Tag Archives: Turtles

Punalu’u Black Sand Beach Park

Punalu’u is one of the more popular places to visit on the Big Island. For one thing, it’s a black sand beach that’s easily accessible. It’s also a great place to see Green Turtles and sometimes Hawksbill Turtles. There’s picnic tables and restrooms, you can camp there, and it’s a beautiful stretch of coastline to wander along.

On my most recent visit, I was happy to see that the area where the turtles tend to rest has been more obviously identified with a rock wall and signs. This is part of the ongoing efforts to deter the ‘Let’s get a picture of little Billy riding the turtle’ crowd. Oh yes, they exist and, sadly, they’re nowhere near as endangered as the turtles. There is one turtle in this photo, but it looks like a rock.

Punaluu black sand beach with turtle resting area

Here’s a closer look.

Punaluu black sand beach with turtle resting

And a close up (with a zoom lens), getting some much needed rest.

I really like Punalu’u, especially early in the day as this was. Later on, it can get very crowded.

A green turtle pops up for air

A green turtle swims n the waters off Hawaii

On a recent snorkel, I saw this headless creature a little ways off. I took me a few moments to realize that this was a green turtle getting a breath of air. When it dipped back below the surface, it kept coming towards me. I thought it might come really close, but it decided that it didn’t like what it saw and glided down to deeper water.

Favorites from 2022

Surf crashes ashore on the North Kohala coast in Hawaii — January: High surf crashes ashore in North Kohala. (link)

This week’s Sunday Stills challenge theme is ‘Your 2022 Year-in-Review.’ See more responses here. Like last year, I’ve gone with a favorite photo from each month of 2021, with a caption and link to the post the photo first appeared in.

A Common Waxbill feeds on cane grass seeds — February: A Common Waxbill grabs a mouthful of seeds. (link)

A Monarch butterfly on purple bougainvillea flowers — March: A Monarch Butterfly on a bougainvillea. (link)

A Hawaiian Green Sea Turtle swims by — April: A Green Turtle swims by. (link)

Three cats resting in Hawaii — May: A trio of cats hard at work! (link)

A photo of an owl in a car wing mirror — June: How to keep birds off your car. (link)

A view of Green sand beach (Papakōlea) on the Big Island, Hawaii — July: The green sand beach near South Point. (link)

A white-tailed tropicbird flying over North Kohala, Hawaii — August: A White-tailed Tropicbird glides by. (link)

A Black-crowned night heron struggles o get out of an algae covered pond — September: A Black-crowned Night Heron struggles to get out of a pond. (link)

A Spinner dolphin leaps from the waters off Hawaii — October: A Spinner Dolphin leaps from the water off North Kohala. (link)

Two manta rays in the waters off Hawaii — November: A pair of Manta Rays swims toward me. (link)

A cloud forms over the site of the eruption on Mauna Loa , Hawaii — December: Mauna Loa erupted for the first time in 40 years, capturing attention and changing the weather. (link)

Abstracts: Something in the water

A green turtle swims in the waters off Hawaii

I love the patterns in shallow water and it’s a bonus when something, such as this turtle, add a twist to the image.

Hawaiian Green Sea Turtle passes by

A Hawaiian Green Sea Turtle passes close by

The current Friendly Friday challenge theme is ‘Green.’ See more responses here. These photos are from a recent encounter with an Hawaiian Green Sea Turtle.

I was snorkeling over a shallow area when this turtle rose up from the deeper water beyond. I reached the edge of the shallows at about the same time as the turtle which slipped below me, between me and the rocks, before disappearing in the direction I’d come from.

Adult turtles mostly eat algae and sea grasses, which turns their fat green, hence the name.

Green turtle circling

I was snorkeling in some fairly hazy water and lamenting that, on such a day, I wasn’t going to get any decent photos unless something swam right up to my face. Not long after, this little turtle showed up and did just that. It looped around me several times before diving lower and heading away. But it made my day and I was glad I hadn’t given up on my swim earlier when I was feeling as gloomy as the water.

First visit to Hawaii

This week’s Sunday Stills challenge theme is ‘Meaningful Memories.’ See more responses here.

This seemed like an opportune time to revisit my first visit to Hawaii, back in 2010. My wife and I stayed in a vacation rental near Captain Cook, overlooking Kealakekua Bay. The sky was hazy with vog from Kilauea Volcano, but the place was awash with colorful flowers. Just down the road was the Painted Church and at the foot of the hill, Puʻuhonua o Hōnaunau National Historical Park celebrates Hawaiian culture and history with its wooden ki’i and towering palms.

We traveled the whole island from the black sand beach at Pololu (even if we had to pass the carcass of a dead whale twice) to the black sand beach at Punalu’u, dotted with resting green turtles, and rocky surrounds. There were waterfalls big and small, and roads lined with tropical foliage leading to the active lava flow at that time.

There, signs warned that flowing lava is dangerous (who knew?), but we were still able to get within 10 feet of oozing tongues of red, and saw small fires still burning in nearby brush.

There was even a house for sale: ‘Buy now before it burns!’ We didn’t, though that house still stands while others, much farther from that scene, have since been consumed by subsequent flows.

It was this visit that prompted us to return permanently two years later. Hawaii isn’t paradise – it has its pros and cons like any place – but we haven’t regretted the move and are looking forward to the next 10 years.

A look back at 2021

A Hawaiian monk seal resting — January: Hiwahiwa, a male Hawaiian Monk Seal born in 2020, rests at Upolu. Haven’t seen any monk seals since this encounter. (Link)

This week’s Sunday Stills challenge theme is ‘2021 in Your Rear-View Mirror.’ See more responses here. I’ve gone with a favorite photo from each month of 2021, with a caption and link to the post the photo first appeared in.