles cannot retract their legs and head into their shells. Their color varies between yellow, greenish and black depending on the species."

 

The first week of our vacation was in Maui. We were told that Sea Turtles can sometimes be spotted within Ka'anapali beach, specifically near the Black Rock which was right in front of the Maui Sheraton Hotel. Our hotel was just walking distance from the Black Rock so we decided to visit one day as the sun was setting. We trekked the shores for a good 15 to 20 minutes before we reached Black Rock. But after staying for an hour and a half, we knew we were not going to find any Sea Turtles that day. We were quite determined and decided to go back early morning the next day.

 

We got up around 6:30am and reached Black Rock before 7:30am. The sun was shining and the water was clear. Still no Sea Turtle in sight but the kids enjoyed playing in the beach nonetheless.



Black Rock - it's known as such because of this huge black rock that sits by the shore. Lots of locals come here to cliff dive.



If you can't spot them, you make them!



Our very own baby turtles



The kids enjoying the early morning swim



A week later, we found ourselves in Honolulu. My friend told me about Laniakea Beach in the North Shore. It's basically a public beach just along the Kamehameha highway. There are no signs but you will know that you are already in the area when you start to see a lot of cars parked by the roadside. We got there around 10am and met around 4 to 7 beautiful Sea Turtles sunbathing on the beach and swimming near the shore. Such an amazing experience.

Huge Sea Turtle sunbathing.  You need to stay about 10 feet away so that you won't hurt the turtles

Another turtle resting near the rock

Sea Turtle swimming near the shore

I highly recommend visiting the Laniakea Beach (a.k.a. Turtle Beach) when you find yourselves in Honolulu. It's such a blessing to catch them in the wild.

 

Laniakea Beach is located in 61-676 Kamehameha Hwy Haleiwa, HI 96712