Sea Turtles and Nenes
What is it like to interact close up with sea turtles and nenes (wild geese)?
It’s amazing! Hawaiian green sea turtles are in general very friendly and personable. I used teach SCUBA diving and was also a dive guide on the Big Island in the 1980s and the turtle population was fished out. So sad because they are just wonderful animals. The Hawaiian Government protected the turtles and they have made a hug comeback! We did have a turtle in Kona that we called Ms Piggy. She would swim right up to you in the water and bump into your mask to see who was in there? During the dive briefing, I would always ask the divers not to ride the turtles as they can drown. But, Ms Piggy would ride divers. Honestly, I saw it a bunch of times. She would hang onto a divers tank.
More recently, I my wife’s daughter, Savannah to Carlsmith Lagoon, rated number 24 best beaches in the US to snorkel with turtles on her birthday. As soon as we were in the water the action started. A medium size turtle came over and literally hugged her. I was a bit nervous but, she said it was the best birthday present she’s ever had. Other turtles come over frequently and some are hauled out on the rocks. I’ve seen in the 400 round range.
We love the nene’s because they are feisty and beautiful. This is another wildlife success story. Years ago, the nene’s were plentiful but predators and hunting decimated the population. At one point there were only a half dozen of the gorgeous geese. The Shipman Family (think sugar cane) nursed the these geese back from the brink of extinction. Slowly, the population has increased to a state wide population of about 3000. We have a gorgeous pair of nene that live near by and a walk on Ala Kai Drive (in front of Ala Kai Bed and Breakfast) will often lead to a nene encounter. Sometimes Slash, our very personable greeter cat, will follow us on a walk and while the nenes are friendly to us, they HATE Slash and have called him very unpleasant names!
We recommend you see both the nenes and Hawaiian green sea turtles as well as Volcanoes National Park, Rainbow Falls, the Hilo Farmer’s Market, Akaka Falls… 😉
What is your favorite place to visit in Hawaii. Leave us a comment and let us know?
E como mai,
Erich and Suzy
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